In 1947, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, having crushed Chiang Kai-shek’s offensive, has now launched a major counteroffensive. On the southern front, our forces have advanced into the Yangtze River basin, while on the northern front, they have pushed along the Zhongchang and Beining railways. Wherever our troops go, the enemy flees in panic, and the people erupt in cheers. The overall balance of power has undergone a fundamental shift compared with a year ago. Our army’s strategic objective, repeatedly proclaimed at home and abroad, is the liberation of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. Today, this translates into the urgent demand of the entire nation to overthrow Chiang Kai-shek, the architect of the civil war, establish a democratic united government, and thereby achieve the overarching goal of national liberation. For eight long years, the Chinese people waged heroic resistance against Japanese imperialism in pursuit of their own liberation and national independence. After Japan’s surrender, the people yearned for peace, yet Chiang Kai-shek sabotaged all efforts to secure it, instead plunging the nation into an unprecedented civil war. Faced with this dire situation, the only viable course of action for all strata of the population was to unite and overthrow Chiang Kai-shek. The current civil war initiated by Chiang is not accidental; it is the inevitable outcome of his and his reactionary clique’s longstanding anti-people policies. As early as 1927, Chiang treacherously betrayed the revolutionary united front between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and renounced Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People and Three Great Policies, thereafter establishing a dictatorial regime, colluding with imperialism, and waging a decade-long civil war that facilitated the Japanese invasion. In 1936, during the Xi’an Incident, the Communist Party, in a spirit of magnanimity, joined forces with Generals Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng to release Chiang Kai-shek, hoping he would repent and join them in resisting Japan. However, Chiang once again acted perfidiously: passively confronting the Japanese invaders while vigorously suppressing the Chinese people and harboring extreme hostility toward the Communists. In 1945, following Japan’s surrender, the Chinese people once again extended mercy to Chiang, urging him to cease the civil war he had already unleashed, implement democratic governance, and unite all parties to build a peaceful nation. But the unscrupulous Chiang, after signing an armistice agreement, passing a CPPCC resolution, and making four solemn promises, promptly repudiated them all. Despite repeated concessions from the people, Chiang, emboldened by U.S. aid, resolved to disregard the lives and future of the nation and launched an unprecedented all-out offensive against the Chinese people. Since the announcement of the January 1946 armistice agreement, Chiang has mobilized over one hundred regular brigades, along with nearly a million irregular troops, to launch massive attacks on liberated areas wrested from Japanese imperialist occupation through bloody struggle. As a result, our forces have lost control of Shenyang, Fushun, Benxi, Siping, Changchun, Yongji, Chengde, Jining, Zhangjiakou, Huaiyin, Heze, Linyi, Yan’an, and Yantai, as well as vast rural regions. Wherever Chiang’s troops have gone, they have engaged in murder, arson, rape, and looting—the very same tactics employed by Japanese bandits. Last November, Chiang convened a sham National Assembly and promulgated a bogus constitution. This March, he issued a nationwide mobilization order aimed at suppressing dissent. Against the just struggles of workers, peasants, students, and urban citizens—resisting the civil war, hunger, and U.S. imperialist aggression—Chiang’s policy has been repression, arrest, and massacre. For ethnic minorities across the country, his approach has been to impose Han chauvinism, brutally crushing and oppressing them without restraint. Throughout Chiang’s domains, corruption is rampant, secret agents run rampant, taxes are exorbitant, prices soar, the economy lies in ruins, industries stagnate, and forced conscription and grain requisition leave the populace groaning under unbearable burdens. As a result, the vast majority of the Chinese people find themselves mired in suffering. Meanwhile, the financial oligarchs, corrupt officials, and local tyrants surrounding Chiang have amassed immense wealth. Taking the Four Big Families—Chiang Kai-shek, Song Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi, and the Chen brothers—as an example, their fortunes derive directly from Chiang’s dictatorial power, which he has wielded to extort resources, engage in embezzlement, and enrich himself at the expense of the people. To sustain his dictatorship and wage war, Chiang has not hesitated to sell out the nation to foreign imperialists, inviting U.S. military advisors to remain in Qingdao and elsewhere, commanding combat operations and training troops, and importing vast quantities of aircraft, tanks, guns, and ammunition from the United States. The funds for this war have also been borrowed from the U.S., secured through the cession of military bases, air and sea rights, and the signing of servile trade agreements—terms far more egregious than those Yuan Shikai agreed to when he sold out the country. All of this serves as a “gift” to reward U.S. imperialism. In short, Chiang’s ten-year rule has amounted to a treasonous, dictatorial, and anti-people regime. Today, the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people, regardless of region or age, are acutely aware of Chiang’s heinous crimes and fervently hope that our army will swiftly counterattack, overthrow him, and liberate the entire nation. Our army is the army of the Chinese people, entirely guided by their will. Our policies reflect the urgent demands of the Chinese people, primarily including the following:  1. Uniting workers, peasants, soldiers, students, oppressed classes, mass organizations, democratic parties, ethnic minorities, overseas Chinese patriots, and other patriotic elements into a united national front to overthrow Chiang’s dictatorial regime and establish a democratic united government. 2. Arresting, prosecuting, and punishing the perpetrators of the civil war, with Chiang Kai-shek at the helm. 3. Abolishing Chiang’s dictatorial system and instituting a people’s democratic system that guarantees freedom of speech, publication, assembly, and association. 4. Eradicating corruption under Chiang’s rule and establishing clean governance. 5. Confiscating the property of Chiang Kai-shek, Song Ziwen, Kong Xiangxi, the Chen brothers, and other principal war criminals; nationalizing bureaucratic capital; developing national industry and commerce; improving workers’ living standards; and providing relief to disaster victims and the poor. 6. Abolishing the feudal system of exploitation and implementing a system whereby farmers own the land they cultivate. Rural land shall be equally distributed among villagers based on population and land quality, with ownership vested in them. 7. Recognizing the equal right of all ethnic minorities within China to self-governance. 8. Rejecting all diplomatic acts of treason committed by Chiang’s dictatorial regime, nullifying all treaties sold out to foreign powers, and refusing to honor any foreign debts incurred during the civil war. We call upon the U.S. government to withdraw its troops stationed in China, which threaten China’s independence, and oppose any foreign assistance to Chiang that would revive Japanese aggression. Instead, we advocate for the establishment of equal and mutually beneficial trade and friendship treaties with all nations that share our commitment to equality and common struggle. These constitute our basic policies, which we implement immediately wherever our troops arrive. They align with the needs of over ninety percent of the Chinese population. With regard to personnel associated with the Chiang regime, we adopt a differentiated approach: severe punishment for principal offenders, leniency for accomplices, and rewards for those who defect. Specifically, we will relentlessly pursue Chiang Kai-shek and other major culprits of the civil war—those who have actively aided and abetted his atrocities—who have been universally recognized as war criminals—until they are brought to justice. We warn all officers and soldiers of Chiang’s army, government officials, and party members: those who have yet to stain their hands with innocent blood must not associate with these criminals; those who have already committed wrongdoing should immediately cease their actions, repent, break free from Chiang’s influence, and seek redemption through meritorious service. As for Chiang’s troops who lay down their arms, we will neither kill nor humiliate them; those who wish to stay will be accommodated, while those who want to leave will be assisted in their departure. We will also reward units of Chiang’s army that rebel and join our ranks, as well as individuals—whether openly or secretly—who work on our behalf. To hasten the overthrow of Chiang Kai-shek and establish a democratic united government, we urge all compatriots across the country to cooperate actively with our forces wherever they arrive, eliminating reactionary forces and establishing democratic order. In areas where our troops have not yet reached, we call upon the people to rise up spontaneously, resist conscription and grain requisition, redistribute land, cancel debts, exploit enemy weaknesses, and engage in guerrilla warfare. To accelerate the overthrow of Chiang Kai-shek and the establishment of a democratic united government, we urge the people in liberated areas to implement land reform, consolidate the foundations of democracy, expand production, practice frugality, strengthen the people’s armed forces, root out remaining enemy strongholds, and support frontline operations. Comrades commanders and fighters of the entire PLA: We now bear the most important and glorious mission in our nation’s revolutionary history. Let us strive diligently to fulfill our duty so that our great motherland may emerge from darkness into light, so that our dear compatriots may lead dignified lives, choose their own governments according to their aspirations, and determine their own destinies through their own efforts. All members of our army must enhance their military skills, advance boldly in decisive battles, and resolutely annihilate all enemies without leaving a single one behind. We must also raise our political awareness, mastering the dual skills of eliminating the enemy and rallying the masses, forging close ties with the people, and swiftly transforming newly liberated areas into consolidated zones. Furthermore, we must uphold strict discipline, faithfully executing orders, policies, and the Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention, ensuring unity between the military and the people, between military and political leadership, and maintaining zero tolerance for any violation of discipline. All members of our army must always remember that we are the great People’s Liberation Army, led by the great Chinese leader Comrade Mao Zedong. As long as we adhere to Comrade Mao’s teachings, we are certain to triumph over Chiang Kai-shek and establish a new China. Long live the new China! XX XX X
Deputy Commander’s Instruction Regarding the Current Situation and Our Mission Xinhua Bookstore, 1949. Six texts from the collection of Important Documents of the Chinese Communist Party since 1947, published by New Democracy Press (Hong Kong), February 1949. Volume Five of the Reference Materials on the History of the Chinese Communist Party, China’s Declaration of Liberation and Military Personnel.
Order of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army To all military and political leaders at all levels of the PLA: (The Three Major Disciplines and Eight Points of Attention, practiced for many years, vary slightly in content from unit to unit.) It is hereby uniformly stipulated that these shall serve as the standard for public dissemination, thorough education, and strict enforcement. Other matters requiring attention may be specified by the highest-ranking commanders of each unit, based on specific circumstances, through appropriate orders. (The Three Major Disciplines are as follows: 1. Obey all commands; 2. Do not take a single needle or thread from the masses; 3. Surrender all captured items.) The Eight Points of Attention are as follows: 1. Speak kindly; 2. Trade fairly; 3. Return borrowed items; 4. Compensate for damage; 5. Do not beat or insult others; 6. Do not destroy crops; 7. Do not harass women; 8. Do not mistreat prisoners.
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Headquarters of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army
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October 10, 1947
oO People’s Daily (Wuan Edition) Issue 47 .1 O 〇 .1 O
The resolution announcing the Outline of China’s Land Law was officially published on the 1st of October, 1947._O
Resolution on the Publication of the Outline of China’s Land Law [Author: five people]
Regarding the Outline of China’s Land Law [Drafted by one person]
|| Adopted by the National Land Conference of the Chinese Communist Party on September 13, 1947,|
Outline of China’s Land Law [Central Committee] Eight Seven
Outline of China’s Land Law [Removed]. Eight Nine