Do Not Use False Titles to Win Over Insurrectionist Troops[1]

(February 27, 1948)

Lin:

Your telegram of the 26th at 13:00 hours[2] has been received. It is very good to adopt an attitude of investigating the circumstances and handling the matter prudently toward the insurrectionist troops at Yingkou.[3] However, when reorganizing them, in addition to the methods you already know, such as gradually weeding out the bad elements, promoting the good ones, and sending in our own people, you should also: (1) Abolish their original designations and adopt the designation of the People's Liberation Army; do not use designations such as Democratic Allied Army either. (2) Follow our army's practice: if there is a division's worth of men, call it a division; if there is a regiment's worth of men, call it a regiment. Do not let the name fail to match the reality; do not promote their officers, such as division commanders and regiment commanders, to higher ranks. (3) Do not give them special treatment in provisions; it is better to start at a somewhat lower level and gradually raise it to the level of our army. In short, treat them with an honest attitude and do not use the method of winning them over with false titles.

Central Military Commission

27th, 24:00 hours

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, addressed to Lin Biao, Commander and Political Commissar of the Northeast Field Army.
[2] Refers to Lin Biao's telegram of 13:00 hours on February 26, 1948, to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China concerning how to handle the insurrectionist troops at Yingkou. The telegram stated: The detailed handling of this unit will be determined after further understanding of the situation; it may be temporarily not disarmed and moved to the rear for reorganization and training.
[3] On February 25, 1948, the main force of the Northeast Field Army besieged Yingkou. Wang Jiashan, commander of the Provisional 58th Division of the Kuomintang's 52nd Army defending the city, led his troops in an insurrection and assisted the Northeast People's Liberation Army in annihilating over 3,000 men of the Kuomintang's 3rd Traffic Police General Unit and other forces.