THE CITY


April 8, 1948

[This telegram was drafted by Comrade Mao Tse-tung for the Central Committee
of the Communist Party of China. Since its contents were applicable not only
to Loyang but, in the main, to all newly liberated cities, it was sent
concurrently to the leading comrades on other fronts and in other
areas.]


Loyang is now recaptured [1] and can probably be
securely held. In our urban policy, pay attention to the following points:


1. Be very prudent in the liquidation of the organs of Kuomintang rule, arrest
only the chief reactionaries and do not involve too many persons.

2. Set a clear line of demarcation in defining bureaucrat-capital;
do not designate as bureaucrat-capital and do not confiscate all the industrial
and commercial enterprises run by Kuomintang members. The principle should
be laid down that the democratic government should take over and operate
all industrial and commercial enterprises which are definitely verified as
having been run by the Kuomintang's central, provincial, county or municipal
governments, that is, enterprises operated wholly by official bodies. But
if, for the time being, the democratic government is not yet ready to take
them over or is unable to do so, the individuals previously in charge should
be temporarily entrusted with the responsibility of management so that these
enterprises can function as usual until the democratic government appoints
people to take over. The workers and technicians in these industrial and
commercial enterprises should be organized to participate in management,
and their competence should be trusted. If the Kuomintang personnel have
fled and the enterprise has suspended operations, a management committee
of representatives elected by the workers and technicians should be set up,
pending the appointment by the democratic government of managers and directors
who will manage it together with the workers. Enterprises run by notorious
big bureaucrats of the Kuomintang should be dealt with in conformity with
the principles and measures stated above. Industrial and commercial enterprises
run by small bureaucrats or by landlords, however, are not subject to
confiscation. Encroachment on any enterprise run by the national bourgeoisie
is strictly prohibited.

3. Forbid peasant organizations to enter the city to seize landlords and
settle scores with them. Landlords whose land is in the villages but who
live in the city should be dealt with by the democratic municipal government
according to law. Upon the request of the village peasant organizations those
who have committed the most heinous crimes may be sent back to the villages
to be dealt with.

4. On entering the city, do not lightly advance slogans of raising wages
and reducing working hours. In war time it is good enough if production can
continue and existing working hours and original wage levels can be maintained.
Whether or not suitable reductions in working hours and increases in wages
are to be made later will depend on economic conditions, that is, on whether
the enterprises thrive.

5. Do not be in a hurry to organize the people of the city to struggle for
democratic reforms and improvements in livelihood. These matters can be properly
handled in the light of local conditions only when the municipal administration
is in good working order, public feeling has become calm, careful surveys
have been made, a clear idea of the situation has been gained and appropriate
measures have been worked out.

6. In the big cities, food and fuel are now the central problems; they must
be handled in a planned way. Once a city comes under our administration,
the problem of the livelihood of the city poor must be solved step by step
and in a planned way. Do not raise the slogan, "Open the granaries to relieve
the poor". Do not foster among them the psychology of depending on the government
for relief.

7. Members of the Kuomintang and its Three People's Principles Youth League
must be properly screened and registered.

8. Plan everything on a long-term basis. It is strictly forbidden to destroy
any means of production, whether publicly or privately owned, and to waste
consumer goods. Extravagant eating and drinking are forbidden, and attention
should be paid to thrift and economy.

9. Appoint as secretaries of the Party's municipal committee and as mayor
and deputy mayors only persons who have a grasp of policy and are capable.
They should train all their personnel and explain urban policies and tactics
to them. Now that the city belongs to the people, everything should proceed
in the spirit that the people themselves are responsible for managing the
city. It would be entirely wrong to apply our policies and tactics for cities
under Kuomintang administration to a city under the people's own administration.

NOTES


1. Loyang was an important stronghold of the Kuomintang
troops in the western part of Honan Province. The People's Liberation Army
first took Loyang on March 14, 1948, subsequently evacuated the city on its
own initiative to facilitate the wiping out of the enemy's effective strength
and recaptured Loyang on April 5, 1948.

Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project.