[1] Lin, Luo, and Tan, with copies sent to the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and the Tianjin Municipal Committee for onward transmission to their subordinate units, as well as to all Central Bureaus, Sub-bureaus, and Forward Committees:  16 slogans drafted by the Northeast Front Bureau of Xinhua News Agency, forwarded by the Political Department of the Northeast Field Army, together with Chairman Mao’s January statement, have been received and carefully reviewed.


Now that our forces have entered Beijing, we should confine our propaganda solely to the “Eight-Point Charter”  3 and the declaration issued on the 14th; no further slogans are to be disseminated. This applies equally to both the military and the Party and government organs.


Some of the 16 slogans you proposed are already covered by the Eight-Point Charter—for example, “Confiscate bureaucratic capital.” Conversely, many important provisions contained in the Charter are entirely absent from your list, rendering it highly incomplete and giving rise to the impression that these crucial matters are of little significance. The slogan “Implement land reform” is particularly ill-suited to the vegetable plots surrounding major cities. The methods employed in rural land reform must not be applied in the immediate vicinity of large urban centers.


The proclamation of “Eliminate feudal forces” would undoubtedly alarm numerous old-time bureaucrats, warlords, and a large contingent of local tyrants and ruffians holed up in Beijing, who might perceive it as a signal that action is about to be taken against them. Such a development could trigger widespread panic, prompting them to conceal or smuggle away their assets. This, in turn, would create significant obstacles to our future policy of gradually expropriating an appropriate share of their wealth through taxation or other suitable means and turning it over to public ownership.


At present, in large cities, it is more advantageous to leave such feudal wealth undisturbed.


The slogans “Carry the revolution through to the end” and “March on Nanjing and annihilate the Kuomintang reactionaries” should be used exclusively for practical education within the military. They ought not to be displayed as banners in metropolises like Beijing and Tianjin, nor featured as mere catchphrases in advertisements in urban newspapers. Moreover, they should not be shouted at citizens’ meetings in cities such as Beijing and Tianjin while our forces have yet to launch an offensive against Nanjing. To print, display, or proclaim these two slogans in this manner would be highly unwise, given that our Party, in accordance with Chairman Mao’s statement of January 14, is preparing to enter into negotiations with representatives from Nanjing. The aim is to thwart the peace offensive mounted by U.S. imperialism and the Kuomintang and, if possible, to achieve a peaceful resolution of the Nanjing issue along the lines of the settlement reached for Beijing.


As for the remaining slogans, either they are vague and lack substantive meaning—for instance, “Build a New Beijing”—or they have already been incorporated into our Party’s January 14 statement, such as “Convene a New CPPCC.”


Therefore, it suffices to propagate Lin and Luo’s Eight-Point Charter and the key points of Chairman Mao’s January 14 statement; there is no need to introduce an additional set of slogans.


Furthermore, the appropriateness of posting large-character slogans on the walls of major cities like Beijing and Tianjin also warrants careful consideration. We believe that distributing printed copies of the January 14 statement and the Eight-Point Charter would be a more suitable approach.


In sum, the working style applicable in rural areas cannot simply be transposed to urban settings. In large cities, every matter must be re-examined thoroughly, and all actions must be tailored to the specific conditions prevailing in the urban environment. With respect to any relatively significant new developments, prior consultation with higher authorities is essential to avoid errors that could prove difficult to rectify and might have adverse consequences.


Please take heed.


Printed from Mao Zedong’s handwritten manuscript under the supervision of the Central Office.


Notes  1 Lin, Luo, and Tan refer to Lin Biao, Luo Ronghuan, and Tan Zheng, who at the time served respectively as Commander, Political Commissar, and Director of the Political Department of the Northeast Field Army.


 2 The Northeast Field Army, commonly abbreviated as “Dongye.”


 3 Refers to the “Eight-Point Charter” announced in the Notice of the Pingjin Front Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, issued on December 22, 1948, in the names of Lin Biao and Luo Ronghuan. Its main provisions are as follows: (1) Protect the lives and property of all residents in the cities; (2) Safeguard national industry and commerce; (3) Confiscate bureaucratic capital; (4) Protect schools, hospitals, cultural and educational institutions, sports facilities, and all other public buildings; (5) Except for principal war criminals and gravely counter-revolutionary elements, all officials of provincial, municipal, and county-level Kuomintang government organs, police officers, and personnel of district, township, village, and neighborhood committees—provided they do not resist with arms or engage in sabotage—will not be captured or arrested by our forces. Those possessing a useful skill and without reactionary activities or serious misconduct shall be individually recruited by the democratic government; (6) All straggling soldiers and unruly elements are required to surrender themselves to the nearest unit of our army, the garrison command, or the local public security bureau; (7) Ensure the safety of foreign nationals’ lives and property; (8) Whether before or after our forces enter the city, all citizens and persons from various sectors within the city bear joint responsibility for maintaining order and preventing destruction.


 4 Refers to the “Statement on the Current Situation” delivered by Mao Zedong, Chairman of the CPC Central Committee, on January 14, 1949 (“Selected Works of Mao Zedong,” Volume IV, People’s Publishing House, 1991 edition, pp. 1386–1389).