The 18th and 19th Army Corps Are Transferred to the First Field Army

(April 25, 1949)

Xu, Zhou, Luo, and inform Peng:

Your two telegrams of the 24th are noted. (1) We agree to publicly declare Liang Huazhi, Sun Chu, Wang Jingguo, and Dai Bingnan as war criminals, to be arrested and punished. (2) The 20th Army Corps (in its entirety) should move as quickly as possible to the Beiping-Suiyuan Railway to capture Datong, and thereafter be stationed along that line for training and consolidation. (3) The 18th and 19th Army Corps are transferred to the First Field Army. Henceforth, all matters concerning their operations, training, consolidation, and supply shall be under the command and direction of Comrade Peng Dehuai.

Military Commission
25th day, 4th month

Proclamation of the Chinese People's Liberation Army

(April 25, 1949)

The reactionary Kuomintang clique has already refused to accept the peace terms and persists in its criminal stand of waging a war against the nation and the people. The people of the whole country hope that the People's Liberation Army will swiftly eliminate the reactionary Kuomintang clique. We have ordered the People's Liberation Army to advance courageously, wipe out all reactionary Kuomintang troops that dare to resist, arrest all incorrigible war criminals, liberate the people of the whole country, safeguard the independence and integrity of China's territorial sovereignty, and achieve the genuine unification long desired by the people of the whole country. Wherever the People's Liberation Army goes, we earnestly hope that the people of all circles will render assistance. We hereby solemnly proclaim the following eight-point code of conduct, which we wish to observe together with all our people.

(1) Protect the lives and property of all the people. It is hoped that the people of all circles, irrespective of class, belief, or occupation, will maintain order and adopt an attitude of cooperation with the People's Liberation Army. The People's Liberation Army, in turn, will adopt an attitude of cooperation with the people of all circles. Any counter-revolutionary elements or other saboteurs who take advantage of the situation to create disturbances, loot, or engage in destruction shall be severely dealt with.

(2) Protect national industry, commerce, agriculture, and livestock farming. All privately operated factories, shops, banks, warehouses, ships, docks, farms, and pastures shall be protected without exception and shall not be infringed upon. It is hoped that employees in all trades will continue production as usual and that shops in all lines will carry on business as usual.

(3) Confiscate bureaucratic capital. All factories, shops, banks, warehouses, ships, docks, railways, postal services, telegraph, electric lighting, telephones, running water, farms, and pastures operated by the reactionary Kuomintang government and big bureaucrats shall be taken over by the People's Government. Where private shares belonging to national industrial, commercial, agricultural, or livestock farming entrepreneurs are verified through investigation, their ownership shall be recognized.