Forwarding the People’s Liberation Army’s Comprehensive Report on Entering Xinjiang [I]
(October 25, 1949)
Comrade Filippov[1]:
I am now forwarding to you the first detailed report from the PLA’s vanguard forces upon their entry into Xinjiang.[3] This report was dispatched on October 18th from Hami by the commander and political commissar of the Second Army of the First Corps of the People’s Liberation Army. At that time, our troops had only reached Hami, Turpan, and Dushan, among other places.


This is a telegram from

Mao Zedong to Stalin.
[2]


Filippov refers to Stalin.
[3]


Refers to the “Comprehensive Report on Entering Xinjiang” submitted at 8:00 p.m. on October 18, 1949, by Guo Peng, commander, and Wang Enmao, political commissar, of the Second Army under the First Corps of the First Field Army of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The report states that our forces set out on October 12 from the line stretching from Jiuquan, Yumen, and Anxi.


As of October 18, the 12th Regiment of the Fourth Division had advanced to Turpan. The 10th Regiment and the division headquarters were then located in Dushan. A portion of the 11th Regiment was being transported by rail toward Dushan, while another part remained in Hami. The corps headquarters, along with the headquarters of the Fifth Division and the 14th and 15th Regiments, were still in Hami. The comprehensive report continued as follows: First, our entry into Xinjiang has been met with an enthusiastic welcome from all ethnic groups in the region. Second, the units that had previously risen under Zhang Zhizhong and Tao Zhiyue exhibited three distinct types of behavior: some saw reactionary elements organizing and inciting Nationalist troops to commit arson prior to the arrival of the PLA, but this practice ceased once our forces arrived; others witnessed such elements instigating Nationalist soldiers to murder and set fires in an attempt to block our advance; yet a third group had consistently maintained local order and protected the lives and property of the people since their uprising. We adopted different policies and approaches toward these three categories of units. Third, the elimination of spy and reactionary elements is a crucial condition for ensuring the successful peaceful liberation of Xinjiang. Fourth, ethnic issues in Xinjiang remain complex, but thanks to the Party’s sound ethnic policy, we are fully confident that we can unite all ethnic groups in Xinjiang and strive together to build a new Xinjiang. Fifth, our troops’ discipline has earned high praise among the general public.


By October 20, they had advanced further to Dihua[4] and Yanzui.
Mao Zedong
October 25, 1949


Dihua, now Urumqi, Xinjiang.