The Central Military Commission forwarded Comrade Su Yu’s telegram [1] concerning his recommendations for the disposition of affairs following the capture of the Zhoushan Islands (May 18, 1950). To the Guangdong Military Region, the Fifteenth Corps, with copy to the Central-South Military Region: According to Comrade Su Yu’s letter of May 16 addressed to the Seventh Corps regarding the post-capture handling of the Zhoushan Islands, he stated: “All enemy airfields, docks, warehouses, barracks, and various transportation and construction facilities on all the islands should be properly and fully guarded.
In particular, the enemy’s forward coastal defensive positions, secondary defensive works, and key fortifications in the depth of the defenses should be assigned to specialized units for garrison and supervision; no destruction is to be permitted.
Should it be discovered that local residents are taking advantage of the situation to dismantle and damage such structures, appropriate measures must be taken to prevent and stop this, while at the same time mobilizing and persuading them to comply with our military regulations.
As for the bandit forces [2] encroaching upon the interests of the people and removing timber and bricks to construct their own fortifications, they too need to be persuaded [3] to exercise temporary patience, pending the restoration of order, after which action may be taken only with the approval of our forces.”
We deem this course of action to be correct.
Hainan Island, the various islands in Guangdong waters, and the entire coastline should likewise be handled in accordance with these instructions.
Please report how you have been proceeding hitherto.
Issued by the Central Military Commission on May 18, based on Mao Zedong’s manuscript.
Notes [1] Su Yu was at the time Deputy Commander of the Third Field Army of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army and Deputy Commander of the East China Military Region.

[2] Refers to the Nationalist government troops who had previously occupied the Zhoushan Islands. [3] Here, it means persuading the local population on the Zhoushan Islands, following the PLA’s occupation of the islands, not to dismantle the fortifications built by the former Nationalist forces or reclaim their own timber and bricks for the time being.