Directive from the Central Committee on Forwarding the Report from Chahar Province Concerning the Suppression of the Yiguandao Sect (February 21, 1951) To all Central Bureaus, with copy to Branch Bureaus and Party Committees of Provinces, Municipalities, and Directly Governed Cities: In eradicating the Yiguandao, first, thorough preparation and simultaneous action are essential in order to round up all members at one stroke; second, exhibition halls should be set up to carry out propaganda work among the masses. These two measures are broadly similar to those employed when eliminating Kuomintang secret-agent organizations. In addition to the experience of Shanxi Province in suppressing the Yiguandao, which has already been communicated to you [1], there is now another successful case from Chahar Province [2] that merits your consideration. Printed by the Central Committee on February 21st, based on Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft.

Notes [1] Refers to the report dated January 9, 1951, from the Shanxi Provincial Committee of the CPC to the North China Bureau and the Central Committee regarding the suppression of the Yiguandao; see note [1] on page [ ] of this volume. [2] Refers to the experience summarized in a telegram dated February 20, 1951, sent by the North China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to the Central Committee and to the provincial committees as well as the municipal committees of Beijing and Tianjin, concerning Chahar Province’s efforts to suppress the Yiguandao. Their main approach was as follows: From November 1950 to February 5, 1951, a unified campaign was conducted throughout the province to apprehend all Yiguandao leaders. Prior to and during the roundup, extensive educational and publicity work was carried out using various forms—newspapers, radio broadcasts, cartoons, exhibitions, grievance meetings, mass rallies, public trials, and so forth—to expose the Yiguandao’s counterrevolutionary crimes and raise the political awareness of cadres and the general public. At present, local authorities are concentrating their efforts on screening and interrogating suspects, hunting down any leaders who have evaded capture, urging members to renounce the sect, denouncing the sect’s leaders, and conducting exposure campaigns in order to consolidate the results.