February 25, 1951

To all central bureaus, with copies to sub-bureaus, provincial party committees, district party committees, and municipal party committees of major cities:

In the major cities, with the exception of those in the Northeast, the work of suppressing counter-revolutionaries has, generally speaking, not yet been carried out earnestly, severely, and on a large scale. From now on, this must begin to be done; there can be no further delay. These cities are mainly Beijing, Tianjin, Qingdao, Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Hankou, Chongqing, and the provincial capitals of all provinces. These are the principal lairs of counter-revolutionary organizations. Reconnaissance and arrests must be arranged in a planned manner, and within a few months, several batches of counter-revolutionary elements whose crimes are grave and well-evidenced must be executed in large numbers. Below is Beijing’s plan for suppressing counter-revolutionaries; please study it and act accordingly. It mentions that it is proposed first to convene a meeting of representatives of people’s congresses at the district level and above, as well as representatives of major factories, universities, democratic parties, and people’s organizations, to report on the situation of the counter-revolutionaries, their various crimes, and the evidence of their offenses, so as to heighten everyone’s hatred of the counter-revolutionaries, and then to carry out the executions in batches. This is absolutely necessary, and all localities should do likewise.

The Central Committee
February 25