Reply and Instructions on the Report Concerning the Screening of Retained Personnel[1]

(February 10, 1951)

To:
North China

The report of the North China Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China points out that, because very few counter-revolutionaries were executed before October 1950 and almost no one was killed during the land reform in the newly liberated areas with a population of 15 million, social order in the newly liberated areas became extremely unstable after the Korean War broke out. After October, a number of counter-revolutionaries were executed in various places, and the Yiguandao sect was dealt widespread and severe blows. As a result, the people were heartened, rumors subsided, and social order was stabilized. However, some who deserved to be killed were not killed, and some who deserved to be arrested were not arrested. Therefore, a further plan for suppressing counter-revolutionaries was formulated, and several points to be grasped in implementing the plan were put forward:

1. There must be leadership, preparation, and planning. After the operation begins, timely reports must be made so as to exchange information and provide timely guidance.
2. Clearly define the targets of suppression. The first is spies; the second, bandit chieftains and habitual bandits; the third, sect members, mainly of Yiguandao; the fourth, despotic landlords; and the fifth, returning puppet military and political personnel with proven counter-revolutionary evidence. The focus should be on the first three categories.
3. Old areas, semi-old areas, and newly liberated areas should be treated differently and must not be confused. In old areas, only a small number of returning counter-revolutionaries with proven evidence and landlord despots engaged in restoration activities should be executed. In semi-old areas, where the work is not yet thorough, a batch should be arrested and executed. In areas where land reform was carried out by peaceful means and in the newly liberated areas of Suiyuan, several batches must be severely executed.
4. Counter-revolutionaries who deserved execution but were given light sentences or mistakenly released may have their cases reviewed and sentences revised.
5. While resolutely suppressing counter-revolutionaries, it is necessary to strengthen united front work, combining the severe execution of a batch with the broad unity of a batch. When dealing with prominent democratic personages, approval from the Central Committee must be sought before execution. With regard to insurrectionary officers, the principle should be followed that actions before the insurrection are not to be pursued, and those who engage in counter-revolutionary activities after the insurrection must be arrested only with conclusive evidence and handled after consultation with the insurrectionary commanders. The report also points out that, in order to consolidate our ranks and distinguish between revolutionaries and counter-revolutionaries, it is absolutely necessary to universally carry out a "three checks" campaign—checking history, checking political stand, and checking work—among retained personnel and new intellectuals. To gain experience, it has been decided to first conduct pilot projects in the cities of Beijing and Tianjin, the provincial capitals, and the Tianjin Railway Bureau, and then consider expanding the campaign after gaining experience.

North China Bureau:
Your report of February 9 on the redeployment of the suppression of counter-revolutionaries and the trial implementation of the "three checks" among retained personnel has been received. We approve your plan and methods and expect you to resolutely carry them out.
The Central Committee
February 10

To:
East China Bureau, Shandong Sub-Bureau, Central-South Bureau, South China Sub-Bureau, Northwest Bureau, Southwest Bureau, Northeast Bureau:
Below is the North China Bureau’s February 9 plan for the redeployment of the suppression of counter-revolutionaries. It reveals the problems existing in North China and the policies to be adopted. The North China Bureau’s report also raises the issue of screening retained personnel and new intellectuals through the rectification method. This work should begin in North China, and after experience is gained, we will inform you. In the regions of East China, Central-South, Southwest, and Northwest, the time is not yet ripe, and it is necessary to wait for a period, but attention should also begin to be paid to this issue. According to a report from the Hubei Provincial Public Security Department, 160 individuals, including spies, local despots, bandits, members of reactionary parties, and secret societies, have been arrested in provincial-level organs. Among them, the provincial party committee accounts for 22 percent, the provincial government for 74 percent, Zhongyuan University for 3 percent, and the military region for 1 percent, including five department heads. This shows the seriousness of the problem, and attention must therefore begin to be paid.
The Central Committee
February 10