Comment on the Directive Issued to Subordinate Municipal and Prefectural Party Committees
(March 20, 1951)

To all Central Bureaus, all Greater Military Regions, and forward to Sub-Bureaus, Provincial Party Committees, Municipal Party Committees of large and medium cities, District Party Committees, Provincial Military Districts, Army Corps and Armies, with copies to the Party Committee of the Chinese People's Volunteers and all department heads of the Central Military Commission:

Below is the directive issued by the Shandong Sub-Bureau to its subordinate municipal and prefectural Party committees following the assassination of Comrade Huang Zuyan[1]. The Central Committee deems this directive correct and hereby forwards it to you. You are requested to discuss it together with the Central Committee's directive of March 18 on this matter[2], formulate your own decisions, guide your subordinate units, and resolutely implement them. The Central Committee seriously calls your attention to the necessity of attaching importance to this matter; under no circumstances should it be treated lightly.

The Central Committee
March 20

[1]
The directive of the Shandong Sub-Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, dated March 14, 1951, pointed out: The assassination and martyrdom of Comrade Huang Zuyan demonstrates that as our resolute suppression of counter-revolutionaries deepens and becomes more concrete, class enemies are resorting to terrorist tactics of assassination and covert murder to carry out retaliation, attempting thereby to sow confusion within our ranks and shake our determination to suppress counter-revolutionaries. This incident likewise exposes impurity within our own organization and laxity and weakness in our security work. To prevent the recurrence of similar incidents, the Shandong Sub-Bureau's directive put forward seven points of opinion, including educating the entire Party with this bloody incident and strengthening security work for Party and government organs and leading cadres.

[2]
Refers to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China's circular of March 18, 1951, regarding the assassination of Comrade Huang Zuyan, Director of the Political Department of the Shandong Military Region.