Comment on the Report on the Arrest of Counterrevolutionaries
(March 25, 1951)

To all Central Bureaus, and forward to Sub-Bureaus, Provincial Party Committees, Regional Party Committees, Party Committees of large and medium-sized municipalities, and Prefectural Party Committees:

This document (to be forwarded all the way down to the Prefectural Party Committees) expresses the hope that the arrest of counterrevolutionaries in all localities shall be handled in accordance with the methods of the Tianjin Prefecture (excluding Tianjin Municipality), so as to prevent indiscriminate arrests.

Mao Zedong
March 25

[I]
1. Full preparation, meticulous organization, and division of responsibilities.
2. Arrests were made by warrant, with the arrest warrant clearly indicating the name, age, distinguishing features, address, and nature of the crime. This not only upheld the statutory procedures but also ensured accurate arrests, avoiding mistaken or indiscriminate seizures.
3. Discipline was announced prior to the arrests, which greatly enhanced the sense of responsibility of the cadres, ensuring that no disorder occurred during the execution of this arduous task and that order was perfectly maintained.

--- Notes

Refers to the report submitted by the Public Security Department of the People's Government of Hebei Province on March 10, 1951, to the Ministry of Public Security of the Central People's Government, concerning the situation of the arrest of counterrevolutionaries in the Tianjin Prefecture. The report states that on the evening of March 3, the Tianjin Prefecture mobilized cadres at the district level and above, various armed forces, and even village cadres, totaling over ten thousand people, who, with the momentum of a thunderous encirclement, arrested major counterrevolutionary elements, including enemy and puppet party, secret service, military, and political personnel, as well as habitual bandits, local tyrants, and ringleaders of evil forces. The targets were accurately identified, the organization was tight, discipline was strict, the action was swift, the net was cast wide and hauled in completely, and not a single person was wrongly seized. The broad masses clapped their hands in delight, while the reactionary elements were stricken with terror and fear. Their experience was as follows: