Endorsement on the Forwarding of the Central-South Bureau’s Directive on Strengthening Propaganda Work for the Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries

(30 March 1951)

To all central bureaus, the great military regions, and to be forwarded to sub-bureaus, provincial party committees, district party committees, large and medium municipal party committees, prefectural party committees, and local military districts, and to be communicated to all departments directly under the Central Committee:

Insufficient propaganda in the work of suppressing counterrevolutionaries is a widespread phenomenon. The newspapers expose far too little of the activities of counterrevolutionary elements. In guiding the broad masses of the people and democratic personages from all circles to participate in the work of suppressing counterrevolutionaries and to truly be informed of and involved in these matters, very little has been done in all localities. In many places, people are timid and hesitant, not daring to kill counterrevolutionaries with great fanfare. This situation must be changed immediately. Over the past two weeks, the two municipalities of Beijing and Tianjin have made great progress. They have carried out the suppression of counterrevolutionaries with great fanfare, conducted extensive propaganda, and carried out widespread exposure. Utilizing meetings of several dozen, over a hundred, several hundred, several thousand, and even over ten thousand people, utilizing newspapers and radio stations, and utilizing exhibitions, they have propagated on a large scale, making it known to every household, enabling all the people and democratic personages from all circles to participate in the work of suppressing counterrevolutionaries, shattering the work style of mysticism, petty and timid actions, and hesitancy, with very great results. The Central-South Bureau has now also issued a directive to expand propaganda for the suppression of counterrevolutionaries, which may serve as a reference for all localities.

Mao Zedong
30 March