To all central bureaus, and forward to sub-bureaus, [municipal party committees] in large and medium cities, and district party committees:

According to a report from the Central Ministry of Public Security dated March 22, the recent period of counterrevolutionary suppression work has yielded two outstanding experiences: First, the planned, prepared, and large-scale arrest of large numbers of counterrevolutionary elements within the same time frame. Actual operations in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Pingyuan, and Chahar have proven that this is an effective and indispensable step in rounding up social counterrevolutionaries. This method deals the greatest blow to the enemy, profoundly educates the masses, and causes relatively little social disturbance. As long as the principles of thorough preparation, accurate targeting, tight organization, unified command, swift action, strict discipline, and timely propaganda are upheld, it can be guaranteed that no wrongful arrests will be made, thereby winning the support of the masses and the sympathy of society. Second, the experience of cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, and Zhangjiakou has proven that convening enlarged meetings of city-level and district-level representative conferences from all circles and consultative committees, with the participation of many representative figures from the democratic parties, democratic personages, ethnic minorities, religious circles, and industrial and commercial circles, in order to expose the crimes of counterrevolutionaries, propagate the policy of suppressing counterrevolutionaries, dispel the ideological misgivings of democratic personages, and mobilize all strata to resolutely suppress counterrevolutionaries, is a successful method. Summarizing the experience of these several localities: First, responsible leading comrades personally preside, public security organs deliver reports on the situation of counterrevolutionary suppression, and case introductions are made in a prepared and categorized manner, introducing only major cases and principal culprits, not reporting on all offenders. Use living persons and living events to explain policy, arouse hatred toward counterrevolutionaries, and win the support of personages from all circles. Second, at the meetings, exhibit criminal evidence, photographs, case files, confessions, and incontrovertible proof of counterrevolutionaries, so as to dispel all kinds of misgivings. Third, thorough preparations must be made before the meetings, and principles must be upheld during the meetings. For cases already decided for execution, the decisions must be firmly upheld without alteration. Fourth, combine upper and lower levels, mobilize the strength of the masses, and persuade democratic personages. Fifth, differentiate treatment: for those who sincerely support but have misgivings, patiently explain and raise their understanding; for those with ulterior motives, use factual ironclad evidence to leave them with nothing to say. We believe that such practices should be popularized, and so forth. These two points are well summarized; please take note and act accordingly.

Mao Zedong
April 10