Commentary by the Central Committee on the North China Bureau’s Directive Concerning the Suppression-of-Counterrevolutionaries Campaign (May 7, 1951) To all Central Bureaus and Sub-bureaus, with copy to provincial, municipal, and district Party committees:

We hereby transmit to you the North China Bureau’s directive of May 6 concerning the suppression-of-counterrevolutionaries campaign [1]. The Central Committee deems this directive entirely correct, and all localities are to implement it accordingly.

It is hereby decided that, effective June 1, authority to approve arrests—except in cases of persons caught in the act—shall be centralized at the prefectural level nationwide, while authority to approve executions shall be centralized at the provincial level. For areas far from provincial capitals, representatives designated by the provinces shall be dispatched to handle such matters. All localities are to comply strictly with these provisions.

Clearing the backlog of pending cases is an extremely arduous task for the next few months. Localities must mobilize large numbers of cadres and, within a few months, bring the backlog largely under control, overhaul the prisons, and organize labor-reform programs. During the clearance period, except for those caught in the act and for a small number of cases determined by the respective Central Bureaus, all arrests are to be suspended; apprehensions of those who ought to be arrested are to resume only after the backlog has been cleared. The period from June 1 to September 30—four months in total—is hereby designated as the time for clearing the backlog and, concurrently, as the period during which arrests are to be suspended.

Within these four months, the intensive review of “intermediate” and “inner-layer” elements must be carried out conscientiously. Any instances requiring the arrest of a few key suspects must be submitted to the Central Bureau for approval.

Printed on May 7 based on Mao Zedong’s manuscript.

Note [1]: The directive issued by the North China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on the suppression-of-counterrevolutionaries campaign stipulates that, in order to resolutely yet steadily implement the Central Committee’s instructions on strictly controlling the execution rate, it is decided as follows: (1) Large-scale arrests and executions are to be concluded within May; (2) From the date of receipt of this telegram, authority over arrests is to be centralized at the prefectural Party committees and administrative offices; except in cases of persons caught in the act, county-level authorities are not permitted to authorize arrests; (3) From the date of receipt of this telegram, authority to approve capital punishment is to be centralized at the provincial Party committees and provincial people’s governments.