Comment on Suppressing and Liquidating
Counterrevolutionaries

(May 8, 1951)

Source: Xuanji, V, pp. 43-44. Available English Translation: SW, V. F
54-56.

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« Central Committee has made the following decision regarding the
errevolutionaries purged from within the Communist Party, and from
count ople’s Liberation Army, the People's Government system, educational,
the |, commercial, and religious circles, and from within the various
industri ; ' SINT
atic parties and the various people's organizations: Those people
crimes are Nol so serious as to warrant their execution ought to be sen-fo limited [prison] terms or to life imprisonment, or to be placed under
ision and surveillance; apart from these, among those elements who do
4 0a execution, only those who have committed crimes that involved taking people's lives, and those who have committed other serious crimes that
juve incurred the anger of the masses, such as in cases of raping many women
of sicaling large amounts of property, and those who have most seriously
damaged the national interest, will be executed; as 10 the rest, we will adopt a
uniform policy Of sentencing them to death but giving them a two year rep-reve, during which period they will be forced to take part in labor, and [final
judgment will be made} on the basis of how they behave.” This policy is a
palicy of caution that will prevent mistakes. This policy can gain extensive
support among @ broad range of people in society, This policy can split the
counterrevolutionary forces and thus facilitate the complete extermination of
the counterrevolutionaries. In addition, this policy will conserve a lot of labor
power and so facilitate the task of national reconstruction. Therefore, it is a
correct policy. It is estimated that among the counterrevolutionaries who, as
we have mentioned above. have been purged from within the Party, the gov-
émment, the military, educational and economic circles and from the
[people's] organizations, and who deserve to be executed, those who have
committed crimes involving the taking of lives or other crimes that have
aroused the anger of the masses and those who have most seriously damaged
the national interest constitute only a very small minority, generally not
exceeding ten or twenty per cent, while those who should be sentenced to
Geath but [are to be] given a reprieve probably constitute eighty or ninety per
cent, Which means that eighty to ninety per cent of the capital offenders will
be reprieved and not executed. These people are different from the bandit
chiefs, incorrigible criminals, and local ruffians and petty tyrants in the rural
“eas, and from local tyrants, bandit leaders, incorrigible criminals, big chiefs
4M0ng hoodlums, and the big bosses of secret societies, gangs and sects in the
fea they are also different from certain secret agents who have fost
“rely damaged the national interest in that they have not committed crimes
YolVing the taking of people's lives of other serious crimes that have
fa the deep hatred of the masses.’ The degree to which they have dam-have rad national interest is serious, but it is still not the most serious. They
Sommitted capital offenses, but the masses were not directly harmed, If
Execute these people, it will not be easily understood by the masses and
bite figures, and society will not give us its full support; al the same time, a
“Chem Smount of labor power will be lost, and the purpose of splitting the
Y forces will not be served, and, moreover, we might make mistakes on

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190 ¢ MAO ZEDONG

this problem, Thus, the Central Committee has decided to adopt, with regan
to this type of people, a policy of sentencing them to death but giving then,
reprieve, forcing them to take part in labor, and (making the final judgmen
on the basis of how they behave. If among these persons there are some wh
cannot be reformed and who continue to do bad deeds, we can still execy
them later; the power to take action is in our hands. In disposing of counteng
volutionaries purged from within Party, government, military, education;
and economic circles, and from |people’s} organizations, all local authoritie
are requested to handle matters in accordance with the above-stated prin
ples. For the sake of being cautious, all [lower levels) should apply for
approval of the [authorities at the level of) the greater administrative region
or the military regions in handling all cases involving that very small minori
of people whose death sentence ought to be carried out [in general constitutis
ten to twenty per cent of those who have committed capital crimes]. Wil
regard to [handling cases) where important elements in the United Front* at
involved, approval from the Central Committee must be solicited. In addition
with regard to the counterrevolutionaries in the rural areas, we must also ex
cute only those whose execution is absolutely necessary to appease the hatre
of the people and must not execute any person whose execution is_
demanded by the people. Among these there will be some people to whom th
policy of passing the death sentence but giving them a reprieve should also he
applied, Those whose execution is demanded by the people, on the othe
hand, must be executed to quiet the people’s anger and to promote prodt
tion.

Notes

L. See text Sept. 21, 1949, note 1, and text Oci. 1, 1949, note 3.
2. This decision is reflected in the resolutions of the ‘Third National Conference on Pu
Security, for which Mao wrote several paragraphs of instructions. See text May 15, 1951,
3, See text Jan, 17, 1951, note I i
4. Mao is most likely referring to important jnembers of the national bourgeoisie who-muny have
engaged in coumterrevolutionary activities of a sor in the past but whose cooperation was needs
to consolidate the united front with the national bourgeoisie in general, See text March 12
this volume, note 3. For the nature of the “United Front” mentioned here, see text Feb. 18, (93
note 13.

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