RESOLUTIONS OF THIRD NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PUBLIC SECURITY
(15 May 1951)
The" great number of criminals who are waiting to be sentenced consti
tutes a very big labor force. In order to remold them solve the difficul
ties of prisons, and disallow counterrevolutionaries serving a sentence to
eat without working, it is necessary to take steps immediately to organize
the work of reform through labor.
After this campaign for the suppression of counterrevolutionaries on
a nationwide scale, it is inevitable that the activities of those secret
agents and spies who have not been uncovered will go underground even more.
Accordingly, public security departments should conduct inspection in a more
systematic way and educate the masses in paying attention to the many aspects
in the work of safeguarding [our country] against traitors.
As to those who have committed capital crimes or other very serious
crimes, for which punishment short of the death penalty will not calm public
wrath, and those who have impaired most gravely the national interests, it
is necessary to impose the capital sentence firmly and carry it out promptly.
As to those who have not committed capital crimes and for whom the hatred of
the people is not deep, and those who have seriously impaired the national
interests, but not yet to the most critical extent, and are subject to the
death penalty, it is proper to adopt the policy of imposing the death sen
tence and placing them on two years' probation with forced labor, and watch
ing over the consequences. Particularly with regard to those counter
revolutionaries purged from the ranks of the Communist Party, the People's
Government system, the People's Liberation Army system, cultural and
educational circles, business circles, religious circles, democratic parties,
strtA people's organizations, who are subject to the death penalty, generally
it is necessary to exercise the principle of imposing the capital punishment
on 10-20 percent of them and adopt the policy of passing the death sentence

on the rest, then placing them on probation with forced labor, and watching
over the consequences. In this way, we will be able to gain the sympathy of
society, avoid mistakes on our part in regard to this problem, and split up
and disintegrate our enemies. This will be advantageous in utterly "destroying the counterrevolutionary force, and preserve a big labor force, which
will be beneficial to national production and construction.
*
In addition, it should be clearly stipulated that if there is a ques
tion as to whether or not a person should be arrested, then he should not be
arrested. To make an arrest in such a case would be a mistake. If there is
a question as to whether or not a person should be executed, then he should
not be executed. To carry out an execution in such a case would be a mistake.
The campaign for the suppression of counterrevolutionaries now going
on throughout' the country is a great, acute and complex struggle.
where in the country, we have carried out an effective work line which call
for leadership by party committees, mobilization of the whole party, mobili
zation of the masses, drawing people from all the democratic parties and
various circles into taking part in the campaign, unified planning, unified
action, strict examination of the namelists of those people making arrests
or carrying out executions, paying attention to struggle tactics at various
stages, carrying out extensive propaganda and educational work, smashing
closed-door sectarianism and mysticism, and opposing resolutely any ten
dencies toward careless work. Those who comply fully with this line in
their work are completely correct; all those who do not comply with this
line have erred. All those who have in the main complied with .this line,
but not completely, are more or less correct, but not completely correct.
We believe that this work line is a guarantee for continuing the work or
thoroughly suppressing counterrevolutionaries and achieving complete victory.
Henceforth, we must adhere closely to this work line in suppressing counter
revolutionaries. In this line the two most important points are the strict
examination of the namelists of people identified for arrest or execution,
and carrying out propaganda and educational work well and extensively,
we accomplish these two points, we shall avoid making mistakes.
- 10 ^