Commentary on the Compilation and Publication of a Pamphlet Featuring Cases of Lawlessness and Disciplinary Violations by Public Security Bureau Chiefs [1] (January 30, 1953) To Liu, Zhou, and Deng [2]: Please review this and forward it to Comrade Luo Ruiqing [3]. There may still be other public security bureau chiefs who are utterly unfit for their posts, such as Gao Fujiang, head of the Taoyang County Public Security Bureau in Hunan, and Su Peng, head of the Tongwei County Public Security Bureau in Gansu. In the past, there have also been serious incidents, including the arbitrary execution of several people in a certain district of Shaoyang, Hunan, and instances of lawlessness and disciplinary breaches by the head of the Neihuang Public Security Bureau in Pingyuan Province.  I suggest you consider collecting these vivid examples, adding an introductory essay, and publishing them as a small pamphlet [4]. This should be distributed to the heads of public security departments at the provincial and county levels, and used as instructional material at conferences of public security bureau chiefs held in each province, so as to provide all public security bureau chiefs nationwide with a basic understanding of their duties and responsibilities, thereby preventing individuals lacking even the most elementary common sense from serving in such positions.

Mao Zedong January 30th. Printed from the manuscript.

Notes [1] This commentary was written on a report dated January 14, 1953, submitted by the Party Group of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate to the Political-Legal Sub-Group of the Central Committee and to the Central authorities, concerning a grave incident in Taoyang County, Yiyang Prefecture, Hunan Province, during the “Strike Hard” campaign, in which torture and coerced confessions were employed, leading to a chain of wrongful convictions. [2] Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi; Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai; Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at the time served as Vice Premier of the Government Administration Council. [3] Luo Ruiqing was then Deputy Director of the Political-Legal Commission of the Government Administration Council and Minister of Public Security. [4] Following Mao Zedong’s instruction, the Central Ministry of Public Security compiled and published a pamphlet titled “Oppose Torture and Coerced Confessions; Oppose Lawlessness and Disciplinary Violations.” A notice issued on November 1, 1953, stated that the purpose of producing this pamphlet was to launch a campaign within the public security system against bureaucracy, commandism, and lawlessness and disciplinary violations, in order to educate public security cadres across the country and raise their ideological, policy, and professional standards. The pamphlet consisted of two parts: the first and main section presented cases involving arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture and coerced confessions, exaggeration, and the fabrication of false cases; the second section dealt with opposition to lawlessness and disciplinary breaches, remnants of the Nationalist police style, and coercive, improper, or misdirected administrative practices. At the beginning of the pamphlet was printed Mao Zedong’s above-mentioned commentary, together with an introductory note prepared by the Central Ministry of Public Security. In his commentary, Mao cited three cases involving county-level public security bureau chiefs—the “Baoshan Party” case in Taoyang County, Hunan; the “Yuan Junshan Spy” case in Tongwei County, Gansu; and the degeneration of Liu Junde, former deputy director of the Neihuang County Public Security Bureau in Pingyuan Province, who had lost all sense of distinction between friend and foe—all of which were included in the first part of the pamphlet.