Commentary on the Need to Be Vigilant Against Kuomintang Forces Fleeing to Burma Coordinating with Tibetan Rebels to Intensify Provocations Along Our Border (May 4, 1959)

Comrade Ke Cheng [1]:   (1) The third intelligence report [2] should be forwarded to the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and the Military Region, with copies transmitted down through all levels of the Party, government, and military in the relevant areas, right down to the grassroots cadres, so as to heighten vigilance and prepare for possible disturbances.   (2) Instruct the Yunnan Provincial Party Committee and the Military Region to immediately strengthen work in the pertinent regions, dispatch capable personnel to various localities to investigate the situation and formulate countermeasures. Under no circumstances should they be complacent or readily accept routine written reports from below claiming that all is peaceful. The Central Military Commission should also send representatives to Yunnan to lay out corresponding measures.

Mao Zedong, 5:00 a.m. on May 4, printed from the manuscript.

Notes  [1] Ke Cheng refers to Huang Kecheng, who at the time served as a Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, Secretary-General of the Central Military Commission, and Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army.

[2] This intelligence report states that Liu Yuanlin, the commander-in-chief of the Kuomintang forces that had fled to Burma, was ordered to travel to Taiwan in mid-February of this year. There he was personally received by Chiang Kai-shek and others, who instructed him to do everything possible to support bandit and spy activities in Yunnan, Tibet, and other areas, and promised to increase funding and supplies for his units in order to consolidate and expand their strength. Upon returning to Burma, Liu Yuanlin began active preparations, planning to focus on the Ximeng area of Yunnan, gather bandits, and instigate an uprising. Beside the title of this intelligence report, Mao Zedong also wrote the word “Attention.”