Aside from those responsible for murder, arson, and poisoning, no one else will be executed,
and most will not be arrested. When I say poisoning, I mean food poisoning, not politically.
The counter-revolutionary "May 16" conspiracy group was a secret organization, small in
number. It was quickly discovered, exposed early, and the leader was imprisoned. Don't dig
around too hard, and don't be too broad-based. Criticism is still necessary, but don't force
confessions. Forced confessions are unreliable.

[1] The "May 16th" group was originally a small reactionary organization in Beijing called the
"Capital May 16th Red Guards." They exploited the publication of the "May 16th Notice" in
newspapers in May 1967 to establish a secret organization and conduct clandestine activities
under the banner of implementing this notice, distributing and posting reactionary leaflets
attacking Zhou Enlai. This reactionary organization was quickly uncovered, and its leaders
arrested by public security authorities, essentially resolving the issue. However, in 1968, a
special Central Leading Group for the Investigation of the "May 16th" Case was established,
headed by Chen Boda. During the investigation, many cadres and people who opposed Lin
Biao and Jiang Qing's group were labelled "May 16th" elements. In some localities and units,
the two factions accused each other of being "May 16th" elements. The investigation
campaign was severely escalated, creating confusion and ultimately came to nothing.
[2] The first part of this item is a passage from Mao Zedong's remarks on May 3, 1969, when
discussing the cleansing of the class ranks and the investigation of the "May 16" incident.
The second part is a passage from Mao Zedong's remarks in February 1970, when he again
addressed this issue. Both passages are quoted from the "Minutes of the Central
Committee's Symposium on Security Work," forwarded by the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China on September 7, 1972. Mao Zedong once commented on the
Central Committee's forwarding of these minutes: "Agree."