LAND REFORM/COMMUNIST ORGANIZATIONAL LEVELS IN PEKING/UNIVERSITY FOR POLITICAL STUDIES, PEKING

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600030182-7
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 1, 2011
• Sequence Number: 182
• Publication Date: November 1, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

CLP:: S I F I CATi ON 'ONr IDENTIAL~
CENTRAL INTEL 1 i NCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
SUBJECT Land flefosn/Go=unisc Organizational Levels in
Peking/University for Political Studies, Peking
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE (Of
DATE
ACQUIRED
y
ware Merely replacel.
3. Ater organisation was tar snnunh .a-....pd, land reforr agitation began.
REPORT
CD NO.
DATE DISTR. N?or 52
NO OF PAGES 4
NO. OF ENCLS.
LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
bead Beform - 1940-1941
1. Just before the war wlth Japan, which began in 1937, Chiang Kai-shek had driven the
Chinese Communist forc.s back into the area of Shenshi Province where they set up
their capital at Yeran. When t:ie Japanese attacked China and occupied the western
coast it vac an excellent breather fo_ the Communists and an opportunity to expand
operations. They swept out from Shsnehi across Shansi and into Hopeh killing off
the leaders of brigand groups who were passing themselves off as Chinese patriots
in those areas and organizing the banditry under Cou unist leadership ostensibly
to fight the Japanese. This Communist sweep had a double purpose. First, to get
a hold on the people; and secondly, to organize the guerrillas. The e)apoasis in
either case was on the organization of the people-of that area under Comsunist
leadership.
2. Techniques of organization were, first, to begin with a good and gentle front.
Then men, women, and children were organised into their special groups. The wont
respected leaders of villages were appointed leaders of the various new organiza-
tions. There was no requirement that a leader aunt be a Communist or know Coa-
mnist principles. To get the people organized wits the thing. Then, gradually,
CONVanist ideas were .utroduce. through select Communist elements in the various
organisations, and as tho people becawe more indoctrinated in Cosrmist principles
they were lad to criticise the original group leaders as act "eager anough? to
its the people's will accomplished. These leaders were soaetlass ligpidata4,
but usuall
they
caMS
cane solidly rots: Ccsaunlst control and were fitted-out
with a sort of Comunist core C.Mmt-ag o ag ng cossaittee within the
larger committee. This agitation committee was headed by the propertyless and the
ne'er-do-wells of the villages - the buss, in other words. It vas designed to
village, axle up of the heads of families - 941 these
itt
CLASSIFICATION CONP'ID
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 anitizea copy Hpprovea tor Keiease
rr.: nom,:
attack +h_ , :
hired hands w^w:_? ;? r - - t.11Fm),
. L,Ir-iwruu-uuuucInuuuuuuu.,u
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.. -?irge areas of land and had tenants or
4. The meetingsof the co ittees were now filled with demands for justice
for the poor aa:, - "a CO- oan o ht t
u
h
s
Others who had no c;;mplaint against the landlordtwouldonotwdare sayuaanythin".
Usually landlords f:P_r^ nct killed but they were tortured, beaten badly, and g?
snagged through t'o ,l.1a.e. Their families were driven from home W. all ware
reduced to beggfn.. al;* It d:dr't end here. The farmers' cosn1ttee would then
determine from wbc't ewe `u wt-it villages the dispossessed would, be free to beg.
Persons who did r r,,.,? as.on to feed the ex-landlords and their families,
,~,nd did so, wr!,iu I with the Caine crime as the landlords and would
likewise be i:.:,.. :: aoncs. Alter about one-half to one
possessed w' ld to v?- i h,use and a plot of land like eveyear r onehelse sand
the ordeal w' o~-":. Y
$
ave a better break". There was no
sudden
grac f:?r .he prcrei ty r .,f the rich. The agitating committees spent hours
and days desiga.ng ways to separate the landlords from their possessions under
a pretext of justi=e. The usual first charge was that the landlord had dealt un-
fairly with a tenant or a hired hand with respect to pay, perhaps 10 years
previously. Le'_ us saw tha+. at that time (about 1930) a landlord paid a tenant
or worker an eq'.,ival._n'. .u Cb+.nese money of US$70 for a year's work (a fairly
good wage for the t_fe.). The Communist agitators in the farmers' committee would
arbitrarily ?:ontend t3--e way,- was unjust - the man should have been paid US$150.
Then':fore, the lar.9.vr; w,.,,;-Id nog, owe the worker US$80 principle, plus the interest
that would ha:'e a._ucd rn M$80 over the 10 year period. The worker who was to
benefit from th'i "ius.1-e' was often. temptad to become an ardent Communist and
to support the charge., icr reasons of gain. Another device was this one. Ten
years ago a landlora, by ac_ident, killed a chicken of a poor neighbor. He must
now pay 10 years' a::rued interest on the chicken. He must pay for all the eggs
that chicken would have laid, which in turn would have become chickens, am(:,
further, he must pay interres?, on these unborn chickens. just another way of
saying he must surrecder all he owns.
A" VVl the
_ :;ttCC: had fabricated sufficient of this sort of "evidence"
against a landlord, further ,-,omIlaints would be.gathered from the people of the
village at a pulls' . van the condemned landlord seated on a platform before
em, I'very ccomirlaint be hard. Then a Communist leader would say, "What
do you think, k.ll him?" Plant
CaMMImist Organizational Levels Sr. Peking
were two gain levels of organisations territorial and occupational-pro-
fassieoal. At the terricorlsl level the saallert cell was the Rutung, or side
atreet,.coaprioing maybe one hundred families. In the.beginaing a great shoe of
dsnocratic process as made - officers vere elected
respected ambers of the street. In the early s, too, wowithin nt the he the more
thane would be meetings to discuss the beauties of Camesunism - one day fqr the mm,
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 opy Approved ease
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another for r3, Thee side-stress. calls were
consolidated into larger -r.r tc: al units, arbitrarily set, but usually con-
forming :onveaient geographi, ?.'^nsiderat ons - usually a block of several
street
Th
s.
ese blocks of :ells node communication of quasi-governmeatel
directives Part ins tractions) very easy The occ ti
L
a
r
y wor arm,: sue
workers, miners, etc: Each skill within each factory formed its own cell, .These
iarious intra-factory cellos were combined into a factory. organiyation.and.then
there was a city-wide organisation for each industry inthat ascending?or'sr.
?
p
ons were organized
- part.%:ular ri:asi?a was on the. facto
8. The indoctrination of the workers vent on in this fashion. he?general.aim was
to bring the workers to 'look upon *hr factori.es as their. property - to cease
to look selfishly for a better salary- - and to realiae?that the good of th4
factory-yam the good .?f the workers. Austerity programs were. then suggested by
Communist elements: Workers were invited to reduce their salaries somewhat after
this example. Coal miners, or steel workers might normally expeot in. salary
300 to 400 pounds of millet per month (that is, sufficient currency.: to purc;uae
that much millet). The worker is.told politely he is actually worth less than
that, and he is asked to write down his daily duties and place.atter:each duty
the 'number of value points the Communist factory leadership. bee set-fog that unit
of?aorki Then the worker is told his "self" estimate of his value to?the factory
is overrated;-that is slight reduction is in.order. The worker is finally
"shaken down" after some cautious haggling en his part to a certain monthly wage
day a~ 'his uvrmal salaryf At this point he
is?saksd how aach he foels?he
ought-too give to factory maintenance and production needs. If he balks be-is
rem3nded? that he is "still unconscious of the par4, he plays in ?fectesy ownsvskip".
1'hen?usually he offers to reduce his salary another 10% or so.- But ?lf;he.refasea,
he will be placed before the assembled workers and derided until he sibaits.?
After his austerity has been, thus patriotically "self-imposed"y the Mahar does
not:dare'complsir that he was tricked, He goes on?with an outiward,aboy of having
mile the sacrifice willingly. The good worker can't win. "You area
worker", wan oversetr will say. "You 'e 8
c;: ought to work longer ?aad- set a.-good ?a:a>lple
for +he others". Then theocr fellow-is given longer hours and hisassie is
published in the pipes as a patriotic examples to other workers,. .30 too amat
pretend he:actually .volunteered. .
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 This University for political studies in=
12. This university is near the 8uamer palace and is intended to instruct Ccslpmist
leaders and maaipulatore of mazy levels more
tecbniques. It is used also to orient. ~~ a~ silo and
technicians who vill be ass , responsible porno Z. 'i rt u a
line, of work. Admission to~thhee University is not m redUupon p cC stous
academic achievement. While the school is
of schools In Ohms cf Chic tYpe
, actually every ],ais~~:ciity h hprctyes r'ons: ns'. 'is~portaat
..
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