carried out. Moreover, in the meetings, the middle
peasant’s opinions should be carefully respected and
his good opinions should be adopted. If middle
peasants hold incorrect opinions, they should be
patiently persuaded or given appropriate criticism. But
[though] criticisms are under special conditions even
necessary, struggle is still for the fundamental principle
of uniting all the middle peasants.
Thirdly, the just and equitable distribution of public
duties must be achieved. For example, the public grain
burden support to the front and all other mobilization
of man-power and financial power must absolutely not
be all placed on the middle peasants because the
landlords and rich peasant cannot bear them. This is
what the middle peasant fears the most, and is also
incorrect. Appropriate consideration for the poor
peasants and farm labourers on the matter of public
duties is necessary, but it must not vary too greatly
from that of middle peasants, and the final distribution
of all public duties must be discussed and passed by
the peasant union, comprising all the peasants.
So long as the class standing is not incorrectly
determined, the interests of the middle peasants are
not infringed on and they are absorbed into managing
affairs and so long as the distribution of public duties
is just and equitable, day-to-day. Consideration is
given to middle peasants, and they are constantly
educated, the entire body of middle peasants can
surely be united very well. This then is in accordance
with the principles of Communism. Leading organs
must be constantly attentive and conduct inspection
at all times; if tendencies to infringe on the interests
of, or exclude, the middle peasants are discovered,
they must be [made] public. It must be made known to
all and be published in the newspapers.
(Note: The term “producing rich peasant” used in
the text is an incorrect term formerly employed by some
workers in the Shanshi-Suiyuan area, incorrectly
classifying as rich peasants some peasants who did
not engage in exploitation, but whose family
possessions were comparatively high. Taking quantity
of possessions or standard of living, instead of
relationship and degree of exploitation as criterion in
demarcating people as rich peasants, is entirely wrong,
and Jen Pi-shin employs this term in criticizing its
incorrectness.
Methods of Struggle against Landlords and Rich
Peasants
Economically to eliminate the landlords as a class
is no easy thing. It is a fierce battle. After the landlord
class has been overthrown politically, they devise all
possible schemes to maintain their strength
economically, scheming at all time for a restoration.
Landlords and rich peasants exhaust all time methods
of boring their way into the government and party,
October - 2018
giving their daughters in marriage to working
personnel, buying over stooges, bad personnel and
bad party members, Therefore the consistent carrying
out of agrarian reform requires much of delicacy and
art in leadership. Only when the masses of the people
are really set in motion, can the feudal classes be
eliminated. Simple and hasty methods must absolutely
not be applied.
The elimination of the landlord class and the
wiping out of the feudal system consists mainly in
confiscating the property of the landlord class — land,
grain, ploughing animals, agricultural implements, etc.
— and requisitioning the surplus property of the rich
peasants for distribution to peasants. The most basic
of these is distribution of the land. The government
should issue agricultural loans to help the peasants
solve their difficulties after the distribution of the land,
the peasants must be called on to produce
industriously, improve agricultural technique, develop
the mutual aid co-operative movement so that the
livelihood of the peasants will be improved. The
democratic government and the People’s Liberation
Army have sufficient public grain in the interests of
conquering the enemy, so that daily increasing
quantities of grain and raw materials are sold as
commodities providing the urban population and
industries with sufficient agricultural products.
The struggle against landlords should be differen-
tiated from the struggle against rich peasants. The
Basic Program on Chinese Agrarian Law stipulates
the abolition of the rights of land ownership of the
landlord class and the confiscation of the landlords’
ploughing animals, agricultural implements, buildings
and other property. With regard to rich peasants, apart
from the land, which is equally distributed in common,
only the surplus portion of the above named property
is requisitioned and not total confiscation. Struggling
against the rich peasants in the same way as against
the landlord is not only confusing the above differen-
tiation, but, even more important, may lead to fear
and vacillation on the part of the middle peasants.
As for the methods of struggle against landlords,
distinction should also be made between big, medium
and small landlords, between despotic and non-
despotic landlords. Big landlords and tyrants should
be dealt with more sternly as a warning to other
landlords, those who give up their land and property
need not necessarily be dealt with through mass
meetings.
Social Security
We adopt a policy of elimination toward the class
exploitation system of the landlords, but we do not
adopt a policy of elimination toward the landlord as a
person. All landlords, with the exception of small
number of traitors and civil war criminals tried and
convicted by the courts, should be given land and
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