CONSOLIDATION OF POWER THROUGH CONFESSION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00926A003400040025-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 14, 2006
• Sequence Number: 25
• Publication Date: September 29, 2003
• Content Type: REPORT

Approved ForRelease2007/10/23 : CIA-RDP80-00926A003400040025-4
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY 25X1 REPORT
INFORMATION. REPORT CD NO.
COUNTRY China
SUBJECT Consolidation of Per Through Confession
25X1
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQU I RED
DATE OF INFORMATION
25X1
DATE DISTR.
NO. OF PAGES 2
NO. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
May 1951
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS INFORMATION AFFECTING THE NATIONAL DEFENSE
OF THE UNITED STATES WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE ESPIONAGE ACT 50
U. S. C.. 31 AND 32. AS AMENDED. ITS TRANSMISSION OR THE REVELATION
OF ITS CONTENTS IN ANY MANNER TO AN UNAUTHORIZED PERSON IS PRO-
HIBITED BY LAW. REPRODUCTION OF THIS FORM IS PROHIBITED.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1 Mental reorientation Ins the first step in consolidating Communist power inpiina.
25X1 Union meetings, held.frequenUy, are used to instruct, to indoctrinate?,,andlto
observe the progreeF .:1' member$,. Reports are made of progress in studies, in
25X1 channeling thoughts in the right direction, and in willingness to do menial tasks.
Frank and honest confeseions about one shortcomings and weaknesses are encouraged-
There is a 17t of rticipation In the meetings by those in attendance. Persons ,
are encouraged to speak out.
2 Self-salvation is a concept upon which much stress is laid? It can be achieved by
confession And repentance, and action. Action in doing all kinds Of jobs, no
matter haw menial or base.
3 When the Regime zonquered a new area in China, the first Step was to arrest all
conspicuous persons; that is, 'Men of means, leaders, Christians, people who had
Western or foreign connections of one sort or another, all people whose names
were turned in to the Party and all persons previously earmarked by the advance
Communist agents.
4 This is the general picture and it varies in different cses. For instance, in
Shanghai, Canton, Hanka, Peiping z.nd Nanking, the large populations and inter-
national aspect of these cities haVe forced the Communists to move very slowly.
5 The persons arrested are terrorized for weeks. Then-they have to write two re-
ports about themeelves the self Honest Report (Tzi-Pei-Hsu) and the ruthless
Honest Report (Tan-Pei-Hsu) according to a fixed form. The former is more or
less an: aut biography, birthplace, parents, age, education, employment record,
etc. In the latter report one must tell of training received in spying, spying
assignments, and spies known, thoughts on one's arrest then and now, and finally
conclusions?
CLASSIFICATION CONFIDEEITIALATS OFFICIALS ORM'
STATE EV
ARMY
NAVY
AIR
X
NSRB
FBI
? "?.,
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Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-00926A003400040025-4
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- 2 -
25X1
6 Conclusions include self-criticism, self-redemption, and resolutions on how one
is going to lead a new life. People are urged to report all they know, report
thoroUghIy, honest confessors are forgiven, leniency is only for the honest
'Confessors. Communist agents among the prisoners, posing as prisoners themselves
act as decoys in getting people to be utterly frank and honest about themselves.
FrOM tine to time these decoys are set free as a result of their making honest
confessions about themselves. Trials amount to cross-examination in private
before judges.
7 The Self Honest Reports and the Ruthless Honest Reports are handled as follows:
The judges are chosen from high school or college students or people with some
education. Each judge has a certain number of prisoners assigned to him, and
their self reports are given to him. The prisoner never knows the charges against
him. An persons, connections, former friends and colleagues and associates,
whether actually named in the report or who can be found out by the judge through -
a process of reasoning and deduction from information in the report, are contacted.
Their testimony is cross-checked with the report. Groups of judges meet frequently
and exchange notes and cross-check reports by the prisoners. If the reports are
dishonest, the prisoner is told to re-write it. This is done again and again.
The truth is finally sifted out. If a prisoner's? confession and repentance finally
roughly ceincides with the charges, and if, after cold calculation, the judges
decide he will be a true Communist and will definitely be useful to the regime, then
the prisoner is released on probation and finally freed. Prisoners, who fail to
meet these requirements after much self-examination, re-writing, and cross-checking,
are finally killed.
8 A sincere effort is made by the authorities to verify charges. If they are proven
false after carefUl investigation, the prisoner is cleared of the charge. The
position is taken, however, all prisoners are guilty until proven innocent. If
it is impossible to disprove any charge through lack of information, witnesses,
or cross-check sources, then the prisoner is not cleared and is killed.
9 It us take an example of a rich farmer. He owned some property. This is a crime
that must be expiated. If he confeeses all in his report, his confession verified,
and after long indoctrination, he is thoroughly reformed, then the land is taken
away and distributed. The man is now penniless (if he succeeded in avoiding being
killed). He most now shelf by actions (performing base tasks) that he has reformed.
Be has_to be approved by the Union if he is to find a job. He is a propertyless
one now. The Union checks his record with the Party; if it approves, he gets
a job, and is now a citizen of the State.
10 During the time when trials are being held, the learning groups are ordered to
conduct detailed discussions on the books of study in accordance with elaborate
sets of questionnaires and syllabuses prepared by the Self Salvation Association.
These books are The New. Democracy, by Mao Tse-Tung; New Philosophy of Life by a
Chinese Communist professor; The Life of Mao Tse-Tung, and many other books merely
entitled Directions of Thinking.
11 After basic materials are digested, study groups in the Union are given materials
on current events, always carefully prepared to serve the Communists' purpose.
At present the young are being whipped into a patriotic fervor by the line that
the US is preparing to invade China.
- end -
CONFIDENTIAL/US OFFICIALS ONLY
Approved For Release 2007/10/23: CIA-RDP80-00926A003400040025-4