Audience friends, hello everyone! Welcome to watch “A Century of Truth”.
Many facts prove that the Communist Party of China (CPC) is the party that has caused the most deaths in the world. It not only takes the lives of “enemies” but also of its own people. Sometimes, the internal purges within the CPC are even more insane. In 1931, He Long was appointed as a member of the Xiang-E-West CPC branch, vice chairman of the Provincial Military Commission, and commander of the Red Third Army. During the “revolutionary turmoil” in the Xiang-E-West Soviet area centered around Honghu, he personally experienced the “anti-reactionary movement” in Xiang-E-West, which is a crazy example of internal cleansing within the CPC.
In this episode, based on Li Bai’s article “Remembering He Long’s Experience in the Suppression of Reactionaries in Xiang-E-West” and other sources, we will talk to you about the historical truth of the CPC marshal He Long’s personal experience of internal purges within the CPC.
In 1931, the CPC Central Committee appointed Xia Xi as the secretary of the CPC Xiang-E-West branch, leading the “anti-reactionary movement” in Xiang-E-West. The so-called “anti-reactionary” is the CPC’s elimination of its own people.
He Long recalled the process of the murder of Wang Bingnan, the Chief of Staff of the Red Ninth Army, saying: “That evening after dinner, I and Xia Xi, Xiaoguan (referring to the Red Third Army political commissar, Guan Xiangying) walked past the village head and saw Wang Bingnan being led out bound. It was still cold at that time, Wang Bingnan was stripped naked on the upper body, beaten without an ounce of good flesh left, maggots crawling in some places, it was March!”
“He saw Xia Xi and shouted, ‘Xia Xi, you damn it, what kind of reorganizing faction am I? I retreated from Honghu, in Jiangling, you fell into the river, I saved you ashore, saved your life, is there such a reorganizing faction? Are you blind, killing comrades as enemies, how many have you killed…’ Xia Xi said nothing and walked past.”
In the end, Xia Xi still killed Wang Bingnan.
Duan Dechang was a key founder of the Honghu Soviet Area of the CPC, serving as a member of the Xiang-E-West Provincial Committee, a member of the Provincial Military Commission, and commander of the Red Ninth Army at that time.
When Xia Xi ordered the arrest of Duan Dechang, He Long was extremely dissatisfied and asked, “Why are you arresting Dechang?”
Xia Xi coldly said, “He is a reorganizing faction.”
He asked, “What evidence do you have?”
Xia Xi said, “Duan Dechang brought a letter from the frontline requesting to lead the troops back to Honghu, which is dragging the troops away to escape and betray.”
He said, “You have no reason, Dechang wrote a letter as a suggestion to you. If he really wanted to drag the troops to Honghu, why write a letter, and why return to the military headquarters?”
Xia Xi argued but still said, “He must be killed!”
He said, “I strongly oppose it. Dechang has made great contributions. What kind of reorganizing faction is he? Absolutely cannot be killed!”
Xia Xi slammed the table and said, “Humph, I have decided!”
Faced with Xia Xi’s use of the CPC’s strictly regulated “final decision-making power,” He could only obey.
Before Duan Dechang was executed, he directly told Xia Xi that he was not a reorganizing faction; the Red Army had run out of ammunition, so save a bullet, use a knife to behead him.
In the end, he was beheaded.
He Long recalled: Xia Xi “twice attempted to harm me. Once in Wangdian, Xia Xi attempted to harm me and asked me to write a statement. He said: You have prestige in the Kuomintang, having served as a battalion commander, master of a garrison, and other high-ranking officers, reorganizing factions can make use of your influence. I said: Do you have witnesses or evidence? He had none. I said: You asked for 100,000 yuan when I was the ninth mixed brigade commander in Changde in the 12th year of the Republic of China; you held the position of executive committee member of the Hunan Provincial Committee of the Kuomintang, came to me for a meeting, asked me for 50,000 yuan. I treated you to a meal, opened a hotel, and even gave you 50,000 yuan. Although there was no receipt, it was a fact. What kind of party member are you, killing so many people? Write a statement for me.”
Xia Xi attempted to harm He Long, asking him to write materials admitting association with reorganizing factions or using his influence to help reorganizing factions, essentially admitting collusion with reorganizing factions. Reorganizing factions were the targets Xia Xi aimed to cleanse. At this moment, the Red Third Army’s political commissar, Guan Xiangying, stepped in to mediate, preventing Xia Xi from harming He Long.
“Another time was at Zhulin Pass. Xia Xi unloaded my and Guan Xiangying’s bodyguards’ guns, arrested two bodyguards. I asked Xia Xi what he meant. Why didn’t he disarm his guards? I took out a Browning pistol I carried on my body and placed it on the table, saying: There’s one more, do you want it? You won’t give it even if you want. This is mine, I’ve been carrying it since I was a company commander. The guns pointed their muzzles upwards, ready at all times, one for self-defense, one for others.”
Afraid that He Long might shoot him, Xia Xi never dared to have the idea to harm He Long again.
He Long recalled that after Xia Xi arrived in Honghu, “the anti-reactionary killings reached a frenzy.”
“All district and county cadres in Honghu were killed during the anti-reactionary movement. In some regiments of the Red Third Army, more than ten company commanders were killed. Xia Xi continued to kill for several months in Honghu, killing more than ten thousand people in this anti-reactionary campaign alone… After the failure in Honghu, Xia Xi and the Red Third Army met at Dahong Mountain, still arresting people during the day and killing them at night. There was no evidence or basis for arresting and killing people, all were accusations and forced confessions.”
Li Bai’s article “Remembering He Long’s Experience in the Suppression of Reactionaries in Xiang-E-West” mentioned Xia Xi’s indiscriminate killings, quoting a list of victims that, albeit not entirely comprehensive, underwent rigorous investigation.
The main categories of party, government, and military leaders who were victims at that time include: leaders who founded the Xiang-E-West base and the Red Army; veterans who participated in the Nanchang Uprising, Guangzhou Uprising, peasant movements in Hunan and Hubei provinces, or workers’ movements, as well as cadres dispatched to the Soviet Union by the CPC for study and returned to participate in the Soviet area and Red Army; Those who had served in the Nationalist army but later defected to the CPC, as well as those who infiltrated the Nationalist army to incite mutiny and then returned to the base and Red Army.
Additionally, Xia Xi also killed more than ten county party secretaries, some members of standing committees, and district and township officials in Jiangling, Chuanyang, Shishou, Tianqian, and others, a large number of regimental and battalion leaders in the Red Third Army, as well as a significant portion of grassroots cadres.
At the Fourth Congress of the Xiang-E-West Soviet Area of the CPC, and prior to that, leaders who had criticized or opposed Xia Xi were basically wiped out in this anti-reactionary campaign.
From May 1932 to the summer of 1934, Xia Xi conducted four anti-reactionary campaigns in the Xiang-E-West Soviet area and Red Third Army led by He Long. The consequence was the main force of the Red Third Army under He Long dwindling from over 20,000 to just over 3,000 soldiers, forcing them to withdraw from the Xiang-E-West Soviet area to survive.
So, why conduct these purges? The orders for the CPC’s purges in the 1930s originated from Moscow.
From June 20 to July 13, 1930, the 16th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union was held. The Congress decided to conduct a campaign to eliminate counter-revolutionaries within the Soviet Communist Party.
At that time, the Soviet Communist Party issued orders to various Communist Parties worldwide through the Communist International. The CPC was a branch of the Communist International, and the spirit of the decisions made at the 16th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party, conveyed through the directives of the Communist International, were passed on to the CPC Central Committee.
In September 1930, the CPC Central Committee issued instructions to carry out an anti-reactionary movement in the Red Army’s First Front Army.
In 1931, the CPC Central Committee instructed various Soviet areas and Red Army units to intensify the struggle “for purging the AB faction and all anti-revolutionary elements.” Xia Xi was appointed by the CPC Central Committee as the secretary of the Xiang-E-West Central Division, responsible for the anti-reactionary campaign in Xiang-E-West.
According to He Long’s recollection, the anti-reactionary campaign in Xiang-E-West began only after repeated directives from the CPC Central Committee and criticisms of the Xiang-E-West Central Division’s inadequate implementation.
So how was the anti-reactionary campaign carried out? It involved arresting anyone suspected of being a counter-revolutionary, subjecting them to interrogation and torture until they confessed, and then executing them.
Who were the targets of the purges? Were there any criteria? The answer is: no. Only a few officials were considered “good,” while the majority were labeled as “bad.”
On December 19, 1932, Yang Guanghua, the secretary of the Xiang-E-West Provincial Committee, reported to the CPC Central Committee:
“Except for a few senior leaders and a handful of administrative personnel, the branch and provincial-level party and government leaders were all counter-revolutionaries or suspected counter-revolutionaries; the Yichang Special Committee and the county committees of Mianyang, Jiangling, Chuanyang, Tianhan, and Tianqian were entirely counter-revolutionary; the county committees of Jiangnan, Qianjiang, Jianli, as well as the Xiangbei Special Committee, aside from a few exceptions, were all counter-revolutionary; the county secretaries of Jingshan, Jingmen, and Yunxiao, and the majority of the district committee secretaries, county defense bureau personnel, nearly all of the regimental commanders, regimental political commissars, and regimental staff members, the majority of company commanders, company political commissars, and company staff, and a number of battalion commanders and a significant portion of grassroots cadres, were all counter-revolutionaries…”
Thus, by January 1933, Xia Xi believed that the party and group organizations of the CPC Xiang-E-West were ineffective and proposed to dissolve the party and group organizations and create a new Red Army.
One of the reasons for the execution of Duan Dechang, the commander of the Red Ninth Division, was his opposition to dissolving the party and group organizations.
After Xia Xi killed Duan Dechang and others, in March 1933, he made the decision to dissolve the party and group organizations of Xiang-E-West and the provincial Soviet.
From then on, only the Xiang-E-West Central Division remained, consisting of just three party members, including Xia Xi, He Long, and Guan Xiangying.
Alright, that’s all for today’s program, thank you for watching, we’ll see you in the next episode.