Chapter 48 Suppressing the Anti-Bolshevik Tendency and mass killings 1930

Journalist: “What was the deal with the Anti-Bolshevik Tendency (ABT) that you crushed?”

Mao: “In various districts of Jiangxi, the peasants rose up in resistance against me. My trusted follower, Liu Shiqi, announced that the rebellion was led by the ABT. ABT stands for ‘Anti-Bolshevik Tendency,’ which was an anti-communist organization that existed in Jiangxi in the past but had long ceased its activities. Liu Shiqi used the name ABT to lay blame on the old Red Jiangxi Communists who opposed him. In less than a month, several thousand ‘landlords and wealthy peasants’ who were labeled as ABT members were slaughtered by him.

In early August 1930, I led my troops northward to Changsha to swallow up Peng Dehuai. Taking advantage of this, the old Jiangxi Communists, under the leadership of Li Wenlin, held a representative assembly and ousted Liu Shiqi. During the meeting, emotions ran high, and people stood up one after another to rebuke Liu. The blame was also directed at me, accusing the party of being dangerous and the leaders of enjoying power, which could lead to warlordism. They said we didn’t allow others to speak and arbitrarily labeled them as opportunists, resulting in the execution of too many people and causing a red terror within the party. The assembly passed a resolution demanding the central leadership to expel Liu Shiqi. However, unlike me, those old Red Jiangxi Communists weren’t as ruthless. They didn’t kill Liu Shiqi; instead, they allowed him to go to Shanghai. The central leadership sent Liu to Hubei, Henan, and Anhui, where he perished under Zhang Guotao’s purge. After Liu Shiqi left, his wife, He Yi, married Mao Zetan.”

Journalist: “After dealing with Liu Shiqi, what did you do?”

Mao: “With Liu Shiqi gone, I lost control over Red Jiangxi. After the second attack on Changsha, I turned back to regain control over Red Jiangxi. On October 14, 1930, while on my way back, I wrote a letter to Shanghai, stating that the Communist Party in Jiangxi was facing a severe crisis, with the entire party being led by the rich peasant line and the ABT infiltrating it. It was necessary to thoroughly resolve this situation.

At this time, I learned that Moscow had designated me as the future leader of the upcoming Red regime. Since Moscow favored me, I decided to eliminate those who had opposed me, creating a reign of terror to make sure no one would dare to oppose me again.”

Journalist: “Oh, so Moscow trusts you, and you’re gaining favor. And then you launched an offensive?”

Mao: “Yes. In late November 1930, I first targeted the army. I concentrated the troops in the center of Red Jiangxi to ensure that no one could escape. I maliciously announced that there was an ABT organization within Peng Dehuai’s army, with a leader named Gan Lichen, accusing them of ‘inciting soldiers to break away from the leadership of the Front Committee.’ This marked the beginning of arrests and executions.

Within the Zhu Mao Red Army, there were also some accounts to settle.

More than a year ago, they had ousted me from power. An officer named Liu Di wrote a letter to Shanghai, exposing me by saying, ‘I have never had much faith in Mao. All levels of cadres feel extremely uneasy. We carry a sense of frustration, thinking that within the Communist Party, we still have to learn to be sycophantic. It’s really not worth it. I can sense the Bolshevik spirit of the party weakening day by day.’ I knew people despised me. On December 20, 1930, in my ‘defense’ letter to Shanghai, I admitted to enjoying using political means to pit one against another.”
Journalist: “So, at that time, you admitted to pitting one against another?”

Mao: “Yes. I used Li Shaojiu primarily to target the ABT. Li Shaojiu was seen through by an inspector who knew that most people were dissatisfied with him. He was brave in his speeches but fearful of combat and death.

Under Li Shaojiu’s specific leadership, the crackdown on the ABT began with the General Political Department and then extended to various armies and divisions. We would claim that there was an ABT presence in a particular area and point out several individuals, even if there was no evidence, and arrest them. During interrogation, if they didn’t admit, they would be beaten, and through the beatings and trials, they were eventually forced to confess. They were then compelled to implicate more people, leading to the arrest of even more individuals. The Zhu Mao Red Army ended up targeting and killing more than 1,400 people.”

Journalist “Oh, so you relied on extracting confessions through coercion and resorted to arbitrary beatings?”

Mao: “Yes. I reported to Shanghai that within a month, more than 4,400 ABT members were exposed in the Red Army under my jurisdiction. Most of them were killed, and all of them were subjected to severe torture. I claimed that torture was only natural and that falsely confessing under torture was a crime. ‘If they were faithful revolutionary comrades, even if they suffered temporarily, there would be a day to redress their grievances. Why would they falsely confess and frame other comrades? I considered extracting confessions through coercion as something to be taken for granted.”

Journalist: “How many people did you kill in your crackdown on the ABT in Jiangxi?”

Mao: “A large number, around 100,000, were killed in the crackdown, while other Soviet Zones followed my example and had fewer casualties. Zhang Guoxi carried out an anti-revolutionary campaign in July 1931, resulting in the deaths of 2,500 people. Almost all the Red Fourth Army’s cadres at the rank of squad leader and above were wiped out. In the Red 25th Army, out of 12,000 soldiers, only 6,000 remained after a 43-day purge, with some dead and others escaping. In the Xiang-Gan-Xi Soviet Zone from 1932 to 1934, over 30,000 people were targeted in the anti-revolutionary campaign, with more than 20,000 killed. In the Minxi Soviet Zone, 6,300 people were killed. These areas were influenced by the central Jiangxi Soviet Zone.”

Journalist: “You killed 100,000 people in the ABT crackdown?”

Mao: “Yes, in the 1980s, the head of the Jiangxi branch of Xinhua News Agency visited 16 counties in Jiangxi after my death and wrote a report called “Red Terror,” exposing my brutal killing of 105,000 ABT members. However, the report didn’t mention my name.”