Chapter 91 Trapped in Changchun, 300,000 starved to death 1948

The Journalist: “Changchun you how to fight down?”

Mao: “In 1948, our troops fought Changchun, but the attack was not successful, so we changed to a siege and forced the enemy to surrender. Lin Biao’s order received my tacit approval. The defender of Changchun was Zheng Dongguo, who refused to surrender. The 500,000 civilians in Changchun could only be fed until the end of July, and General Zheng wanted the civilians to leave the city.

I approved of Lin Biao’s practice: the people in the city were forbidden to leave the city. Only those with guns and military supplies could be released. This was to encourage the Kuomintangs to come out and surrender. I said to Lin Biao: Zheng Dongguo was honest, and under the starvation of the people, it was possible to fight for an uprising and surrender. But despite Zheng Dongguo’s extreme inner pain and despair, he did not surrender and kept on persevering.”

Journalist: “You took Changchun by trapping it to death?”

Mao: “Yes, the siege of Changchun for three months, Lin Biao reported to me: ‘The siege had a remarkable effect, causing a serious food shortage, and the inhabitants mostly relied on leaves and grass to feed themselves, and many died of hunger.’ To Zheng Dongguo to the people out of the city, Lin Biao electricity said: ‘I forbid passage, the First Front on 50 meters set a sentry, there are barbed wire trenches, tightly jointed, eliminate the gap, do not let the refugees out, out of those who discourage back. This method is effective at first, but hunger is becoming more and more serious, the hungry people by night or day swarmed out in large numbers, after I drove back, gathered in the middle of the enemy and our guard line, starvation caused a lot of deaths, only the east of the city eight miles Fort area, the death of about 2,000 people.’

Lin Biao also said, ‘Do not let the famine people out of the city, those who have come out to block back, which is very difficult to explain to the famine people to the army soldiers. Hungry people kneeled in front of my sentry, begging to be released, some left their babies and children behind and ran away, some hung themselves with ropes in front of my post. Soldiers saw this tragic situation, the heart suddenly softened, accompanied by the hungry people kneeling together and crying, said the superior orders I can not. There were even refugees who were smuggled through. After correction, another bias was found, namely beating and tying up, shooting refugees, causing death.’”

Journalist: “Wow, the starving people are so miserable! To starve them to death alive?”

Mao: “Yes, the stone-hearted Lin Biao, also suggested discretion to release the refugees in batches one after another. After reporting to me, I suppressed not to reply. Lin Biao, familiar with my old practice of ‘silent denial,’ took the initiative and issued an order on September 11: ‘From now on, the refugees blocked in and out of the city will be released.’ But in reality, only those who were useful to the Communists were released. One refugee was released on September 16, he was a city hospital X-ray doctor, and the troops needed doctors.

The officers and soldiers of the National Army who fled with their guns and their families were given a special welcome and warm care and preferential treatment along the way. The people who stayed in the ‘Kakong’, those who survived, said: ‘They ate grass and leaves. Thirsty for rainwater, drink from the brains of the dead. Every day on the card propaganda, whoever has a gun will be let out. Those who really have guns, hand them over and let them go. Rich people in the city to buy a pistol, let people go.’”

Journalist: “You let go of individual people with guns and money? Give you guns and money and let people go?”

Mao: “Yes, the former mayor of Changchun recorded that a large number of citizens starved to death after mid-September. By then, Changchun was covered in fallen leaves, and there was no food left to alleviate hunger. After being besieged for five months, when our army entered Changchun, the city’s population had decreased from 500,000 to 170,000. The official figure acknowledged by the Chinese Communist Party was only 120,000 deaths due to starvation. Changchun changed hands on October 23, 1948, and Jinzhou was captured on October 22. The day after Jinzhou’s capture, Changchun surrendered. In reality, the city had been under siege since March 1948.

Our soldiers who participated in the siege said, ‘We had heard about the number of people starving to death inside the city while we were outside, but it didn’t affect us much. We climbed out of piles of dead bodies many times and became hardened, no longer caring. However, when we entered the city and witnessed the situation, we were shocked and moved to tears. We fought to establish a better life for the poor, and now so many people have starved to death, aren’t they all poor?’”

Journalist: “Wow, Changchun actually starved to death more than 300,000 people?”

Mao: “Yes, what happened in Changchun was tightly sealed. Refugees who were fortunate enough to leave the city were issued ‘refugee cards’ with four ‘refugee disciplines’ printed on them, one of which was: ‘No rumors and all acts of sabotage,’ and it was strictly forbidden to spread the truth about the starvation deaths. The truth about the starving people is forbidden. Su Yu said that the pattern of using starving civilians to force the defenders to surrender was used in some cities.

I do not care so much, victory first, what humanitarianism, and what revolution?”

Journalist: “You are victory first, regardless of the people’s lives?”

Mao: “Yes, on November 2, 1948, under the command of Soviet generals, we took Shenyang together with Soviet troops, and thus the entire Northeast fell into my hands.

Wei Lihuang was appointed by Chiang Kai-shek as the overall commander of the Northeast. He lost the entire Northeast region, but Chiang did not punish him, and he left for Hong Kong freely. In 1949, when the Communist regime was established, he immediately sent me a warm congratulatory message, full of words like ‘wise leadership’ and ‘wholehearted support and jubilation.’ In 1951, he contacted the United States Central Intelligence Agency, seeking support to become the leader of a ‘third force.’ It wasn’t until 1955 that he returned to the mainland, and he passed away in Beijing in 1960. I looked down on his later actions and once told my nephew Mao Yuanxin, ‘Wei Lihuang was doing business in Hong Kong and only came back after suffering losses. People like Wei Lihuang are despised by others. Do you think our enemies would have any respect for him?’ I no longer mention his contributions in losing the Northeast to us.

Mao Zedong angrily reproached Wang Ming: ‘We are on the verge of victory, and yet you still haven’t reflected?’ 1948.

Journalist: “To Wei Lihuang you are like beating a falling dog?”

Mao: “Yes.”