My friends,
It has been a few years since I have last been called upon to comment on the State of the Revolution. On this I can only say that much has happened. The end of the War against Japan gave way to the War against the Nationalists, culminating in the ultimate victory of the Communist Party. Among the first and foremost actions of the Party has been the Land Reform campaign. My friends, I must confess I have had limited experience with the campaign of my own, but I have had the opportunity to speak with a great many people that have, either as a member of a work team or were present in the countryside when the reform teams came through. My own experience has been almost entirely limited to only what could be gathered from those I’ve spoken to; however, I have had an experience that I feel it necessary to share with you. Many of you know that I come from a family that operates a small freight company in Beijing, that my father started a great many years ago, before the fall of the Qing. My Brother now operates this company following the death of my father during the war against Japan. It was here that I had my only direct run in with the Land Reform campaign, being myself now too old and infirm to continue the arduous labor in the countryside. I was working in my brother’s shop alone one day when a large party of peasants from one of the villages nearby came in search of him and his wife. When I asked how I might assist them they said that their local landlord, my sister-in-law’s father had fled from the struggle session that had been planned for him. He had no sons and the only surviving family of his that they could find was my brother and his wife. They had with them a bill which they presented to me saying that my brother owed them in his father-in-law’s stead. They seemed to not realize that I was his brother, and demanded to know where he was. I told them that the owners of the shop were not home at the moment, but I would deliver it to them when they returned. They seemed to accept this answer and left; however, they told me that they would return to collect. When my brother returned, he told me that there had been similar parties moving through the city and that several of his colleagues had been presented with similar bills by peasants from villages where they or members of their families were landlords. It seems to me that these villagers came seeking further restitution than what was available from their landlords, either because they demanded more than the landlord had, or else the landlord had successfully secreted away some hidden store of wealth and so to meet the demands of the villagers they came to the cities to collect from other members of the families. I have heard of the violence being performed against some of the shop owners, though I have not seen it myself. I heard second hand of a family who were interrogated by one of these roving bands in search of more money. I have heard that the government has taken steps to curtail this practice of presenting bills which has sprung up following the expulsion and elimination of the Landlord class, however it still persists and in some cases has caused immense suffering among the people of the cities.