K. This is the 1st working draft of vol. VI. It still ... - From Marx to Mao

92 MAO TSE-TUNG
ceaselessly engaged in bitter struggles against the alien elements in
the Soviet organs. The past experience tells us that this task has
been very important work of the Soviet. Secondly, all landlords and
bourgeoisie are deprived of the freedom of speech, publication, assembly
and association.
Thirdly, counter-revolutionary activities are under the suppression
of the revolutionary forces and revolutionary courts. The Soviet
courts directly depend upon the mass armed forces, the activities
of the State Political Defence Bureau, and the class struggle of
the broad masses. All these have offered strict suppression to the
counter-revolutionary activities in the Soviet districts. The well
known cases were the suppression by the Soviet courts of the ac-
FROM MARX
TO MAO
tivities of A-B Corps in the Central and Hunan-Kiangsi Soviets, of
⋆
the Social-Democrats in Fukien, of the Re-organizationists in Hupeh-Hunan
west, Hupeh-Honan-Anhui, Fukien-Chekiang-Kiangsi,
and Fukien-Kiangsi Soviet Districts and of the Trotskist-Chen Groupings
in Hunan-Hupeh-Kiangsi Soviet District. Through these suppressions,
the State Political Defence Bureaus and the Soviet courts
have acquired abundant experience and corrected many errors in the
past that were committed through the diversion from the correct class
line. The mass character of the Soviet court, namely, the suppression
of counter-revolutionary activities by the Soviet courts in coordination
with the mass NOT struggle against FORcounter-revolutionary
intrigues,
has been making long strides of progress. The practice of
the Traveling Court is a proof of this.
The Soviet has COMMERCIAL
formally proclaimed prohibition of corporal punishment.
In the Soviet prisons, except for those prisoners who are
sentenced to death punishment, all other prisoners are put under reformatory
education; that is to say, the Soviet policy for prisoners
is to train them in DISTRIBUTION
the communistic spirit and with labour discipline.
In sharp contradiction to this situation is the practice in full bloom
of medieval tortures in the Kuomintang courts and prisons. To put
own counter-revolutionary intrigues, to keep the Soviet territory in
revolutionary order and to abolish all feudal and barbarous remnants
in the field of jurisdiction constitute the aim of the Soviet court.
The improvement of the Soviet in this direction is of historical significance.
In summary, the Soviet has by far the widest revolutionary democracy
for the broad masses and out of it rises its enormous power
— a power which is built upon the determined faith and self-con-