Chapter 16 The Southwest Bureau is responsible for the task of marching into Tibet and managing Tibet

(January 2, 1950) Comrades from the Central Committee and Dehuai [1], and please forward the three comrades Xiaoping, Bo Cheng, and He Long [2]: (1) Comrade Dehuai's telegram on December 30 concerning the situation in Tibet and the route to Tibet has been received and read.Please forward this telegram to the Central Committee for research by Comrades Liu, Deng, and He. (2) Although Tibet has a small population, its international status is extremely important. We must occupy it and transform it into a people's democratic Tibet.Since it is very difficult to march to Tibet from Qinghai and Xinjiang, the task of marching to Tibet and managing Tibet should be determined by the Southwest Bureau. (3) Since entering Tibet from the northwest is only possible for four months from mid-May to mid-September each year, and the roads are blocked by heavy snow for the remaining eight months, the time to enter Tibet from Xikang[3] may also be the same.And if we do not march to Tibet from mid-May to mid-September this year, we will have to postpone the march until 1951.I think that if there are no insurmountable difficulties, we should strive to start marching into Tibet in mid-May this year and occupy the whole of Tibet before October.For this reason, it is suggested: (a) Comrades Liu, Deng, and He San should have a meeting in the shortest period (for example, mid-January) to decide on issues such as the troops entering Tibet and the responsible cadres who will lead and manage Tibet, and start to arrange immediately Everything; (b) Immediately occupy Dajianlu [4], and use it as a base to plan for entering Tibet; (c) within four and a half months from now (early January) to mid-May, the troops designated to enter Tibet , we should strive to divide Dajianlu into two roads and advance to the border area of ​​Xikang and Tibet, repair the road or cart road, and prepare to enter Tibet in mid-May; (D) collect Tibetans and train cadres; (E) ) I heard that there are only 6,000 troops in Tibet, and they are scattered. It seems that there is no need for the three armies I proposed in the last telegram, but only a sufficient army or four divisions with a total of about 40,000 troops. It is enough, but it needs special political training and equipped with excellent weapons; the (already) army in Tibet can be changed every three years to boost morale. (4) Marching into and operating Tibet is a glorious and arduous task for our party.The Southwest has just been occupied, and the comrades of the Southwest Bureau are extremely busy with work, and now they are given the task of entering Tibet, but because the task is important and time-sensitive, they pretend to make the above suggestion.Whether these suggestions are feasible or not, please wait for the Southwest Bureau to plan and reply.

Mao Zedong Every day at four o'clock in the morning in the distance Printed from manuscript. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] Dehuai, that is, Peng Dehuai, was the first secretary of the Northwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the commander of the First Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the commander of the Northwest Military Region. [2] Xiaoping, that is, Deng Xiaoping, was the first secretary of the Southwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the political commissar of the Second Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and the political commissar of the Southwest Military Region.Bocheng, also known as Liu Bocheng, was then the second secretary of the Southwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the commander of the Second Field Army of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.He Long was then the third secretary of the Southwest Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the commander of the Southwest Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

[3] Xikang, that is, Xikang Province, was abolished in 1955, and the original jurisdiction was assigned to Sichuan Province. [4] Dajian furnace, now Kangding County, Sichuan.