Page 40 - SELECTED WORKS OF ZHOU ENLAI Volume I

36 ZHOU ENLAI
the arrests, proving that they were acting on precise information. They
arrested five persons whose names they had on a list (Comrade Zhang
Jichun was also taken in along with Peng, Yang, Yan and Xing) but
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ignored Bai Xin and his wife. This done, they searched under Bai Xin’s
bed, where they found some revolutionary publications, such as The
Bolshevik, the Red Flag, and circulars of the Central Committee of
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the Communist Party. The five comrades were at once pushed into the
waiting vehicles by the police and detectives and driven straight to the
Xinzha Police Station. Newspapers were forbidden to report the in-
cident, so the masses knew nothing about the arrest of their leaders.
August 25th was a Sunday and the provisional court was not in
session. When the court opened on the 26th, the judge, an imperialist
lackey, and the representative of the Public Security Bureau put up a
show of legal proceedings. The result was a decision to turn the pris-
oners over to the Chinese Public Security Bureau. At the hearing, only
the five arrested comrades were present. Their photos had already been
taken on the day of their arrest, and they were now called by name and
questioned one by one. Obviously, the traitor Bai Xin had secretly
provided evidence of their identity. They were removed to the Public
Security Bureau in the city under guard and in armoured vehicles.
Information concerning the hearing and the transfer of the five appeared
in that day’s evening papers, but their real names were not disclosed.
Their identity was deliberately concealed by the ruling class in order
to forestall strong, direct resistance by the masses.
The five comrades were interrogated that very evening at the
Public Security Bureau, but to no avail. On the other hand, they im-
mediately began spreading propaganda in the house of detention, which
greatly impressed many of the security guards. On the afternoon of the
27th, interrogation was resumed and lasted four or five hours. When it
came to Comrade Peng Pai, someone came forward to give evidence
as to his identity, which Comrade Peng openly acknowledged. Asked to
give his personal history, Comrade Peng spoke impassionedly for over
an hour. He began with his work in the peasant movement in Haifeng
and Lufeng before he joined the Party and continued until he had
described the establishment of Soviets there. When he started talking
about the punishment of counter-revolutionaries in Haifeng and Lufeng,
Comrade Peng Pai addressed the interrogator personally in a loud
voice, saying, “We wiped out countless counter-revolutionaries like you.
There’s no need to ask me any more questions. Take me out and shoot
me.” The interrogator was visibly moved. When Comrade Yang Yin