Counter-revolutionary

The CCP targeted people it labelled ‘counter-revolutionaries’. These included former Nationalist leaders, heads of secret societies and religious authorities. The label presented them as enemies of the revolution, but an accusation did not necessarily mean that a person had actively plotted against the government.

The Campaign to Suppress Counter-revolutionaries began in 1950 and intensified in 1951, during China's involvement in the Korean War. The government presented internal enemies as a danger to the revolution at a time of external conflict.