that we helped this bad policy, that our mind is the
capitalistic
mind .
Lifton-Robert-Jay-Thought-Reform-and-the-Psychology-of-Totalism
" This required that he learn to look at himself from the "people's standpoint"--to accept the prevailing Communist definition of criminal behavior, including the principle that "the people's standpoint makes no distinction between news, informa- tion, and intelligence.
" He described two examples of this process:
For instance, I was the family physician and friend of an American correspondent. We talked about many things, including the political situation. . . . The judge questioned me again and again about rny relationship with this man. He asked me for details about everything we had talked about. . . . I admitted that at the time of the "libera- tion," when I saw the horsedrawn artillery of the Communist army, I told this to my American friend. . . . The judge shouted that this American was a spy who was collecting espionage material for his spy organization, and that I was guilty of supplying him with military in- telligence. . . . At first I did not accept this, but soon I had to add it to m y confession. . . . This is adopting the people's standpoint. . . .
I knew a man who was friendly with an American military attache. I told him the price of shoes and that I couldn't buy gasoline for my car. I had already agreed that this was economic intelligence. So I wrote that I gave economic intelligence to this man. But they made it clear that I must say that I received an espionage mission from the American mili-
? RE-EDUCA TION: DR. VINCEN
tary attache* through the other person, to collect economic intelligence. . . . This wasthe people's standpoint.
"Leniency" and "Study"
Just as Vincent was beginning to express himself from the "people's standpoint"--but in a dazed, compliant, and unenthu- siastic manner--he was suddenly surprised by a remarkable improve- ment in his status: the handcuffs and chains were removed, he was permitted to be comfortably seated when talking to the judge, and he was in turn addressed in friendly tones. He was told that the government regretted that he had been having such a difficult time, that it really wanted only to help him, and that in accordance with its "lenient policy" it would certainly treat him kindly and soon release him--if only he would make an absolutely complete confession, and then work hard to "reform" himself. And to help things along, pressures were diminished, and he was permitted more rest. This abrupt reversal in attitude had a profound effect upon Vincent: for the first time he had been treated with human con- sideration, the chains were gone, he could see a possible solution ahead, there was hope for the future.
Now he was offered more friendly "guidance" in rewriting (not once but many times) his entire confession, including descriptions and denunciations of other people; and his change of fortune gave him added incentive in applying himself to the task. But he soon found that this guidance was not to be taken lightly, and on three occasions when he expressed some measure of resistance, saying, "This I didn't do," the chains were reapplied for two or three days, accompanied by a return to the harsh treatment of previous weeks.
Once "leniency" had been initiated, however, Vincent was never again to experience anything as overwhelming as the assaults of his early prison period. Given the luxury of eight hours of sleep a night, of relatively calm and restrained interrogations (he was even permitted to sit on a chair), of practically no harassment in the cell, Vincent spent the next two or three weeks doing nothing but developing in even greater detail his confession material. During his sessions with the judge, he received further instructions upon the proper way to apply the "people's standpoint" to all that he was writing and saying.
? 26 THOUGHT REFORM
Meanwhile, he was initiated into the regular cell routine: care- fully regimented arrangements for sleeping and awakening, for eat- ing and for relieving oneself. Freed of the chains, he could join the others on the two daily excursions to the toilet (everyone running head down, to an area with two open toilets, each permitted about forty-five seconds to attend to his needs with sharp criticism directed at anyone who took longer than this), and in the use of the urine bucket in the cell. He was still addressed only by prison number and continued to receive food adequate for survival but poor in quality. And the sores and infections caused by his chains and hand- cuffs were given more attention, including local applications and penicillin injections.
Then, three weeks after the beginning of "leniency," he began to take part in the cell's organized "re-education" procedures. This meant active involvement in the group study program--the hstieh hsi--whose sessions took up almost the entire waking existence of the prisoners, ten to sixteen hours a day. Led by the cell chief, its procedure was simple enough: one prisoner read material from a Communist newspaper, book, or pamphlet; and then each in turn was expected to express his own opinion and to criticize the views of others. Everyone was required to participate actively, and anyone who did not was severely criticized. Each had to learn to express himself from the "correct" or "people's standpoint"--applied not only to personal actions, but to political, social, and ethical issues. With each of the prisoners feeling that his freedom or even his life might be at stake, the zeal of the participants was overwhelming.
For a long time after Dr. Vincent joined the group (and probably because of his presence), discussions centered upon past W estern in- sults to China: territorial aggrandizement, infringements upon sov- ereignty, special privileges demanded for Western nationals. And the message was conveyed to him personally that "under the cloak of medicine" he was nothing but a representative of "exploitation," an agent of the "imperialists," a life-long "spy," whose actions were from the beginning "harmful to the Chinese people. "
Discussions starting at an intellectual level would quickly become concerned with personal analysis and criticism. When Dr. Vincent was found wanting in his adoption of the "people's standpoint" or when his views were considered "erroneous," it became necessary for him to "examine himself" and look into the causes of these "re-
? RE-EDUCATION: DR. VINCENT 2J
actionary" tendencies. He had to search out the harmful "bourgeois" and "imperialistic" influences from his past for further evaluation and self-criticism. Every "question" or "problem" had to be "solved," according to the "facts/' in order to get to the "truth," viewing everything, of course, from the "people's standpoint. "
Special "movements" would take place, jolting the prisoners from the ordinary routine into renewed emotional efforts. Sometimes these were part of broad, all-China campaigns, sometimes related to national prison movements, and sometimes locally initiated; but whether directed at "thought attitude," prison discipline, hygiene problems, or personal confessions, they always served to plunge each prisoner into a more thorough and compelling self-examina- tion. Everyone was intent upon demonstrating his own "reform" and "progressive viewpoint. " The atmosphere came to resemble that of a great moral crusade.
Dr, Vincent was still receiving more personal attention than anyone else in the cell. At first he simply gave lip-service to what he knew to be the "correct" point of view, but over a period of weeks and months, he began to accept these judgments inwardly, and to apply them to himself.
In the cell, you work in order to recognize your crimes. >. . They make you understand your crimes are very heavy. You did harm to the Chinese people. You are really a spy, and all the punishment you re- ceived was your own fault. . . . In the cell, twelve hours a day, you talk and talk--you have to take part--you must discuss yourself, criti- cize, inspect yourself, denounce your thought. Little by little you start to admit something, and look to yourself only using the "people's judgment. "
At times, the prison would take on a highly academic atmosphere. Vincent and his fellow prisoners would focus their attention on applying Marxist theory to Chinese and international problems; prisoners would be referred to as "schoolmates," prison officials would be called "instructors," and all would emphasize that only "discussion" and "persuasion" should be used to teach the ignorant. As Vincent became more and more involved in the process, he began to experience its impact.
They put in evidence, in a compulsory way, the progress of the peo- ple. The people have a future* The theories of Marx about history teach
? 28 THOUGHT REFORM
us that imperialism is condemned to be destroyed. . . . They put in evidence all the examples of repression by the imperialists in China, the missions, their charity, helping landlords, helping the KMT [Kuo- mintang, or Nationalist Party]--all against the people. . . . They put in evidence the development of the Soviet Union--its industries, re- education, culture, uplifting of the people, the friendly help of the Soviet to China. They told us of the victory against imperialism in the Korean war, the gradual remolding of Chinese society, the three- and five-year plans in order to arrive at socialist society, the transformation of agri- culture, the development of heavy industries, military improvement to defend the people, peace movement. . * . Living conditions of the Soviet state are very high; we see it in the movies, magazines, newspa- pers. We see the better condition of Chinese people in comparison with pre-liberation times--the hygiene movement in China, the cultural, the economic movement, the rights for minorities, rights between man and woman, free elections, the difference between freedom in the so- cialist and the imperialist worlds. . . . They solve every problem through discussion--the Korean war, the Indo-Chinese war. . . . They never use force; every question is solved through conference.
But always, the emphasis would shift back to the individual emotional experience--to the "thought problems" which prevented prisoners from making progress. Dr. Vincent learned to express "spontaneously" all of his reactions and attitudes during the dis- cussions and especially to bring out his "wrong thoughts. " And as he did so, he became ever more enmeshed in the special problem-solv- ing techniques of this ideological world.
You have to get rid of and denounce all your imperialist thoughts, and you must criticize all of your own thoughts, guided by the official. If not, they will have someone else solve your problem and criticize you more profoundly. . . . You have a problem--you have to de- nounce it--a schoolmate has to help you--his help has to have "proper standpoint" . , . . I am quiet--they say, "You have a problem"; I say, "I wonder why the Chinese didn't confiscate all of the capitalist proper- ties like the Soviets. I think it might be better to do it like the Russians --this is my problem. " They have schoolmates to solve my problem, to demonstrate I am on the wrong side because the Chinese Communists have to proceed in another way. Their way is reform rather than com- pulsion. He demonstrates that the Soviet revolution was different from the Chinese revolution--that the Chinese capitalist suffered through the imperialists because we imperialists never gave them the opportu- nity to develop their industries. Now the Chinese capitalists have to be useful to the Chinese government and undergo reform. If they follow
? RE-EDUCA TION: DR. VINCENT 2Q
the government they will have a bright future. . . , They have to ex- plain the facts until I am convinced. If I am not convinced I must say I don't understand, and they bring new facts. If I am still not satisfied, I have the right to call an inspector--but I wouldn't, I would just ac- cept, otherwise there might be a struggle. . . . You are all day under the compulsion of denouncing your thoughts and solving your prob- lems. . . . You understand the truth of the people--day by day, mo- ment by moment--and you cannot escape, because from your external manifestation they say they can understand your internal situation. If you continually denounce your thoughts, you can be happy denouncing yourself. You are not resisting. But they keep a record, and after one week if you are not saying anything, they tell you you are resisting your re-education. . . . If you think out five or six problems it is a good manifestation; you are progressing because you like to discuss your imperialist thoughts. This is necessary, because if you don't get rid of these thoughts, you can't put in new ones.
When Vincent was too quiet and did not produce enough "wrong thoughts," he was criticized for not being "sincere"--for not tak- ing an active enough part in thought reform. When his views showed the slightest deviation from Communist orthodoxy, he was told that he was "too subjective," "individualistic/' or that he re- tained "imperialist attitudes. " When it was felt that he was not wholeheartedly involved in his reform--but was merely going through the motions--he was accused of "spreading a smoke- screen," "window dressing," "finding a loophole," or "failing to com- bine theory with practice. " And after a while he followed the others' lead in seeking out these faults in himself through self-criticism, and analyzing their cause and their significance.
A portion of the study hours each day were devoted to "daily- life criticisms": general conduct, attitudes toward others, willing- ness to do one's share of work in the cell, eating and sleeping habits. Where Vincent was found wanting in any of these, this was at- tributed to "imperialist" or "bourgeois" greed and exploitation, in contrast to the "people's attitude" of sharing and co-operation. When considered lax in his work, he was criticized for lacking the "correct labor point of view"; when he dropped a plate, this was wasting the people's money; if he drank too much water, this was "draining the blood of the people"; if he took up too much room while sleeping, this was "imperialistic expansion. "
Vincent would still heai talk of men who were shot because
? 30 THOUGHT REFORM
"they resisted"; and on the other hand he heard of the "bright fu- ture"--early release or happy existence in China--for those who "accepted their re-education. "
Advanced Standing
After more than a year of this continuous "re-education," Vin- cent was again subjected to a series of interrogations aimed at once more reconstructing his confession--"because after one year the government hopes you understand a little better your crimes/' Now from among the great mass of material which he had already pro- duced, the judge focused upon a few selected points, all of which had some relationship to actual events. And thus, "from a wild confession, you go to a more concrete confession. " Then, eight "crimes" emerged--including membership in a right-wing French political organization, several forms of "espionage" and "intelli- gence" in association with American, Catholic, and other "reac- tionary" groups, other anti-Communist activities, and "slanderous insults to the Chinese people. " But now Vincent was more deeply immersed in the "people's standpoint," and the confession had a much greater sense of reality for him than before.
You have the feeling that you look to yourself on the people's side, and that you are a criminal. Not all of the time--but moments--you think they are right. "I did this, I am a criminal. " If you doubt, you keep it to yourself. Because if you admit the doubt you will be "struggled" and lose the progress you have made. . . . In this way they built up a spy mentality. . . . They built up a criminal. . . . Then your inven- tion becomes a reality. . . . You feel guilty, because all of the time you have to look at yourself from the people's standpoint, and the more deeply you go into the people's standpoint, the more you recognize your crimes.
And at this point he began, in the "correct" manner, to relate his own sense of guilt to the Communist world view;
They taught us what it means to be a capitalist . . . . to enslave and exploit the people so that a small group of persons can enjoy life at the expense of the masses, their capital coming from the blood of the peo- ple, not from labor . . . . that all property comes from the blood of the peasant . . . .
that we helped this bad policy, that our mind is the capitalistic mind . . . . and in our profession we exploited everyone. We used our profession to exploit people, as we can see from our crimes.
? RE-EDUCATION: DR. VINCENT 31
Then came another fourteen months of full-time re-education. Vincent continued to concentrate upon applying Communist theory to his personal situation, demonstrating an ever-expanding "recogni- tion" of his "crimes/'
After two years, in order to show that you are more on the people's side, you increase your crimes. . . . I said I wasn't frank before, there were really more intelligences. . . . This is a good point. It means that you are analyzing your crimes. . . . It means that you realize your crimes are very big, and that you are not afraid to denounce yourself . . . . that you trust the people, trust your re-education, and that you like to be reformed.
By this time his activities were no longer limited to his own case; he had by now become active--and skillful--in criticizing others, "helping" them to make progress in confession and reform. He had become an experienced prisoner, and was beginning to be looked upon as a true progressive. He even came to believe a great deal of what he was expressing--although not in a simple manner:
You begin to believe all this, but it is a special kind of belief. You are not absolutely convinced, but you accept it--in order to avoid trouble --because every time you don't agree, trouble starts again.
During his third year of imprisonment, he was once more called in for a revision of his confession. The document became even more brief, concrete, "logical," and convincing. Now Vincent began to think of his sentence, estimating it from the "people's standpoint" which had become so much a part of him.
You have the feeling that your sentence is coming and that you will be sent somewhere else . . . . and you are waiting. . . . Y ou think, "How long--maybe twenty, twenty-five years" . . . . Y ou will be sent to reform through labor . . . to a factory or to a field. . . . They are very generous about this. . . . The government is very generous. The people are very generous. , . . Now you know that you cannot be shot. . . . But you are thinking that your crimes are very heavy.
Now Vincent was told that his "attitude" had greatly improved. He was transferred to a different wing of the prison--and given treasured privileges, such as an hour of outdoor exercise a day and additional recreation periods in the cell. He found himself living in harmony with his captors, and during the last few months of
? 32 THOUGHT REFORM
his imprisonment was even permitted to give French lessons to other prisoners and to conduct medical classes for students brought to the prison for this purpose. All of this was not without its ef- fect:
They used this as a premium in order to show me that they weren't against my work or my profession, but were only against my reactionary mind. To show that my work was well accepted, that they accepted my theories. . . . To show what it means to live among the people, if I become one of the people. . . . To put in my mind that life among the people is good.
Soon he was called in for a formal signing of his confession--both a French version in his own handwriting, and a Chinese translation. Photographers and moving-picture cameramen were on hand, and he also read it for sound recording. With many others like it, it was widely disseminated throughout China and other parts of the world. A short time later he was called before the judge, and after three years of "solving" his case, he was read both the charges and the sentence: for "espionage" and other "crimes" against the people, three years of imprisonment--this considered to be already served. He was expelled immediately from China, and within two days, he was on a British ship heading for Hong Kong.
Freedom
From his story, Dr, Vincent might appear to be a highly success- ful product of thought reform. But when I saw him in Hong Kong, the issue was much more in doubt. He was a man in limbo, caught between the two worlds.
In his confusion and fear he felt that he was being constantly observed and manipulated. Much of this paranoid content was an internal extension of his prison environment:
I have a certain idea that someone is spying on me--an imperialist spying on me because I came from the Communist world--interested to look and seewhat 1 think. . . . When I am doing something I feel someone is looking at me--because from external manifestation he is anxious to look at what is going on inside of me. We were trained this way in our re-education.
And thinking out loud about me, he said:
? RE-EDUCATION: DR. VINCENT 33
I have a feeling he is not just a doctor. He is connected with some imperialist organization which will bring me danger. . . . I think maybe someone else is telling you the questions to ask me. . . . But I give you everything, and if tomorrow something happens, I could say, "This is the truth. I have endeavored to tell the truth. "
He expressed distrust toward the friend who had arranged for him to see me:
I opened myself with him and told him my ideas. But then I thought, perhaps he will use this against me. We were both re-educated, taught to denounce everybody and not to trust anybody, that it is your duty to denounce.
He later explained the reason for his request that I pick him up at his boarding house:
When you telephoned me . . . I thought maybe he is a Communist. . . . Perhaps an enemy. . . . I refused to come here alone, because I didn't have a witness. . . . This way you come, you are seen, and if I disappear there is a witness.
In this borderline psychotic state, Vincent graphically described his split identity:
When I left China I had this strange feeling: Now I am going to the imperialistic world. No one will take care of me. I'll be unemployed and lost. . . . Everyone will look at me as a criminal. . . . Still, I thought, there is a Communist Party in my country. I am coming out of a Communist world; they must know I have had reform training. Perhaps they will be interested in keeping me. Maybe they can help me, and I will not be really lost. I will go to the Communists, tell them where I came from, and I'll have a future. . . .
But when I came to Hong Kong, the situation changed completely. The Consulate sent a man right away on board with a special motor- boat. They took care of me and asked me if I am in need. They told me they wired my government and my family. They brought me to a boarding house, nice room, nice food--and gave me money to spend. The capitalist world is more friendly than I thought it would be.
In his struggle to achieve some sense of reality, his perceptions of his new environment were faulty. He wavered between beliefs, always influenced by his fears:
? 34 THOUGHT REFORM
I had dinner last night at the home of Mr. Su [a wealthy, retired Hong Kong Chinese merchant]. I had the feeling that Mr. Su was a pro- Communist. I had this manifestation. Everytime he spoke, I wanted to say, "Yes. " I thought he was a judge--I was sympathizing with Mr. Su because he had a court. He asked me my crimes. I told him all of them in order. He said, "Do you feel guilty about this? " I said, "Yes. I feel guilty about this. " I had the impression he was a judge in contact with the Communists and can report everything. . . .
But this morning I wrote a letter to my wife, and I went into detail about my crimes. In this letter I denied completely my crimes. I know my wife--I know her well--she can't do anything to me, so I wrote, "How cruel they were to make a criminal out of someone like me"-- and yet last night I admitted guilt. Why? Because there was a judge there. . . .
Today at lunch with the Jesuit Fathers, I know them well--I denied everything because they are my friends. When I feel safe I am on one side. When I have the feeling I am not safe, right away I jump on the other side.
In his constant testing of his new environment, he began to call into question many of the teachings of his thought reform:
When I arrived in Hong Kong, another foreigner coming out of China put me in this difficult position. He told me about the situation in North China--that it was impossible to get meat there, and that there is rationing because everything is going to the Soviet Union. I said--"Impossible! A foreigner likes to exaggerate"--because we never heard about this rationing in jail. I said, "How can it be possible that the Soviet Union needs food from China when they are making such progress? " . . . . In prison we saw their food lists--butter, meat, what- ever they like--but now 1 hear that food is not enough in the Soviet Union. I ask myself, "Where is the truth? "
He found that what he was experiencing more and more came into conflict with his reform, and he felt that this reality-testingwas beneficial to him:
They say there is no progress in my country. But I was surprised to see a new steamer from there here in the harbor. I hear that it is an air- conditioned steamer, built since the war. I thought then that my coun- try is not a colony of America--they can have a steamer line come to Hong Kong. I started little by little to come to reality--bit by bit to make comparison of what they told me. The reality is quite good for me. I am thinking that if a school partner [cellmate] could have the possibility of seeing what I have seen in eight days--what could he be- lieve of his re-education? . .
For instance, I was the family physician and friend of an American correspondent. We talked about many things, including the political situation. . . . The judge questioned me again and again about rny relationship with this man. He asked me for details about everything we had talked about. . . . I admitted that at the time of the "libera- tion," when I saw the horsedrawn artillery of the Communist army, I told this to my American friend. . . . The judge shouted that this American was a spy who was collecting espionage material for his spy organization, and that I was guilty of supplying him with military in- telligence. . . . At first I did not accept this, but soon I had to add it to m y confession. . . . This is adopting the people's standpoint. . . .
I knew a man who was friendly with an American military attache. I told him the price of shoes and that I couldn't buy gasoline for my car. I had already agreed that this was economic intelligence. So I wrote that I gave economic intelligence to this man. But they made it clear that I must say that I received an espionage mission from the American mili-
? RE-EDUCA TION: DR. VINCEN
tary attache* through the other person, to collect economic intelligence. . . . This wasthe people's standpoint.
"Leniency" and "Study"
Just as Vincent was beginning to express himself from the "people's standpoint"--but in a dazed, compliant, and unenthu- siastic manner--he was suddenly surprised by a remarkable improve- ment in his status: the handcuffs and chains were removed, he was permitted to be comfortably seated when talking to the judge, and he was in turn addressed in friendly tones. He was told that the government regretted that he had been having such a difficult time, that it really wanted only to help him, and that in accordance with its "lenient policy" it would certainly treat him kindly and soon release him--if only he would make an absolutely complete confession, and then work hard to "reform" himself. And to help things along, pressures were diminished, and he was permitted more rest. This abrupt reversal in attitude had a profound effect upon Vincent: for the first time he had been treated with human con- sideration, the chains were gone, he could see a possible solution ahead, there was hope for the future.
Now he was offered more friendly "guidance" in rewriting (not once but many times) his entire confession, including descriptions and denunciations of other people; and his change of fortune gave him added incentive in applying himself to the task. But he soon found that this guidance was not to be taken lightly, and on three occasions when he expressed some measure of resistance, saying, "This I didn't do," the chains were reapplied for two or three days, accompanied by a return to the harsh treatment of previous weeks.
Once "leniency" had been initiated, however, Vincent was never again to experience anything as overwhelming as the assaults of his early prison period. Given the luxury of eight hours of sleep a night, of relatively calm and restrained interrogations (he was even permitted to sit on a chair), of practically no harassment in the cell, Vincent spent the next two or three weeks doing nothing but developing in even greater detail his confession material. During his sessions with the judge, he received further instructions upon the proper way to apply the "people's standpoint" to all that he was writing and saying.
? 26 THOUGHT REFORM
Meanwhile, he was initiated into the regular cell routine: care- fully regimented arrangements for sleeping and awakening, for eat- ing and for relieving oneself. Freed of the chains, he could join the others on the two daily excursions to the toilet (everyone running head down, to an area with two open toilets, each permitted about forty-five seconds to attend to his needs with sharp criticism directed at anyone who took longer than this), and in the use of the urine bucket in the cell. He was still addressed only by prison number and continued to receive food adequate for survival but poor in quality. And the sores and infections caused by his chains and hand- cuffs were given more attention, including local applications and penicillin injections.
Then, three weeks after the beginning of "leniency," he began to take part in the cell's organized "re-education" procedures. This meant active involvement in the group study program--the hstieh hsi--whose sessions took up almost the entire waking existence of the prisoners, ten to sixteen hours a day. Led by the cell chief, its procedure was simple enough: one prisoner read material from a Communist newspaper, book, or pamphlet; and then each in turn was expected to express his own opinion and to criticize the views of others. Everyone was required to participate actively, and anyone who did not was severely criticized. Each had to learn to express himself from the "correct" or "people's standpoint"--applied not only to personal actions, but to political, social, and ethical issues. With each of the prisoners feeling that his freedom or even his life might be at stake, the zeal of the participants was overwhelming.
For a long time after Dr. Vincent joined the group (and probably because of his presence), discussions centered upon past W estern in- sults to China: territorial aggrandizement, infringements upon sov- ereignty, special privileges demanded for Western nationals. And the message was conveyed to him personally that "under the cloak of medicine" he was nothing but a representative of "exploitation," an agent of the "imperialists," a life-long "spy," whose actions were from the beginning "harmful to the Chinese people. "
Discussions starting at an intellectual level would quickly become concerned with personal analysis and criticism. When Dr. Vincent was found wanting in his adoption of the "people's standpoint" or when his views were considered "erroneous," it became necessary for him to "examine himself" and look into the causes of these "re-
? RE-EDUCATION: DR. VINCENT 2J
actionary" tendencies. He had to search out the harmful "bourgeois" and "imperialistic" influences from his past for further evaluation and self-criticism. Every "question" or "problem" had to be "solved," according to the "facts/' in order to get to the "truth," viewing everything, of course, from the "people's standpoint. "
Special "movements" would take place, jolting the prisoners from the ordinary routine into renewed emotional efforts. Sometimes these were part of broad, all-China campaigns, sometimes related to national prison movements, and sometimes locally initiated; but whether directed at "thought attitude," prison discipline, hygiene problems, or personal confessions, they always served to plunge each prisoner into a more thorough and compelling self-examina- tion. Everyone was intent upon demonstrating his own "reform" and "progressive viewpoint. " The atmosphere came to resemble that of a great moral crusade.
Dr, Vincent was still receiving more personal attention than anyone else in the cell. At first he simply gave lip-service to what he knew to be the "correct" point of view, but over a period of weeks and months, he began to accept these judgments inwardly, and to apply them to himself.
In the cell, you work in order to recognize your crimes. >. . They make you understand your crimes are very heavy. You did harm to the Chinese people. You are really a spy, and all the punishment you re- ceived was your own fault. . . . In the cell, twelve hours a day, you talk and talk--you have to take part--you must discuss yourself, criti- cize, inspect yourself, denounce your thought. Little by little you start to admit something, and look to yourself only using the "people's judgment. "
At times, the prison would take on a highly academic atmosphere. Vincent and his fellow prisoners would focus their attention on applying Marxist theory to Chinese and international problems; prisoners would be referred to as "schoolmates," prison officials would be called "instructors," and all would emphasize that only "discussion" and "persuasion" should be used to teach the ignorant. As Vincent became more and more involved in the process, he began to experience its impact.
They put in evidence, in a compulsory way, the progress of the peo- ple. The people have a future* The theories of Marx about history teach
? 28 THOUGHT REFORM
us that imperialism is condemned to be destroyed. . . . They put in evidence all the examples of repression by the imperialists in China, the missions, their charity, helping landlords, helping the KMT [Kuo- mintang, or Nationalist Party]--all against the people. . . . They put in evidence the development of the Soviet Union--its industries, re- education, culture, uplifting of the people, the friendly help of the Soviet to China. They told us of the victory against imperialism in the Korean war, the gradual remolding of Chinese society, the three- and five-year plans in order to arrive at socialist society, the transformation of agri- culture, the development of heavy industries, military improvement to defend the people, peace movement. . * . Living conditions of the Soviet state are very high; we see it in the movies, magazines, newspa- pers. We see the better condition of Chinese people in comparison with pre-liberation times--the hygiene movement in China, the cultural, the economic movement, the rights for minorities, rights between man and woman, free elections, the difference between freedom in the so- cialist and the imperialist worlds. . . . They solve every problem through discussion--the Korean war, the Indo-Chinese war. . . . They never use force; every question is solved through conference.
But always, the emphasis would shift back to the individual emotional experience--to the "thought problems" which prevented prisoners from making progress. Dr. Vincent learned to express "spontaneously" all of his reactions and attitudes during the dis- cussions and especially to bring out his "wrong thoughts. " And as he did so, he became ever more enmeshed in the special problem-solv- ing techniques of this ideological world.
You have to get rid of and denounce all your imperialist thoughts, and you must criticize all of your own thoughts, guided by the official. If not, they will have someone else solve your problem and criticize you more profoundly. . . . You have a problem--you have to de- nounce it--a schoolmate has to help you--his help has to have "proper standpoint" . , . . I am quiet--they say, "You have a problem"; I say, "I wonder why the Chinese didn't confiscate all of the capitalist proper- ties like the Soviets. I think it might be better to do it like the Russians --this is my problem. " They have schoolmates to solve my problem, to demonstrate I am on the wrong side because the Chinese Communists have to proceed in another way. Their way is reform rather than com- pulsion. He demonstrates that the Soviet revolution was different from the Chinese revolution--that the Chinese capitalist suffered through the imperialists because we imperialists never gave them the opportu- nity to develop their industries. Now the Chinese capitalists have to be useful to the Chinese government and undergo reform. If they follow
? RE-EDUCA TION: DR. VINCENT 2Q
the government they will have a bright future. . . , They have to ex- plain the facts until I am convinced. If I am not convinced I must say I don't understand, and they bring new facts. If I am still not satisfied, I have the right to call an inspector--but I wouldn't, I would just ac- cept, otherwise there might be a struggle. . . . You are all day under the compulsion of denouncing your thoughts and solving your prob- lems. . . . You understand the truth of the people--day by day, mo- ment by moment--and you cannot escape, because from your external manifestation they say they can understand your internal situation. If you continually denounce your thoughts, you can be happy denouncing yourself. You are not resisting. But they keep a record, and after one week if you are not saying anything, they tell you you are resisting your re-education. . . . If you think out five or six problems it is a good manifestation; you are progressing because you like to discuss your imperialist thoughts. This is necessary, because if you don't get rid of these thoughts, you can't put in new ones.
When Vincent was too quiet and did not produce enough "wrong thoughts," he was criticized for not being "sincere"--for not tak- ing an active enough part in thought reform. When his views showed the slightest deviation from Communist orthodoxy, he was told that he was "too subjective," "individualistic/' or that he re- tained "imperialist attitudes. " When it was felt that he was not wholeheartedly involved in his reform--but was merely going through the motions--he was accused of "spreading a smoke- screen," "window dressing," "finding a loophole," or "failing to com- bine theory with practice. " And after a while he followed the others' lead in seeking out these faults in himself through self-criticism, and analyzing their cause and their significance.
A portion of the study hours each day were devoted to "daily- life criticisms": general conduct, attitudes toward others, willing- ness to do one's share of work in the cell, eating and sleeping habits. Where Vincent was found wanting in any of these, this was at- tributed to "imperialist" or "bourgeois" greed and exploitation, in contrast to the "people's attitude" of sharing and co-operation. When considered lax in his work, he was criticized for lacking the "correct labor point of view"; when he dropped a plate, this was wasting the people's money; if he drank too much water, this was "draining the blood of the people"; if he took up too much room while sleeping, this was "imperialistic expansion. "
Vincent would still heai talk of men who were shot because
? 30 THOUGHT REFORM
"they resisted"; and on the other hand he heard of the "bright fu- ture"--early release or happy existence in China--for those who "accepted their re-education. "
Advanced Standing
After more than a year of this continuous "re-education," Vin- cent was again subjected to a series of interrogations aimed at once more reconstructing his confession--"because after one year the government hopes you understand a little better your crimes/' Now from among the great mass of material which he had already pro- duced, the judge focused upon a few selected points, all of which had some relationship to actual events. And thus, "from a wild confession, you go to a more concrete confession. " Then, eight "crimes" emerged--including membership in a right-wing French political organization, several forms of "espionage" and "intelli- gence" in association with American, Catholic, and other "reac- tionary" groups, other anti-Communist activities, and "slanderous insults to the Chinese people. " But now Vincent was more deeply immersed in the "people's standpoint," and the confession had a much greater sense of reality for him than before.
You have the feeling that you look to yourself on the people's side, and that you are a criminal. Not all of the time--but moments--you think they are right. "I did this, I am a criminal. " If you doubt, you keep it to yourself. Because if you admit the doubt you will be "struggled" and lose the progress you have made. . . . In this way they built up a spy mentality. . . . They built up a criminal. . . . Then your inven- tion becomes a reality. . . . You feel guilty, because all of the time you have to look at yourself from the people's standpoint, and the more deeply you go into the people's standpoint, the more you recognize your crimes.
And at this point he began, in the "correct" manner, to relate his own sense of guilt to the Communist world view;
They taught us what it means to be a capitalist . . . . to enslave and exploit the people so that a small group of persons can enjoy life at the expense of the masses, their capital coming from the blood of the peo- ple, not from labor . . . . that all property comes from the blood of the peasant . . . .
that we helped this bad policy, that our mind is the capitalistic mind . . . . and in our profession we exploited everyone. We used our profession to exploit people, as we can see from our crimes.
? RE-EDUCATION: DR. VINCENT 31
Then came another fourteen months of full-time re-education. Vincent continued to concentrate upon applying Communist theory to his personal situation, demonstrating an ever-expanding "recogni- tion" of his "crimes/'
After two years, in order to show that you are more on the people's side, you increase your crimes. . . . I said I wasn't frank before, there were really more intelligences. . . . This is a good point. It means that you are analyzing your crimes. . . . It means that you realize your crimes are very big, and that you are not afraid to denounce yourself . . . . that you trust the people, trust your re-education, and that you like to be reformed.
By this time his activities were no longer limited to his own case; he had by now become active--and skillful--in criticizing others, "helping" them to make progress in confession and reform. He had become an experienced prisoner, and was beginning to be looked upon as a true progressive. He even came to believe a great deal of what he was expressing--although not in a simple manner:
You begin to believe all this, but it is a special kind of belief. You are not absolutely convinced, but you accept it--in order to avoid trouble --because every time you don't agree, trouble starts again.
During his third year of imprisonment, he was once more called in for a revision of his confession. The document became even more brief, concrete, "logical," and convincing. Now Vincent began to think of his sentence, estimating it from the "people's standpoint" which had become so much a part of him.
You have the feeling that your sentence is coming and that you will be sent somewhere else . . . . and you are waiting. . . . Y ou think, "How long--maybe twenty, twenty-five years" . . . . Y ou will be sent to reform through labor . . . to a factory or to a field. . . . They are very generous about this. . . . The government is very generous. The people are very generous. , . . Now you know that you cannot be shot. . . . But you are thinking that your crimes are very heavy.
Now Vincent was told that his "attitude" had greatly improved. He was transferred to a different wing of the prison--and given treasured privileges, such as an hour of outdoor exercise a day and additional recreation periods in the cell. He found himself living in harmony with his captors, and during the last few months of
? 32 THOUGHT REFORM
his imprisonment was even permitted to give French lessons to other prisoners and to conduct medical classes for students brought to the prison for this purpose. All of this was not without its ef- fect:
They used this as a premium in order to show me that they weren't against my work or my profession, but were only against my reactionary mind. To show that my work was well accepted, that they accepted my theories. . . . To show what it means to live among the people, if I become one of the people. . . . To put in my mind that life among the people is good.
Soon he was called in for a formal signing of his confession--both a French version in his own handwriting, and a Chinese translation. Photographers and moving-picture cameramen were on hand, and he also read it for sound recording. With many others like it, it was widely disseminated throughout China and other parts of the world. A short time later he was called before the judge, and after three years of "solving" his case, he was read both the charges and the sentence: for "espionage" and other "crimes" against the people, three years of imprisonment--this considered to be already served. He was expelled immediately from China, and within two days, he was on a British ship heading for Hong Kong.
Freedom
From his story, Dr, Vincent might appear to be a highly success- ful product of thought reform. But when I saw him in Hong Kong, the issue was much more in doubt. He was a man in limbo, caught between the two worlds.
In his confusion and fear he felt that he was being constantly observed and manipulated. Much of this paranoid content was an internal extension of his prison environment:
I have a certain idea that someone is spying on me--an imperialist spying on me because I came from the Communist world--interested to look and seewhat 1 think. . . . When I am doing something I feel someone is looking at me--because from external manifestation he is anxious to look at what is going on inside of me. We were trained this way in our re-education.
And thinking out loud about me, he said:
? RE-EDUCATION: DR. VINCENT 33
I have a feeling he is not just a doctor. He is connected with some imperialist organization which will bring me danger. . . . I think maybe someone else is telling you the questions to ask me. . . . But I give you everything, and if tomorrow something happens, I could say, "This is the truth. I have endeavored to tell the truth. "
He expressed distrust toward the friend who had arranged for him to see me:
I opened myself with him and told him my ideas. But then I thought, perhaps he will use this against me. We were both re-educated, taught to denounce everybody and not to trust anybody, that it is your duty to denounce.
He later explained the reason for his request that I pick him up at his boarding house:
When you telephoned me . . . I thought maybe he is a Communist. . . . Perhaps an enemy. . . . I refused to come here alone, because I didn't have a witness. . . . This way you come, you are seen, and if I disappear there is a witness.
In this borderline psychotic state, Vincent graphically described his split identity:
When I left China I had this strange feeling: Now I am going to the imperialistic world. No one will take care of me. I'll be unemployed and lost. . . . Everyone will look at me as a criminal. . . . Still, I thought, there is a Communist Party in my country. I am coming out of a Communist world; they must know I have had reform training. Perhaps they will be interested in keeping me. Maybe they can help me, and I will not be really lost. I will go to the Communists, tell them where I came from, and I'll have a future. . . .
But when I came to Hong Kong, the situation changed completely. The Consulate sent a man right away on board with a special motor- boat. They took care of me and asked me if I am in need. They told me they wired my government and my family. They brought me to a boarding house, nice room, nice food--and gave me money to spend. The capitalist world is more friendly than I thought it would be.
In his struggle to achieve some sense of reality, his perceptions of his new environment were faulty. He wavered between beliefs, always influenced by his fears:
? 34 THOUGHT REFORM
I had dinner last night at the home of Mr. Su [a wealthy, retired Hong Kong Chinese merchant]. I had the feeling that Mr. Su was a pro- Communist. I had this manifestation. Everytime he spoke, I wanted to say, "Yes. " I thought he was a judge--I was sympathizing with Mr. Su because he had a court. He asked me my crimes. I told him all of them in order. He said, "Do you feel guilty about this? " I said, "Yes. I feel guilty about this. " I had the impression he was a judge in contact with the Communists and can report everything. . . .
But this morning I wrote a letter to my wife, and I went into detail about my crimes. In this letter I denied completely my crimes. I know my wife--I know her well--she can't do anything to me, so I wrote, "How cruel they were to make a criminal out of someone like me"-- and yet last night I admitted guilt. Why? Because there was a judge there. . . .
Today at lunch with the Jesuit Fathers, I know them well--I denied everything because they are my friends. When I feel safe I am on one side. When I have the feeling I am not safe, right away I jump on the other side.
In his constant testing of his new environment, he began to call into question many of the teachings of his thought reform:
When I arrived in Hong Kong, another foreigner coming out of China put me in this difficult position. He told me about the situation in North China--that it was impossible to get meat there, and that there is rationing because everything is going to the Soviet Union. I said--"Impossible! A foreigner likes to exaggerate"--because we never heard about this rationing in jail. I said, "How can it be possible that the Soviet Union needs food from China when they are making such progress? " . . . . In prison we saw their food lists--butter, meat, what- ever they like--but now 1 hear that food is not enough in the Soviet Union. I ask myself, "Where is the truth? "
He found that what he was experiencing more and more came into conflict with his reform, and he felt that this reality-testingwas beneficial to him:
They say there is no progress in my country. But I was surprised to see a new steamer from there here in the harbor. I hear that it is an air- conditioned steamer, built since the war. I thought then that my coun- try is not a colony of America--they can have a steamer line come to Hong Kong. I started little by little to come to reality--bit by bit to make comparison of what they told me. The reality is quite good for me. I am thinking that if a school partner [cellmate] could have the possibility of seeing what I have seen in eight days--what could he be- lieve of his re-education? . .
