Part III Contemporary Post

Chapter 1 Establishment and initial Development of Post in P.R.China

After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China Post entered a new development period. China Post was created on the basis of the post in the liberated area and the Chinese Postal Administration which had been taken over and transformed. After the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications was founded, it undertook to establish new management system, restore and develop postal network, unify the service categories and the standards of postage, pose the service principle as Speed, Accuracy, Security and Convenience, and establish and perfect the business management system. By doing so, the postal cause in China gained an initial development.

Section 1 Establishment of Post in P.R.China

A. Taking over and transforming the Chinese Postal Administration

On April 25, 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong and Chief Commander Zhu De signed "The announcement of the People's Liberation Army", announcing that "all the factories, shops or stores, banks, warehouses, boats or ships, docks, railways, post, telegram and telephone, water supply factories, farms and pasture-lands operated by the KMT reactionary government and the big bureaucrat elements shall be taken over by the People's government ". The following guidelines of take-over work in post were established in accordance with the urban policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China' (1) Not to upset the previous business structures, and try to make a complete take-over from above to below in the previous system; (2) To strive to restore the service in a brief period of time; (3) To announce the basic policies so as to reassure the public and save the supplies; (4) To mobilize the masses to help the government to do checking and sorting; (5) To educate staff and employees and remould their ideology; (6) To study the various old systems and organizations so as to reform them step by step in a planned way. A "three-Preserving" policy of "preserving the previous posts, wages and organizations" for the previous staff and employees in the business was put into effect. The take-over work at all localities was generally under short-term military control by the military representatives or take-over people sent by the local Military Control Commissions and then was transferred to the postal sectors. The take-over work went well owing to the close coordination among the postal staff 4d employees, takeover departments and take-over officials. By the end of 1949, 2600 post offices from the Chinese Postal Administration had been taken over and by the end of 1950, the take-over and transformation of the businesses in the Chinese Postal Administration at all localities had been basically completed.

B. Opening of the first national postal conference

The Central People's Government was founded on October l, 1949. On November l, the Ministry of Posts Telecommunications, was set up in order to carry out unified management of the postal and telecommunication undertakings across the whole counts according to "the organizational Law of the Central People's Government"' Zhu Xuefan was appointed as minister and Wang Zheng as vice minister. The founding of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommuntions marked a new historical development period in the postal cause of China. From December 10 to 28, 1949, the Ministry of posts and Telecommunications convened the first national postal conference in Beijing so as to unify the postal administration across the country and push forward the postal cause of P. R. China. It was established at the conference that the postal service of P.R. China belonged to state economic organization. It should handle the postal service, adjust the construction of network and post offices, in coordination with the political, economic and cultural construction of the new democracy, taking "serve the People" as its general orientation and supreme principle, it was established that the name of the postal administration is the People's Postal Administration of China. The appropriate resolution was made at the conference and approved by the conference of the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government and its main contents were as follows:

(1) To unify the postal organization structures across the country. It was decided to sot up the Directorate General of Posts to Manage the postal service across the country on behalf of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and general offices in various large administrative districts were renamed as general branch postal offices to monitor all the post offices in each district on behalf of the Directorate General of Posts. The postal organizations at all levels across the country was of four-level management system, namely the Directorate General of Posts-general branch postal offices in each large administrative district, District Postal Administration, and the first, second and third-grade postal offices.

(2) To actively develop the existing letter, parcel and remittance service step by step in a focal and planned way and take the newspapers and periodicals subscription and distribution as one of the key postal services.

(3) Financial revenue and expenditure nationwide should be under unified administration since January, 1950, the Directorate General of Posts should carry out unified supply and dispatch and material supplies shall be also under a high degree of centralism.

(4) To abolish the scornful titles in the Chinese Postal Administration, chief of postal affairs, letter corvee, coolie and sundry corvee were renamed as postal man, mailman and mail transportation man.

(5) To unify the rules and regulations, handle formalities in postal service system nationwide, and establish the principle of adjusting the postage.

(6) To determine the postal construction plan of 1950, was decided to restore the trunk mail transportation networks such as railway, steamship and non with Beijing as the center.

In December, 1949, Su Younong was appointed as director general of Directorate General of Posts, Mry, China, Zhao Zhigang and Gu Chunfang as deputy director generals. The Directorate General of Posts was set up on January l, 1950. In April, 1950, the Directorate General of Posts issued a general order to abolish the security system of staff and workers. In 1950, the postal departments notified venous overseas Chinese Bureaus to make registration so as to ensure their legal operation. Thereafter, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications was merged with the Bank of China, bringing gradually overseas Chinese Bureaus into management service under the banks and postal offices, with some of the overseas Chinese bureaus becoming the entrusted organs under postal offices.

C. Establishment of management system

After its founding, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications undertook immediately to create posts and telecommunications undertaking in new China. The management system of "unified leadership, respective operation and vertical system" on posts and telecommunications was adopted under the unified leadership of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. The Directorate General of Posts and Directorate General of telecommunications were set up within the Ministry so as to operate posts and Telecommunications service respectively. After the founding of the Directorate General of Posts, the General Postal Administrations in each large administrative district were reorganized as General Branch Offices in March, 1950, in accordance with the resolution made by the national postal conference (No General Branch Office was set up in north China which was under direct leadership of the Directorate General of Posts. The General Postal Administration in the northeast was reorganized as the General Branch Office of Posts and Telecommunications). The other services such as personnel, postage were also unified accordingly.

In 1950, the Government Administration Council of the Central People's Government decided that a centralized unified leadership system under the Central Government in posts and telecommunications was put in effect. In July of the year, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications convened a conference attended by the directors of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations in each large administrative district, and it was decided at the conference to carry out the management systems of "merging posts with telecommunications", namely the Directorate General of Posts and the Directorate General of Telecommunications were no longer one-level leading organs, but only responsible for giving service guidance for posts and telecommunications organs at all levels, and with the personnel, finance, planning and equipment previously in charge by the Directorate General of Posts guided by the comprehensive functional institution set up by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications. The postal and telecommunications organs were under the vertical leadership by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunication. The Postal and Telecommunications Administrations in each large administrative district were under the leadership of the People's government of each large administrative district where it was located. The party organizations of the postal offices at all levels were under the leadership of the local Party Committees. The work of political thought was mainly undertaken by the local Party Committees. The appointment and removal of cadres at all levels within the postal and telecommunications system would be proposed by the postal and telecommunications departments and consulted with the local Party Committees. By the end of 1952, the adjustment of the posts and telecommunications management system had been basically completed, thus the posts and telecommunications management system of four-level management was formed nationwide, namely the Ministry of the Posts and Telecommunications, the Posts and Telecommunications Administrations in each larger administrative district (the Posts and Telecommunications Administrations of the Provinces in North China and communication enterprises in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin were under direct leadership of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications), the Posts and Telecommunications Administrations in ' each province and autonomous region and in each large administrative district were 'directly under the postal office and the Telecommunications Office, the first, second, third and fourth-grade postal offices.

In June, 1954, with the change in organizational system of the large administrative district, the Posts and Telecommunications Administrations at the level of large administrative district were also cancelled. The Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications convened the fourth national conference on posts and telecommunications from May 23 to 30,1955, at which it was decided that the posts and telecommunications offices across the county were of one level enterprises. Thereafter, a system of three-level management was formed nationwide, namely the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the posts and telecommunications office at the level of province (autonomous region and municipality directly under the Central Government) and the one at the level of county and city.

D. Taking back the Indian postal facilities in Tibet, China

In the years just following the liberation, India still succeeded to the small number of postal facilities in Tibet operated by the United Kingdom. In 1953, a talk was held between Chinese delegation and Indian delegation on the local relations between two countries in Tibet, China. In December, 1954, Indian Government agreed to return gratis the postal enterprises and their equipments to the Chinese Government, along with 12 mail posts and their facilities in Tibet at the discount price agreed upon by both sides to the Chinese Government. At the end of February, 1955, both China and India sent people to Jiangzi, Paili and Yadong to make check of communication facilities concerned. On April 1, a hand-over ceremony was held in Tibet by Chinese delegation and Indian delegation, and then, there was no postal administration operated by foreigners in China.