ORDER: safe-conduct pass of the Chinese People's Volunteers' Headquarters

ORDER: safe-conduct pass of the Chinese People's Volunteers' Headquarters

A bilingual (Chinese and English) surrender pass headed 'ORDER' tells the 'BEARER, regardless of his nationality or rank' of United Nations forces that he will be escorted to a rear garrison or POW camp and lists four 'affirmations': security of life, retention of personal belongings, freedom from maltreatment, and medical care for the wounded. Only the terms on offer are stated; nothing on the sheet says what captivity involves beyond them.

Date
1951
Period
Cold War
Made by
Headquarters of the Chinese People's Volunteers (PRC), Korean War
Region
East Asia
Country
China
Medium
Leaflet
Issuer type
Military
Regime
People's Republic of China
Leader
Mao Zedong
Audience
Enemy forces
Purpose
Mobilize or secure compliance
Theme
War and the military
Event
Korean War
Techniques
Card stacking
Source
Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
Source
Harry S. Truman Library & Museum (National Archives), retrieved September 29, 2026
Rights
Public domain (Truman Library record rights statement: item is in the public domain and can be used freely)
Gene Putnam; Harry S. Truman Library & Museum, accession 2017-114.

Text on the object

Original (Chinese (traditional characters, vertical) and English) · read from the image, not independently checked

命令
凡持證投誠之敵方官兵,不論國籍,應本我軍寬
待政策,妥為接待,護送至最近之司令部或俘虜管理
處,並切實遵行下列四大保證:
一、保證生命安全。
二、不沒收私人財物。
三、不虐待,不侮辱人格。
四、受傷者給予治療。
此令
中國人民志願軍司令部

(fold here)

ORDER
The BEARER, regardless of his nationality or rank, will be duly accepted and escorted to a rear People's Volunteer Garrison or POW Camp; and on arrival will be guaranteed in accordance with our policy of leniency to prisoners of war, the following four great affirmations:
1. Security of life.
2. Retention of all personal belongings.
3. Freedom from maltreatment or abuse.
4. Medical care for the wounded.
THE CHINESE PEOPLE'S VOLUNTEER'S HEADQUARTERS

English translation (machine translation by Claude, not verified by a fluent reader)

Chinese half: ORDER. Enemy officers and men who bear this pass and come over in good faith, regardless of nationality, are to be received properly in accordance with our army's policy of leniency and escorted to the nearest headquarters or prisoner-of-war administration office, and the following four great guarantees are to be strictly carried out: 1. Life is guaranteed safe. 2. Private property is not confiscated. 3. No mistreatment and no insult to personal dignity. 4. The wounded are given medical treatment. This order. Headquarters of the Chinese People's Volunteers. (The English half is already in English.)

Chinese columns read from the 800 px scan; the wording matches the English half point for point. The English half's hyphenated line breaks (ac-cepted, belong-ings) are joined here.