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In October 1935, Com<strong>in</strong>tern restructured its system. All of <strong>the</strong> Regional Secretariats <strong>in</strong>clud<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />
E<strong>as</strong>tern Secretariat were abolished and, replac<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong>m, n<strong>in</strong>e Personal Secretariats were set up.<br />
British and USA colonies came under <strong>the</strong> jurisdiction of <strong>the</strong> Marty 19 Secretariat. One of <strong>the</strong> ma<strong>in</strong><br />
re<strong>as</strong>ons w<strong>as</strong> that <strong>the</strong> former Regional Secretariats were ruled by party officials who were not<br />
familiar enough with <strong>the</strong> conditions of respective foreign countries. In practice, <strong>the</strong> <strong>Communist</strong><br />
Parties of <strong>the</strong> colonies that had been under <strong>the</strong> jurisdiction of <strong>the</strong> ES were to be guided by <strong>the</strong><br />
respective suzera<strong>in</strong> countries’ <strong>Communist</strong> Parties. None<strong>the</strong>less, after 1935 <strong>the</strong>re w<strong>as</strong> no evidence<br />
that <strong>the</strong> Com<strong>in</strong>tern guided <strong>the</strong> MCP or tried to establish connections with it. With this reformation,<br />
Com<strong>in</strong>tern’s pr<strong>in</strong>ciple relat<strong>in</strong>g to <strong>the</strong> party and <strong>the</strong> ethnicity also changed. Formerly any ethnic<br />
groups <strong>in</strong> a country were to be equally affiliated to that country’s party. Under <strong>the</strong> new system,<br />
each ethnic group w<strong>as</strong> allowed to have specific connections with its orig<strong>in</strong>al country’s party. 20<br />
Notwithstand<strong>in</strong>g with it, <strong>the</strong> MCP cont<strong>in</strong>ued send<strong>in</strong>g reports cum requests to <strong>the</strong> Com<strong>in</strong>tern and <strong>the</strong><br />
Com<strong>in</strong>tern kept on watch<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> movement of <strong>the</strong> MCP.<br />
II 1936<br />
(1) <strong>The</strong>re w<strong>as</strong> no document for this year. <strong>The</strong>re w<strong>as</strong> also no reference ei<strong>the</strong>r to <strong>the</strong> 5 th Enlarged<br />
Plenum of <strong>the</strong> CC of <strong>the</strong> MCP which w<strong>as</strong> held <strong>in</strong> September 1936.<br />
A <strong>Party</strong> document written <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> 1950s said that by 1934 all CC members had been arrested one<br />
after ano<strong>the</strong>r. As a result of <strong>the</strong> enemy’s offensive, <strong>the</strong> party organizations were <strong>in</strong> chaos and<br />
connections with <strong>the</strong> Com<strong>in</strong>tern were cut off. In this confused situation, Lai Teck <strong>in</strong>filtrated <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>Party</strong> at <strong>the</strong> end of 1934 or 1935 21 and jo<strong>in</strong>ed <strong>the</strong> MCP pretend<strong>in</strong>g to be a Com<strong>in</strong>tern representative.<br />
C. F. Yong ma<strong>in</strong>ta<strong>in</strong>ed that <strong>the</strong> leadership vacuum afforded <strong>the</strong> opportunity for Lai Teck’s election<br />
<strong>in</strong>to <strong>the</strong> CC and <strong>as</strong> <strong>the</strong> Deputy Secretary at <strong>the</strong> 5 th Representatives’ Conference <strong>in</strong> September<br />
1936. 22<br />
It w<strong>as</strong> possible that Lai Teck deliberately severed contact with <strong>the</strong> Com<strong>in</strong>tern <strong>in</strong> 1936 to prevent<br />
<strong>the</strong> exposure of his true character before he had consolidated his position <strong>as</strong> Secretary of <strong>the</strong> <strong>Party</strong><br />
<strong>in</strong> 1939.<br />
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