you all,that we can surely do this in about three years.By that time,we shall be able to witness a fundamental turn for the better in the entire financial and economic situation of our country. To this end,the whole Party and nation must unite and carry out the following tasks: (1)The work of agrarian reform should proceed step by step and in a systematic way.[3]As the war has basically ended on the mainland and the situation is entirely different from that in the period from 1946 to 1948(when the People's Liberation Army was locked in a life-and-death struggle with the Kuomintang reactionaries and the issue had not yet been decided),it is now possible for the state to extend loans to the poor peasants to help them out of their difficulties and thus make up for the drawback that they are to receive less land.Accordingly,there should be a change in our policy towards the rich peasants,a change from the policy of requisitioning their surplus land and property to one of maintaining the rich peasant economy in order to facilitate the early rehabilitation of rural production and the better to isolate the landlords and protect the middle peasants and lessors of small plots. (2)Unified control and unified leadership in our financial and economic work should be consolidated,and so too should the balancing of budgetary revenues and expenditures and the stabilization of prices.In accordance with this principle,taxes should be readjusted and the people's burden appropriately lightened.In line with the principle of making over-all plans and taking all factors into consideration,drifting and anarchy in our economic work should be gradually eliminated,existing industry and commerce should be properly readjusted,and relations between the state sector and the private sector and between labour and capital should be effectively and suitably improved;thus under the leadership of the socialist state sector all sectors of the economy will function satisfactorily with a due division of labour to promote the rehabilitation and development of the whole economy.The view held by certain people that it is possible to eliminate capitalism and realize socialism at an early date is wrong,it does not tally with our national conditions. (3)While preserving its main forces,the People's Liberation Army should be partially demobilized in 1950,provided that the forces must be adequate to liberate Taiwan and Tibet,consolidate national defence and suppress counter-revolutionaries.This demobilization must be carried out carefully so as to enable the demobilized soldiers to return home and settle down to productive work.Readjustment is also necessary in administrative organizations,and here too the excess personnel should be dealt with appropriately so that they have the opportunity either to take up work or to study. (4)Reform of the old school education and of the old cultural institutions in our society should be conducted carefully step by step,and all patriotic intellectuals should be won over to the service of the people.On this question,procrastination or reluctance to introduce reforms is wrong,and so is rashness or any attempt to push them through arbitrarily. (5)Relief for unemployed workers and intellectuals must be carried out in earnest,and they must be helped to get work in a planned way.Serious efforts to provide relief for people stricken by natural calamities must continue
you all, that we can surely do this in about three years. By that time, we shall be able to witness a fundamental turn for the better in the entire financial and economic situation of our country. To this end, the whole Party and nation must unite and carry out the following tasks: (1) The work of agrarian reform should proceed step by step and in a systematic way.[3] As the war has basically ended on the mainland and the situation is entirely different from that in the period from 1946 to 1948 (when the People's Liberation Army was locked in a life-and-death struggle with the Kuomintang reactionaries and the issue had not yet been decided), it is now possible for the state to extend loans to the poor peasants to help them out of their difficulties and thus make up for the drawback that they are to receive less land. Accordingly, there should be a change in our policy towards the rich peasants, a change from the policy of requisitioning their surplus land and property to one of maintaining the rich peasant economy in order to facilitate the early rehabilitation of rural production and the better to isolate the landlords and protect the middle peasants and lessors of small plots. (2) Unified control and unified leadership in our financial and economic work should be consolidated, and so too should the balancing of budgetary revenues and expenditures and the stabilization of prices. In accordance with this principle, taxes should be readjusted and the people's burden appropriately lightened. In line with the principle of making over-all plans and taking all factors into consideration, drifting and anarchy in our economic work should be gradually eliminated, existing industry and commerce should be properly readjusted, and relations between the state sector and the private sector and between labour and capital should be effectively and suitably improved; thus under the leadership of the socialist state sector all sectors of the economy will function satisfactorily with a due division of labour to promote the rehabilitation and development of the whole economy. The view held by certain people that it is possible to eliminate capitalism and realize socialism at an early date is wrong, it does not tally with our national conditions. (3) While preserving its main forces, the People's Liberation Army should be partially demobilized in 1950, provided that the forces must be adequate to liberate Taiwan and Tibet, consolidate national defence and suppress counter-revolutionaries. This demobilization must be carried out carefully so as to enable the demobilized soldiers to return home and settle down to productive work. Readjustment is also necessary in administrative organizations, and here too the excess personnel should be dealt with appropriately so that they have the opportunity either to take up work or to study. (4) Reform of the old school education and of the old cultural institutions in our society should be conducted carefully step by step, and all patriotic intellectuals should be won over to the service of the people. On this question, procrastination or reluctance to introduce reforms is wrong, and so is rashness or any attempt to push them through arbitrarily. (5) Relief for unemployed workers and intellectuals must be carried out in earnest, and they must be helped to get work in a planned way. Serious efforts to provide relief for people stricken by natural calamities must continue
(6)We must earnestly unite with the democratic personages in all circles,help them solve the problem of work and study,and overcome any tendency towards either closed-doorism or excessive accommodation in united front work.We must endeavour to make a success of the conferences of people from all circles [41 so that people from every walk of life can unite in a common effort.All matters of importance to the people's governments should be submitted to these conferences for discussion and decision.Representatives at these conferences must have the right to express their views fully;any attempt to hinder such expression is wrong. (7)Bandits,secret agents,local tyrants and other counter-revolutionaries,all of whom are menaces to the people,must be resolutely rooted out.On this question it is necessary to follow a policy of combining suppression with leniency without stressing one to the neglect of the other,that is,a policy of certain punishment for the main culprits,no punishment for those accomplices who act under duress and rewards for those who render positive services.The whole Party and nation must heighten their vigilance against the conspiratorial activities of counter-revolutionaries. (8)The Central Committee's directives on consolidating and expanding the Party organization,on strengthening the ties between the Party and the masses,on conducting criticism and self-criticism and on launching a rectification movement throughout the Party should all be strictly carried out. Since the membership of our Party has grown to 4,500,000,we must henceforth follow a prudent policy in expanding the Party organization,be strict in preventing political speculators from gaining Party membership and take proper measures to clear out those already in.We must pay attention to admitting politically conscious workers into the Party in a planned way in order to increase the proportion of workers in the Party organizations.In the old liberated areas,in general Party recruiting in the villages should stop.In the new liberated areas,in general the Party organizations in the villages should not expand until agrarian reform is completed in order to prevent political speculators from worming their way into the Party.During the summer,autumn and winter of 1950, the whole Party must carry out a large-scale rectification movement in close co-ordination with its other tasks,not in isolation from them.Such methods as reading selected documents,summing up work,analysing the situation and making criticism and self-criticism should be used to raise the ideological and political level of cadres and rank-and-file Party members,correct mistakes in work. overcome the conceit and complacency of the self-styled distinguished veterans,eliminate bureaucracy and commandism and improve the relations between the Party and the people. NOTES 1.This refers to the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship,Alliance and Mutual Assistance signed on February 14.1950 2.This refers to the People's Victory Parity Bonds floated by the Central People's Government in 1950. 3.Beginning from the winter of 1950,the new liberated areas,one after another,unfolded a large- scale agrarian reform movement.By the winter of 1952 agrarian reform was basically completed, except in some minority nationality areas.In the old and new liberated areas throughout the country, about 300 million landless or land deficient peasants received some 700 million mou of land
(ó) We must earnestly unite with the democratic personages in all circles, help them solve the problem of work and study, and overcome any tendency towards either closed-doorism or excessive accommodation in united front work. We must endeavour to make a success of the conferences of people from all circles [4] so that people from every walk of life can unite in a common effort. All matters of importance to the people's governments should be submitted to these conferences for discussion and decision. Representatives at these conferences must have the right to express their views fully; any attempt to hinder such expression is wrong. (7) Bandits, secret agents, local tyrants and other counter-revolutionaries, all of whom are menaces to the people, must be resolutely rooted out. On this question it is necessary to follow a policy of combining suppression with leniency without stressing one to the neglect of the other, that is, a policy of certain punishment for the main culprits, no punishment for those accomplices who act under duress and rewards for those who render positive services. The whole Party and nation must heighten their vigilance against the conspiratorial activities of counter-revolutionaries. (8) The Central Committee's directives on consolidating and expanding the Party organization, on strengthening the ties between the Party and the masses, on conducting criticism and self-criticism and on launching a rectification movement throughout the Party should all be strictly carried out. Since the membership of our Party has grown to 4,500,000, we must henceforth follow a prudent policy in expanding the Party organization, be strict in preventing political speculators from gaining Party membership and take proper measures to clear out those already in. We must pay attention to admitting politically conscious workers into the Party in a planned way in order to increase the proportion of workers in the Party organizations. In the old liberated areas, in general Party recruiting in the villages should stop. In the new liberated areas, in general the Party organizations in the villages should not expand until agrarian reform is completed in order to prevent political speculators from worming their way into the Party. During the summer, autumn and winter of 1950, the whole Party must carry out a large-scale rectification movement in close co-ordination with its other tasks, not in isolation from them. Such methods as reading selected documents, summing up work, analysing the situation and making criticism and self-criticism should be used to raise the ideological and political level of cadres and rank-and-file Party members, correct mistakes in work, overcome the conceit and complacency of the self-styled distinguished veterans, eliminate bureaucracy and commandism and improve the relations between the Party and the people. NOTES 1. This refers to the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance signed on February 14, 1950. 2. This refers to the People's Victory Parity Bonds floated by the Central People's Government in 1950. 3. Beginning from the winter of 1950, the new liberated areas, one after another, unfolded a largescale agrarian reform movement. By the winter of 1952 agrarian reform was basically completed, except in some minority nationality areas. In the old and new liberated areas throughout the country, about 300 million landless or land deficient peasants received some 700 million mou of land
4.Before the election and convocation of the local people's congresses at all levels,conferences of people from all circles were convened,in accordance with the stipulations of the Common Programme of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of 1949,to exercise the functions and powers of the people's congresses step by step. Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org DON'T HIT OUT INALL DIRECTIONS Jme6,1950 [Part of a speech at the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.It throws light on the written report"Fight for a Fundamental Turn for the Better in the Nation's Financial and Economic Situation"and on its strategic and tactical ideas.] Since the Second Plenary Session of the Party's Seventh Central Committee,nation-wide victory has been won in the new-democratic revolution led by our Party,and the People's Republic of China has been founded.This is a great victory,a great victory without parallel in the history of China,a great victory of world significance following the October Revolution.Comrade Stalin and many other foreign comrades all consider the victory of the Chinese revolution an extremely great one And yet many of our comrades don't realize this because they have become so inured to the struggle. We should widely publicize the tremendous significance of the victory of the Chinese revolution inside the Party and among the masses. In the midst of this great victory we are confronted with very complex struggles and many difficulties. We have completed agrarian reform in the northern parts of the country with a population of 160 million,and this must be affirmed as an immense achievement.We won the War of Liberation by relying mainly on these 160 million people.It was the victory of the agrarian reform that made possible our victory in overthrowing Chiang Kai-shek.In the autumn we shall start agrarian reform in vast areas with a population of some 310 million in order to topple the entire landlord class.In the agrarian reform our enemies are as numerous as they are powerful Against us are arrayed,first, the imperialists,second,the reactionaries in Taiwan and Tibet,third,the remnant Kuomintang forces,the secret agents and the bandits,fourth,the landlord class and,fifth,the reactionary forces in the missionary schools established in China by the imperialists and in religious circles and those in the cultural and educational institutions taken over from the Kuomintang.These are our enemies
4. Before the election and convocation of the local people's congresses at all levels, conferences of people from all circles were convened, in accordance with the stipulations of the Common Programme of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of 1949, to exercise the functions and powers of the people's congresses step by step. Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org DON'T HIT OUT IN ALL DIRECTIONS June 6, 1950 [Part of a speech at the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. It throws light on the written report "Fight for a Fundamental Turn for the Better in the Nation's Financial and Economic Situation" and on its strategic and tactical ideas.] Since the Second Plenary Session of the Party's Seventh Central Committee, nation-wide victory has been won in the new-democratic revolution led by our Party, and the People's Republic of China has been founded. This is a great victory, a great victory without parallel in the history of China, a great victory of world significance following the October Revolution. Comrade Stalin and many other foreign comrades all consider the victory of the Chinese revolution an extremely great one. And yet many of our comrades don't realize this because they have become so inured to the struggle. We should widely publicize the tremendous significance of the victory of the Chinese revolution inside the Party and among the masses. In the midst of this great victory we are confronted with very complex struggles and many difficulties. We have completed agrarian reform in the northern parts of the country with a population of 160 million, and this must be affirmed as an immense achievement. We won the War of Liberation by relying mainly on these I60 million people. It was the victory of the agrarian reform that made possible our victory in overthrowing Chiang Kai-shek. In the autumn we shall start agrarian reform in vast areas with a population of some 310 million in order to topple the entire landlord class. In the agrarian reform our enemies are as numerous as they are powerful Against us are arrayed, first, the imperialists, second, the reactionaries in Taiwan and Tibet, third, the remnant Kuomintang forces, the secret agents and the bandits, fourth, the landlord class and, fifth, the reactionary forces in the missionary schools established in China by the imperialists and in religious circles and those in the cultural and educational institutions taken over from the Kuomintang. These are our enemies
We have to fight them one and all and accomplish the agrarian reform in an area much larger than before.This is a very acute struggle,unprecedented in history In the meantime our victory in the revolution has led to the reorganization of our social economy. While necessary,this reorganization puts heavy burdens on us for the time being.Many people are dissatisfied with us because of this reorganization and because of a certain disruption of industry and commerce wrought by the war.At present our relations with the national bourgeoisie are very strained;they are on tenderhooks and are very disgruntled.Unemployed intellectuals and workers are dissatisfied with us and so are a number of small handicraftsmen.The peasants in most rural areas are complaining too because agrarian reform has not yet been carried out there and besides they have to deliver grain to the state. What is our general policy at present?It is to eliminate the remnant Kuomintang forces,the secret agents and the bandits,overthrow the landlord class,liberate Taiwan and Tibet and fight imperialism to the end.In order to isolate and attack our immediate enemies,we must convert those among the people who are dissatisfied with us into our supporters.Although this task is fraught with difficulties at present,we must overcome them by every possible means. We should make proper readjustments in industry and commerce so that factories can resume operation and the problem of unemployment can be solved,and we should provide 2,000 million catties of grain for the jobless workers and gain their support.When we reduce rent and interest, suppress the bandits and local tyrants and carry out agrarian reform,the masses of the peasantry will support us.We should also help the small handicraftsmen find ways to earn a living.We should introduce suitable readjustments in industry and commerce and in taxation to improve our relations with the national bourgeoisie rather than aggravate these relations.We should run training courses of various kinds,military and political colleges and revolutionary institutes for the intellectuals and educate and remould them while availing ourselves of their services.We should have them study the history of social development,historical materialism and other subjects.We can induce even those who are idealists not to oppose us.Let them say that man was created by God,we say man evolved from the ape.Some intellectuals are advanced in age,they are over seventy,and we should provide for them so long as they support the Party and the People's Government. The whole Party should try earnestly and painstakingly to make a success of its united front work. We should rally the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie under the leadership of the working class and on the basis of the worker-peasant alliance.The national bourgeoisie will eventually cease to exist,but at this stage we should rally them around us and not push them away. We should struggle against them on the one hand and unite with them on the other.We should make this clear to the cadres and show by facts that it is right and necessary to unite with the national bourgeoisie,the democratic parties,democratic personages and intellectuals.Many of them were our enemies before,but now that they have broken with the enemy camp and come over to our side, we should unite with all these people,who can be more or less united with.It is in the interest of the working people to unite with them.We need to adopt these tactics now. It is of vital importance to unite with the minority nationalities.There are about thirty million of them in the whole country.Social reforms in their areas are a matter of great importance and must
We have to fight them one and all and accomplish the agrarian reform in an area much larger than before. This is a very acute struggle, unprecedented in history. In the meantime our victory in the revolution has led to the reorganization of our social economy. While necessary, this reorganization puts heavy burdens on us for the time being. Many people are dissatisfied with us because of this reorganization and because of a certain disruption of industry and commerce wrought by the war. At present our relations with the national bourgeoisie are very strained; they are on tenderhooks and are very disgruntled. Unemployed intellectuals and workers are dissatisfied with us and so are a number of small handicraftsmen. The peasants in most rural areas are complaining too because agrarian reform has not yet been carried out there and besides they have to deliver grain to the state. What is our general policy at present? It is to eliminate the remnant Kuomintang forces, the secret agents and the bandits, overthrow the landlord class, liberate Taiwan and Tibet and fight imperialism to the end. In order to isolate and attack our immediate enemies, we must convert those among the people who are dissatisfied with us into our supporters. Although this task is fraught with difficulties at present, we must overcome them by every possible means. We should make proper readjustments in industry and commerce so that factories can resume operation and the problem of unemployment can be solved, and we should provide 2,000 million catties of grain for the jobless workers and gain their support. When we reduce rent and interest, suppress the bandits and local tyrants and carry out agrarian reform, the masses of the peasantry will support us. We should also help the small handicraftsmen find ways to earn a living. We should introduce suitable readjustments in industry and commerce and in taxation to improve our relations with the national bourgeoisie rather than aggravate these relations. We should run training courses of various kinds, military and political colleges and revolutionary institutes for the intellectuals and educate and remould them while availing ourselves of their services. We should have them study the history of social development, historical materialism and other subjects. We can induce even those who are idealists not to oppose us. Let them say that man was created by God, we say man evolved from the ape. Some intellectuals are advanced in age, they are over seventy, and we should provide for them so long as they support the Party and the People's Government. The whole Party should try earnestly and painstakingly to make a success of its united front work. We should rally the petty bourgeoisie and the national bourgeoisie under the leadership of the working class and on the basis of the worker-peasant alliance. The national bourgeoisie will eventually cease to exist, but at this stage we should rally them around us and not push them away. We should struggle against them on the one hand and unite with them on the other. We should make this clear to the cadres and show by facts that it is right and necessary to unite with the national bourgeoisie, the democratic parties, democratic personages and intellectuals. Many of them were our enemies before, but now that they have broken with the enemy camp and come over to our side, we should unite with all these people, who can be more or less united with. It is in the interest of the working people to unite with them. We need to adopt these tactics now. It is of vital importance to unite with the minority nationalities. There are about thirty million of them in the whole country. Social reforms in their areas are a matter of great importance and must
be handled cautiously.On no account must we be impetuous,for impatience will lead to trouble.No reform is to be instituted unless the conditions are ripe.Neither should any major reform be introduced where only one of the conditions is ripe while the others are not.Of course,this is not to say that no reform at all is to be carried out.As stipulated by the Common Programme,customs and folk-ways in the minority nationality areas may be reformed.But the minority nationalities themselves should do the reforming.Without popular support,without the people's armed forces and without the minority nationalities'own cadres,no reform of a mass character should be attempted.We must help them train their own cadres and we must unite with the masses of the minority nationalities. In short,we must not hit out in all directions.It is undesirable to hit out in all directions and cause nation-wide tension.We must definitely not make too many enemies,we must make concessions and relax the tension a little in some quarters and concentrate our attack in one direction.We must do our work well so that all the workers,peasants and small handicraftsmen will support us and the overwhelming majority of the national bourgeoisie and intellectuals will not oppose us.In this way, the remnant Kuomintang forces,the secret agents and the bandits will be isolated,as will the landlord class and the reactionaries in Taiwan and Tibet,and the imperialists will find themselves isolated before the people of our country.This is our policy,our strategy and tactics,and it is the line of the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party. Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org BE A TRUE REVOLUTIONARY Jne23,1950 [Closing address at the Second Session of the First National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. The present session has summed up our experience in the past period and laid down various guiding principles. We have done this work jointly at this gathering of representatives of all the nationalities, democratic classes,democratic parties,people's organizations and democratic personages from every walk of life.Not only have the members of the National Committee of the People's Political
be handled cautiously. On no account must we be impetuous, for impatience will lead to trouble. No reform is to be instituted unless the conditions are ripe. Neither should any major reform be introduced where only one of the conditions is ripe while the others are not. Of course, this is not to say that no reform at all is to be carried out. As stipulated by the Common Programme, customs and folk-ways in the minority nationality areas may be reformed. But the minority nationalities themselves should do the reforming. Without popular support, without the people's armed forces and without the minority nationalities' own cadres, no reform of a mass character should be attempted. We must help them train their own cadres and we must unite with the masses of the minority nationalities. In short, we must not hit out in all directions. It is undesirable to hit out in all directions and cause nation-wide tension. We must definitely not make too many enemies, we must make concessions and relax the tension a little in some quarters and concentrate our attack in one direction. We must do our work well so that all the workers, peasants and small handicraftsmen will support us and the overwhelming majority of the national bourgeoisie and intellectuals will not oppose us. In this way, the remnant Kuomintang forces, the secret agents and the bandits will be isolated, as will the landlord class and the reactionaries in Taiwan and Tibet, and the imperialists will find themselves isolated before the people of our country. This is our policy, our strategy and tactics, and it is the line of the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Party. Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org BE A TRUE REVOLUTIONARY June 23, 1950 [Closing address at the Second Session of the First National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.] The present session has summed up our experience in the past period and laid down various guiding principles. We have done this work jointly at this gathering of representatives of all the nationalities, democratic classes, democratic parties, people's organizations and democratic personages from every walk of life. Not only have the members of the National Committee of the People's Political