Respectfully submitted: Regarding the treacherous collusion to sell off Hunan’s mineral resources, we earnestly request severe punishment, both to deter official corruption and to safeguard Hunan’s mining interests. Your esteemed consideration is hereby sought.  It has come to our attention that Zhang Rongmei, Director of the Hunan Mining Bureau, is of base character and inherently greedy. Through his close ties with Governor Zhang Jingyao, he was appointed Director of the Bureau, where he has abetted wrongdoing and engaged in corrupt practices, thereby staining his reputation. Subsequently, coveting the lucrative profits of Hunan’s mines, he contrived to secure this post, all for personal gain. Previously, while serving under Governor Zhang, he secretly conspired with the British merchant Grant to wholesale the province’s mineral rights, acting as the chief architect of this scheme in hopes of receiving substantial bribes. Fortunately, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce uncovered the plot, and widespread opposition from the people of Hunan brought it to a halt.  Unexpectedly, however, Zhang Rongmei remained undeterred in his pursuit of profit, resorting to one deceitful maneuver after another. He again colluded behind the scenes with Weijiake, a German mining engineer at the Shuikoushan Mine under the Bureau, who introduced American businessmen such as Ma Yier Bulujin, proposing to establish a joint venture to operate the Hunan White Lead Smelter, using the smelter as collateral for a loan. According to reports, the loan agreement stipulates that the Hunan provincial government will contribute lead concentrate valued at US$800,000 as its equity stake, while the American side will invest US$1.4 million. This preliminary agreement was signed in secret by Zhang Rongmei and the American representatives in Beijing at 1:00 p.m. on the twelfth day of this month, with a term of five years, renewable for an additional ten. During this period, all lead concentrate mined within Hunan Province is to be purchased by the smelter at a fixed price of slightly over US$10 per ton. On the day the preliminary agreement was executed, US$60,000 had already been handed over; another US$140,000 was to be paid upon signing the formal contract. The parties were given three weeks from the date of the preliminary agreement to finalize and execute the full document, after which it would become null and void.  It should be noted that the Shuikoushan Lead Smelter constitutes the sole source of revenue for Hunan’s provincial treasury, and the smelting operation represents the only viable path forward for Hunan’s mining industry. Once this vital asset falls into foreign hands, not only will the people of Hunan forever lose any prospect of relief, but the provincial finances will also be deprived of the means to recover and rebuild. Zhang Rongmei, driven by unscrupulous greed, seeks to line his own pockets through bribery, recklessly sacrificing Hunan’s paramount interests. Such thieving conduct deserves no leniency. Moreover, according to the Mining Regulations, any joint venture between Chinese and foreign entities must involve equal capital contributions to protect national sovereignty. Yet, under the terms of this agreement, the American partner is permitted to inject US$600,000 more than the Chinese side, effectively surrendering sovereign control to foreign interests—an obvious violation of the regulations. This is something the people of Hunan absolutely cannot accept.  Furthermore, the Shuikoushan Mine is a resource wholly owned and operated by Hunan Province itself. Under the current agreement, exclusive purchasing rights are granted to the smelter, which is also guaranteed a predetermined purchase price, regardless of future fluctuations in lead concentrate prices. By thus binding Hunan to these unfavorable terms, we risk repeating the disastrous experience of Han Zhiping, when similar concessions led to Japan’s exploitation of China’s mineral wealth. The consequences would be dire beyond measure. Moreover, conferring exclusive purchasing rights upon the smelter amounts to treating Shuikoushan as little more than a subsidiary asset of the enterprise, effectively relinquishing not only the smelting rights but also the mining rights themselves—a development whose long-term repercussions are scarcely imaginable. This, too, is utterly unacceptable to the people of Hunan.  Additionally, on the very day the agreement was concluded, the American side remitted US$200,000 to the Hunan provincial government, clearly indicating that these funds were intended for purposes other than smelting operations. What legitimate purpose could justify such a payment? And how exactly did Governor Zhang intend to utilize them? The sinister motives behind this arrangement are readily apparent: sacrificing the province’s most valuable mineral asset to satiate the insatiable appetites of a handful of corrupt officials, all while keeping the local populace entirely in the dark. This third point further underscores why the people of Hunan can never condone this arrangement.  In sum, the so-called “joint venture” brokered by Zhang Rongmei is, in reality, nothing more than a brazen sale of Hunan’s mineral rights. Given the brutal two-year reign of Governor Zhang Jingyao, during which every ounce of the province’s resources was ruthlessly exploited, and considering Zhang Rongmei’s role as an accomplice to such oppression—motivated solely by self-interest and devoid of any genuine concern for the public good or the welfare of the people—it is hardly surprising that he would seek to deceive once again. Who, then, could possibly believe him? The millions of citizens of Hunan, having endured countless hardships, view this perpetually harmful pact as fundamentally different from short-term acts of plunder: it affects not only themselves but also their descendants, and concerns the collective fate of the entire province. Faced with this grave threat, they stand resolute in their determination to resist to the death. With the three-week deadline fast approaching—yet still within a window where the agreement can be annulled without triggering international complications—we humbly beseech your honorable court (the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce) to intervene promptly. Before the agreement is formally executed, please issue an urgent directive to Governor Zhang Jingyao to immediately rescind the preliminary agreement, return the funds, and impose severe disciplinary measures on Zhang Rongmei, thereby deterring official corruption and upholding sound mining policy.  We remain anxiously awaiting your decisive action.  Respectfully submitted to the President.  (State Council, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.)  Filed by Mao Zedong and other Hunan residents residing in Beijing.

　　(Issued by the People’s News Agency. December 27th)

　　(Seal: People’s News Agency, No. 99 North Chang Street, Beijing)

　　(Copied from the Museum of Chinese Revolutionary History)