Speech at the Meeting of the Presidium of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China[1]

(December 20, 1944)

Comrade Dong Lao’s report is very good. There have been achievements in the work in the Great Rear Area, and the Southern Bureau, the offices, and the *Xinhua Daily* have done very good work. There are one hundred thousand Party members in the Great Rear Area, the overwhelming majority of whom are reliable; there were some errors in the estimation during the examination of cadres last year. The examination of cadres should adopt an attitude of seriousness and prudence, neither of which can be dispensed with. Now that the enemy-occupied areas have expanded, the work in the enemy-occupied areas is very important and should be raised to a status of equal importance with the Liberated Areas. We must expand the Liberated Areas, organize the enemy-occupied areas, aid the Great Rear Area, and do well in the five areas of politics, military affairs, economy, culture, and Party affairs.

[1] This is part of Mao Zedong’s speech after hearing Comrade Dong Biwu’s report on the work in the Great Rear Area at the meeting of the Presidium of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.