Transmit to the Party Committees of All Regions the Report of the Taihang District Party Committee on Reviewing the Issue of Unified Leadership[1]

(July 30, 1945)

An important issue is raised here. Forward it to the Party committees of all regions for them to handle accordingly.

Mao

Noon, 30th

[1] This is Mao Zedong’s comment upon transmitting the report. The Taihang District Party Committee stated in its report: “(1) In terms of relations between higher and lower levels, two points are important: It is held that the army has historically bullied and oppressed the localities, and many local opinions have not been given expression. The district Party committee suffers from a ‘soft-bone disease’ and does not back them up. It is held that in the past the practice of self-criticism and criticism did not develop, Party cadres did not dare to be bold and active, and even when higher levels conducted reviews, first, they could not raise matters to the level of ideological viewpoints, and second, they did not dare to expose them openly, develop mass-based reviews and criticism, or pay attention to voices from below. (2) In terms of relations at the same level, important reflections are: How the Party committee leads the troops, how the military-administration committee and the political department become a department of the Party committee. Some feel the prefectural committee discusses too many issues, some feel it discusses too few. The localities say the army does not obey resolutions, the army says the localities emphasize the people’s difficulties and do not solve practical problems. Next, those who concurrently serve as army secretary do not understand how to lead the Party committee and exhibit a commanding-officer style; those who serve as secretary concurrently serving as political commissar do not understand how to be a political commissar, becoming a mere formality, which invites disrespect.”