January 30, 1948

[This inner-Party directive was drafted by Comrade Mao Tse-tung for the
Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist
Party of China. ]


The policy for political work in our army units is fully to arouse the masses
of soldiers, the commanders and all working personnel in order to achieve,
through a democratic movement under centralized leadership, three major
objectives, namely, a high degree of political unity, an improvement in living
conditions and a higher level of military technique and tactics. The Three
Check-ups and Three Improvements [1] now being
enthusiastically carried out in our army units are intended to attain the
first two of these objectives through the methods of political and economic
democracy.

With regard to economic democracy, the representatives elected by the soldiers
must be ensured the right to assist (but not to bypass) the company leadership
in managing the company's supplies and mess.

With regard to military democracy, in periods of training there must be mutual
instruction as between officers and soldiers and among the soldiers themselves;
and in periods of fighting the companies at the front must hold big and small
meetings of various kinds. Under the direction of the company leadership,
the masses of soldiers should be roused to discuss how to attack and capture
enemy positions and how to fulfil other combat tasks. When the fighting lasts
several days, several such meetings should be held. This kind of military
democracy was practiced with great success in the battle of Panlung
[2] in northern Shensi and in the battle of
Shihchiachuang [3] in the Shansi-Chahar-Hopei area.
It has been proved that the practice can only do good and can do no harm
whatsoever.

The masses of soldiers should have the right to expose the errors and misdeeds
of bad elements among the cadres. We should be confident that the soldiers
will cherish all the good and comparatively good cadres. Moreover, the soldiers
should have the right, when necessary, to nominate those whom they trust
from their own ranks for lower-level cadre posts, subject to appointment
by the higher level. When there is an acute shortage of lower-level cadres,
this kind of nomination is very useful. It is not to be the rule, however,
but is to be done only when necessary.

NOTES


1. The "Three Check-ups" and "Three Improvements" constituted
an important movement for Party consolidation and for ideological education
in the army which was carried out by our Party in conjunction with the land
reform during the People's War of Liberation. In the localities, the "Three
Check-ups" meant checking on class origin, ideology and style of work; in
the armed units, the check-ups were on class origin, performance of duty
and will to fight. The "Three Improvements" meant organizational consolidation,
ideological education and rectification of style of work.

2. Panlung, northeast of Yenan, was a town where the Northwest
People's Liberation Army surrounded and wiped out over 6,700 Kuomintang troops
under the command of Hu Tsung-nan in May 1947.

3. Shihchiachuang was liberated by units of the People's
Liberation Army of the Shansi-Chahar-Hopei Border Region on November 12,
1947. Its enemy garrison of more than 24,000 men was totally destroyed. It
was the first important city liberated by the People's Liberation Army in
northern China.

Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project.