Party newspapers must unconditionally propagate the Central Committee’s line and policies[1]
(June 3 and August 28, 1948)

Leading organs in various localities (including the two levels of central bureaus and regional party committees) have relinquished their leadership responsibilities over extremely important propaganda organs such as newspapers and news agencies, or, though they have not relinquished leadership, have failed to grasp it firmly, allowing many erroneous views to spread widely and making propaganda work extremely lax. This state of affairs must be resolutely corrected. One method of correction is that the central bureaus (sub-bureaus) and regional party committees (provincial committees) must, before their own newspapers are published each day, have a comrade who fully understands the Party’s correct line and correct policies review the page proofs once, correct erroneous views, and then publish. Leading comrades in various localities must adopt a serious and scientific attitude toward propaganda work.

Party newspapers in all localities must unconditionally propagate the Central Committee’s line and policies, and must not, in their propaganda,

[1] The first part consists of a comment written by Mao Zedong on June 3 on the telegram "The Situation of Newspaper Management in East China Over the Past Year" sent by the East China Bureau and forwarded by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China; the second part consists of a passage added by Mao Zedong on August 28 during the drafting process of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China’s decision on the system of requesting instructions and submitting reports.

place on an equal level the Central Committee and the organs entrusted by the Central Committee to carry out the Central Committee’s line, policies, and tasks (i.e., the various central bureaus, sub-bureaus, military commission branch committees, and front committees). On the contrary, it must be openly declared inside and outside the Party that all organs entrusted by the Central Committee are carrying out the Central Committee’s line, policies, and tasks. When issuing their own resolutions, directives, orders, and instructions, the various central bureaus, sub-bureaus, military commission branch committees, and front committees must also pay attention to this point and must not place themselves on an equal level with the Central Committee, or even create within the Party and the army an influence that elevates themselves above the Central Committee.

During the War of Liberation, Mao Zedong and Li Ne at Xibaipo.