Swiftly Convene Representative Congresses
(September 16, 1949)
(Xinhua News Agency dispatch, Beiping, September 16) On August 13, Chairman
Mao of the Chinese Communist Party gave a speech1 at the Beiping Representative
Congress.2 He said that he hoped every city throughout the country could swiftly
convene similar congresses, strengthen the relationship between the government
and the people, assist the government in carrying out all kinds of construction,
overcome difficulties, and prepare the groundwork for convening a people’s congress by general election. Chairman Mao also said that when the conditions are
ripe, the current method of representative congresses can exercise the powers
of the people’s congress and become the highest organ of power in the city to
elect the municipal government. This appeal by Chairman Mao enjoyed a warm
response throughout the entire country. Recently, representative congresses have
been convened or are being convened in Nanjing, Tianjin, Hangzhou, Wuhan,
and other cities.
The facts have proven that a representative congress is the best type of organization for contact between the people’s government and the broad masses after a
city has been liberated and is in a period of military control. This organizational
form is better than a temporary senate because it can more broadly and effectively contact the masses, and it can purge the toxins of bureaucratism from the
old government organs, giving the people’s government a new look among the
masses, while if we establish a temporary senate, it will create a bad impression
by reminding people of the senates held under Guomindang rule, and given that it
is a consultative organ, it will not easily have a widely representative composition
and therefore it will not be able to establish a close relationship with the masses.
[A congress] will also have more frequent and extensive contact with the masses
than professional and trade forums because it can be held frequently and regularly, and it can provide a link between the government and the people through
representatives of all circles. Although professional and trade forums have been
a good method for disseminating the policies and laws of the government and
Our source for this text is Renmin ribao, September 17, 1949.
1.  See “Mao Zedong Calls for Unity to Build a People’s Capital,” August 13, 1949, in
this volume.
2.  The literal translation of gejie renmin daibiao huiyi is “congress of people’s representatives from all circles.”
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-321

the Party and for consulting opinions in all circles right after the cities have been
liberated, they are temporary and short-term organizations that cannot resolve the
problems of frequent contacts with the masses. Through a representative congress
and through the actions of representatives within and outside of the congress, we
can gather suggestions from people of all strata, enabling the people’s government
to understand all aspects of social life and existing problems more clearly and to
establish government policies and key measures more accurately. At the same
time, it can also transmit the government’s administrative situation, policies, and
laws to people of all strata, gain the support of the masses, and incorporate them
into the people’s own plan of action, attracting the broad masses to take an active
part in building the cities. On the other hand, through the congresses and their discussions and work, people of all strata will have an opportunity to fully speak out
and communicate various suggestions, demands, and opinions arising from their
personal interests. Especially important issues such as the relationship between
state and private ownership, the relationship between labor and capital, the relationship between tenants and landlords, and so on, that involve the livelihood of
the broad masses and easily give rise to quarrels, can be brought to discussion
and unanimity, so people in all fields can be closely united under the leadership
of the people’s government and so that subsequent governance by the people’s
government can more comprehensively and effectively look after the interests of
people of all strata. Therefore, in all cities in which a representative congress is
held and is held successfully, the administrative efficiency of the people’s government is greatly enhanced, and the relationship between the government and the
people is even closer. Beiping is a very good example. After the representative
congress, some people said that in the past he [sic] did not much believe that the
Chinese Communist Party would implement democracy because democracy as
he [sic] understood it was abstract and formally logical, but after taking part in
the congress of people from all fields, he [sic] understood the significance of the
democratic system, understood how to combine democracy with dictatorship, and
understood how the people’s democratic dictatorship became necessary.
Up until now, the leading Party and government organs of some cities still fall
short in their understanding of the quality, significance, and function of the representative congress. Some people feel it is inappropriate to convene a representative congress during the military control period because it will hinder the power of
the military control commission and affect the swift construction of social order.
They do not know that a representative congress should still be convened, even
during the period of military control because during the military-control period,
many of our operatives are transferred from other places and for the time being
they lack connections with the local masses, so their understanding and reporting
of the situation unavoidably departs from reality. But the representative congress,
by enlisting representatives of local people in all circles to take part, can serve as
a link between the military control commission, the government, and the local
people. Rather than hinder the power of the military control commission, it can

strengthen the efficiency of the government. This is because the aim of military
control is to smoothly take over management of organs and enterprises, establish
revolutionary order, and mobilize and organize the power of the people to clean
up enemy remnants, suppress counterrevolutionary activities, and restore productive undertakings. The representative congress can in fact unite the people and
assist the people’s government in promoting implementation of the above objectives. The power of the representative congress is bestowed by the military control commission and the people’s government. It is the organ by which the people
can take part in state-building during the interim period. When the time is ripe, it
can be endowed with the power of a people’s congress for the purpose of transition to a generally elected plenipotentiary people’s congress. Therefore, as long as
we lead it well, it will not come into any conflict with the military control system.
So how can we successfully convene a representative congress? Based on
experience in various locations, we need to take note of at least the three following points: First, there must be full preparation before convening a congress. The
number of people taking part in the representative congress should be decided
based on the size of the city and the working conditions, but every representative congress must be fully representative. In the composition of the members,
pay attention to preserving purity and seriousness and prevent participation by
reactionary elements, otherwise it will affect the credibility of the representative congress in the eyes of the masses. On the other hand, pay attention to its
enlargement and flexibility. We should absorb representatives from every factory, every school, every organ, every garrison force, every people’s organization,
every democratic party and group, and every democratic social stratum so that the
masses of all strata can establish a close connection with the people’s government
through their representatives. If the situation permits, representatives of factories, schools, organs, and armies should to the greatest extent possible be elected
through mass rallies in order to strengthen their representative quality. Before the
congress, the military control commission and the people’s government should
prepare a work report consistent with the actual situation so that the representatives taking part in the congress can understand and discuss the government’s
work. At the same time, we must consult the representatives in advance, solicit
the opinions of the masses, and prepare one or several central issues relating to the
life of those in the city’s general population that need to be resolved immediately;
for example, resolving the provision of food, simplifying administration and practicing economy, dispersing the surplus population, dealing with disputes among
workers and capitalists, connecting trade between the urban areas and the countryside, forbidding illegal commercial activities, resuming and developing both
public and private economic enterprises, and resuming and developing culture
and education, and then submit them to the congress for discussion, and in hopes
of substantial results, produce a written decision to have it thoroughly carried out.
Second, the congress cannot last too long, but it must be sufficiently democratic
and admit representatives from all circles to participate in the congress’s various

activities so everyone can contribute efforts. The key items in the government’s
work report and in the congress should be fully discussed by the representatives
so they can express all they know and leave nothing out. If they express themselves fully, the voice and demands of the popular masses will be reflected and
the government’s governance measures can be understood by the representatives.
The people’s government must humbly listen to the views of the representatives,
understand the people’s living conditions and needs, and express acceptance of
all well-intentioned and correct suggestions. But we must be extremely careful
in making any decision, and we must not act with undue haste. During discussions, we must lead the representatives to study the actual situation in their city,
to understand the focus of policies, and to distinguish between what is urgent and
what is less urgent in order to carry out feasible methods to deal with different
decisions: Everything that is necessary and possible must be done, everything that
is necessary but beyond our capabilities should be done later, and everything that
is unnecessary and impossible should not be done.
Third, we must make all levels of the representative congresses have fruitful
results, so it is very important afterward to implement the decisions and the spirit
of the congress. After the congress ends, representatives should be mobilized to
make full use of newspapers, radio stations, and mass gatherings to carry out dissemination and reporting to every factory, school, group, and institution, and to
the work-units and people whom they represent. They also should organize the
people to discuss the government’s work report and the important decisions of
the congress so that the people truly understand and accept the decisions and act
on them. That is to say, the activities of the representatives of the various circles
must spread throughout the masses so that one representative congress becomes
a countless number of large and small meetings, and the resolutions of the representative congress become the resolutions of the broad masses themselves. It is
only in this way that the representatives of the various circles can truly fulfill their
duties as representatives, the representative congress can serve its purpose of contacting the masses, and the people’s government, the representative congresses,
and the broad masses can form a close relationship.
Representative congresses should be held not only in cities with populations
over 30,000, but also in all counties, where county-level representative congresses
should be treated as institutions to establish close contact between the people’s
government and the popular masses of all circles. Their importance is equivalent
to that of the congresses in the cities. In districts and townships, peasant congresses should be held with revolutionary intellectuals also brought in to take part.
In the old Liberated Areas, wherever conditions are mature, elected plenipotentiary people’s congresses should be held, and where conditions are not yet mature,
representative congresses can be held as a transitional measure. In sum, either a
transitional representative congress or an elected people’s congress must be held.
It is correct to hold it and impermissible not to hold it.