Directive of the Central Military Commission on the Participation of the Armed Forces in Production and Construction Work in 1950 (December 5, 1949) The People’s Liberation War has achieved basic victory throughout the country. With the exception of a few fronts where our forces must concentrate solely on pursuing and annihilating the remaining enemy to bring the war to a complete close, large numbers of troops have already entered or will soon enter a period of reorganization and training. The Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference stipulates: “During peacetime, the armed forces of the People’s Republic of China, without prejudice to their military duties, shall participate in agricultural and industrial production in a planned manner, thereby assisting the nation’s construction efforts.” This provision assigns to our People’s Army, in addition to its great tasks of defending the motherland, maintaining public order, and intensifying training, a glorious and momentous new mission. Therefore, the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission calls upon all units, except those continuing combat operations or performing routine duties, to undertake a portion of the production task, so that our People’s Liberation Army may become not only a defense force but also a productive one, working in concert with the people of the entire country to overcome the difficulties left over from the long years of war and to accelerate the building of a new democratic economy.

This production task is both necessary and feasible. It is necessary because the prolonged war waged by domestic and foreign reactionaries against the Chinese people has inflicted severe calamities upon the population and caused grave damage to the economy. Today we must carry the revolutionary war through to final victory, heal the wounds left by the protracted conflict, and engage in economic, cultural, and national-defense construction projects. However, the state’s revenues are insufficient while expenditures are enormous—this constitutes a major challenge confronting us at present. The primary means of overcoming this difficulty lies in the nationwide restoration and development of production under the leadership of the Central People’s Government. In turn, the People’s Liberation Army must assume a share of the production burden if it is to join the people of the whole country in surmounting these obstacles.

Moreover, this task is feasible because the vast majority of PLA soldiers come from the ranks of the working people; they possess a high degree of political consciousness and a variety of practical skills. Furthermore, during the most arduous years of the War of Resistance Against Japan, they already undertook production responsibilities, acquiring valuable experience and establishing a tradition of labor. Many senior officers and veteran fighters understand that when the army participates in production, it not only helps to alleviate hardships, reduces government expenditures, and improves the living standards of the troops, but also, through physical labor, enhances the political quality of the force and strengthens relations between officers and men as well as between the military and the civilian population. Another reason this task is achievable is that in regions where hostilities have ceased, the PLA, beyond its responsibilities for national defense, bandit suppression, law-and-order maintenance, and training, now has sufficient spare time to engage in production and construction activities. All these factors combine to make it possible for the PLA to fulfill its production mandate.

The army’s participation in production should not be treated as a temporary measure; rather, it must be approached from the perspective of long-term national development, with the principal objective being to increase social and national wealth through labor. Accordingly, commanders of all military regions are directed to guide their subordinate units, beginning in the spring of 1950, in undertaking production and construction work, both to improve their own conditions of service and to economize on state expenditures. Such production activities are to be organized as a broad campaign to facilitate their widespread implementation. A comprehensive plan covering an extended period, together with specific operational steps, is to be formulated. Production projects shall be confined to agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, water conservancy, handicrafts, various construction works, and other industries and transportation sectors permitted by the people’s governments; commercial enterprises are strictly prohibited. Military leadership organs, based on local conditions, are to conduct thorough investigations and make preparations this winter.

Drawing on past experience, it is hereby firmly prohibited for any unit to open shops or engage in commercial activities. Should any cadres harbor intentions to profit illicitly through smuggling, hoarding, or speculation, or if such behavior is detected, it must be promptly corrected and suppressed, as it not only contravenes sound production principles and disrupts economic order but also inevitably leads to corruption, undermines camaraderie, and constitutes an offense punishable by law.

In addition, when carrying out agricultural production, care must be taken to avoid triggering floods through reckless land reclamation and to refrain from provoking popular discontent through disputes over land.

To ensure that the army carries out its production tasks properly and launches a successful production campaign, the following provisions are hereby established: (1) At divisional, corps, and military sub-district levels and above, production committees shall be formed, comprising representatives from the command, political departments, and logistics agencies. These committees shall be responsible for determining the direction of production, approving production plans, supervising their implementation, and investigating and addressing violations.

(2) Cooperative organizations for military production are to be established, with leadership bodies at all levels operating under the oversight and guidance of the military production committees to manage all production funds, activities, and the disposition of outputs. The cooperative system and the military command structure shall run parallel to each other, maintaining close coordination without becoming conflated.

(3) The principle of balancing public and private interests shall be observed in the equitable distribution of production profits, with forty percent allocated to individual producers and the remainder belonging to the respective production unit and the state, thereby establishing a model of public–private revolutionary household management that enables partial self-sufficiency for the troops while allowing individual participants to derive personal benefits. Such personal gains may be retained by the producer, sent home, or deposited in the cooperative for future use, at the producer’s discretion.

(4) In areas where land is scarce, in addition to engaging in various forms of handicrafts, industry, water conservancy, transportation, and construction work, military commanders may, in consultation with local people’s governments and on the basis of voluntary cooperation with farmers, contribute labor, capital, fertilizers, and farming implements to jointly cultivate the land, thereby increasing yields and ensuring a fair sharing of the proceeds. However, no coercion is to be employed, and no conflicts of interest with local residents are to arise.

(5) Each military region’s production plan must be coordinated with those of the major administrative districts and provincial people’s governments, with unified management of production funds. All military production funds shall be treated as investments, subject to interest accrual and scheduled repayment. All military production activities must pay taxes in accordance with the law and comply with all regulations issued by the people’s governments; no violations are permitted. Commanders of all military regions are urged to take strict note of the foregoing provisions, so as to ensure that the People’s Liberation Army’s production and construction efforts in 1950 yield significant results, and to conduct regular inspections to correct any errors or shortcomings that may arise. Local people’s governments, for their part, have a duty to provide guidance and assistance to the military units operating within their jurisdictions. Chairman Mao Zedong December 5, 1949 Printed in the People’s Daily, December 6, 1949