Commentary by the Central Publicity Department Forwarding the Opinions of the Southwest Bureau’s Publicity Department on Questions Concerning Reporting on the Suppression of Bandits and Anti-Feudal Struggle (December 19, 1950) To the Publicity Departments of the East China, Central-South, and Northwest Bureaus, with copy to all Sub-bureaus and to the Publicity Departments of the Party Committees of provinces, municipalities directly under the中央 government, and autonomous regions:

We are hereby transmitting to you the Southwest Bureau’s Publicity Department’s review [1] of the Chongqing Xinhua Daily with regard to its reporting on land reform and the suppression of counter-revolutionaries, among other matters. You are requested to conduct a similar review of your own newspapers.

Issued by the Central Publicity Department on December 19, based on Mao Zedong’s manuscript.

Notes [1] Refers to a telegram dated December 15, 1950, from the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee’s Southwest Bureau to the Party committees and publicity departments of the provinces and autonomous regions under its jurisdiction, with copy to the Central Publicity Department, concerning problems existing in the reporting work of the Chongqing Xinhua Daily and other publications. The telegram pointed out that, in their coverage of the suppression of bandits and anti-feudal struggle, rent reduction, and deposit refunds, the Chongqing Xinhua Daily and other papers had published such reports indiscriminately, without distinguishing between primary and secondary issues or considering whether the relevant experience was yet mature, thereby filling their pages with a continuous stream of items on these topics and creating an atmosphere of extreme tension in the press. This approach, far from being conducive to dividing, isolating, and paralyzing the enemy, was highly unwise and lacked strategic foresight; moreover, it readily led to deviations in practical work. It is hoped that all localities will take due note of this matter.