Letter to Li Jiehou
(June 23, 1951)

Brother Jiehou:
Comrade Li[1] possesses air force technical skills. He may take this letter to the leading organ of the air force to attempt to make contact and see whether he can be accepted or not. As I am not clear about Comrade Li’s political history, he should explain everything to the air force department himself.

Mao Zedong
June 23

[1] Comrade Li refers to Li Qichi, a native of Chunhe Village, Yanglin Township, Shaoshan City, Hunan Province. He once went to the United States to study flying. In 1948, he broke away from the Kuomintang air force and returned to his hometown. In his letter to Mao Zedong dated June 18, 1951, Li Jiehou stated that Li Qichi possessed “air force technical skills” and requested that he be “given an opportunity to study.”