The note appended to the letter from Luo Ronghuan [1] et al. proposing procedures for the appointment and removal of senior military officers and for the review and approval of documents issued by the Central Military Commission [2] (December 15, 1951) reads as follows: “This arrangement is appropriate.” Mao Zedong, December 15. To be reviewed by Zhou, Zhu, Lin, and Nie [3], then returned to Luo Ronghuan for action. Nie should convene a meeting to establish a standardized procedure for reviewing documents from all departments of the Commission as well as those drafted directly by the Commission itself. Such a procedure should include a provision allowing certain urgent documents to be transmitted first and examined later. Printed from the manuscript. Notes [1] Luo Ronghuan was at the time Director of the General Political Department and Minister of the General Cadre Department of the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission. [2] This is Mao Zedong’s annotation on a letter dated December 14, 1951, submitted by Luo Ronghuan, Lai Chuanzhu (First Deputy Minister of the General Cadre Department of the Commission), and Xu Liqing (Second Deputy Minister of the General Cadre Department), concerning proposals for the appointment, removal, disciplinary measures, and approval procedures for documents issued in the name of the Central Military Commission.


In their letter, Luo Ronghuan and others suggested the following: (1) All matters pertaining to the appointment, removal, disciplinary actions, and promotion or changes in rank and benefits of officers at corps level and above shall be submitted to the Chairman for review and approval, with the Vice Chairmen and the Chief of the General Staff being informed; (2) For officers at divisional level and below, decisions regarding appointment, removal, disciplinary measures, and promotion or changes in rank and benefits shall be submitted to the Vice Chairmen for approval, with the Chief of the General Staff being notified; (3) With regard to telegrams, directives, resolutions, and other documents to be issued in the name of the Central Military Commission, those involving principled issues must be submitted to the Chairman for approval, after which they are circulated to the Vice Chairmen and the Chief of the General Staff; if they concern routine matters, they may be approved by the Vice Chairmen alone. [3] Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai; Zhu refers to Zhu De; Lin refers to Lin Biao, who at that time served as Vice Chairman of the People’s Revolutionary Military Commission; and Nie refers to Nie Rongzhen, who was acting Chief of the General Staff of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.