Central Directive Transmitting the Wuhan City Committee’s Report on Launching the Three-Antis Struggle, with Comment
(December 22, 1951)

To all Central Bureaus, and forward to sub-bureaus and provincial, municipal, and district Party committees:

Following the Beijing Municipal Committee, the Wuhan Municipal Committee has launched a great struggle against corruption, waste, and bureaucracy in a large city, conducted with great fanfare, with the force of a thunderbolt, and with the participation of the broad masses. They have acted very courageously, publicly exposing and punishing a number of cadres holding important positions who dared to suppress criticism from the masses. The principles, steps, and methods they have set are all very appropriate. The Central Committee hopes that Tianjin, Jinan, Qingdao, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Nanchang, Guangzhou, Changsha, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming, Xi’an, Taiyuan, and other large cities will all launch such a struggle. It is hoped that the municipal committees of these large cities will all be as brave and as step-by-step and methodical as the Wuhan Municipal Committee, and that they will all write an analytical and substantive report to the Central Committee. Please publish the Wuhan Municipal Committee’s report [1] in internal Party journals.

Central Committee
December 22
(Printed based on Mao Zedong’s manuscript)

Notes
[1] Refers to the report on launching the Three-Antis Movement submitted by the Wuhan Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China to the Central-South Bureau and forwarded to the Central Committee on December 19, 1951. The report points out that bureaucracy is the cover for corruption and waste. Its most prominent manifestation is the suppression of democracy, the suppression of criticism, and the treatment of the masses with a feudal order and a domineering style. This is a particularly prominent problem in Wuhan. In the Three-Antis struggle, in order to mobilize the masses, democracy must be fully promoted, and those elements who dare to suppress democracy, crack down on mass criticism, and violate discipline must be criticized and punished. Furthermore, this must begin from the Municipal Committee and the Municipal Government itself, proceeding from top to bottom, conducting honest self-criticism, breaking down all unnecessary misgivings, casting aside pretentious airs, and listening to the criticisms and opinions of the masses. Regarding the steps for carrying out the movement, the report states: re-initiate deliberation, study documents, hold mobilization reports, handle a number of prominent incidents, and organize a large public trial in December; begin launching a broad movement of exposure and confession in early January 1952 as the first step. Then, focus on analysis and handling as the second step. Finally, focus on summarizing work, improving institutions, streamlining organizations, and adjusting cadres as the third step. It is expected to be completed by the end of March 1952. The report also proposes organizing three types of inspection groups in conjunction with the mass struggle. The first type is general inspections led by responsible persons at all levels with the participation of a certain number of personnel. The second type is key inspections by the Discipline Inspection Commission, the People’s Supervision Commission, the Procuratorate, and the Courts. The third type is inspections by subordinates of their superiors. Personnel for the third type of inspection are to be elected by the working personnel of the organization or by representative conferences.