Central Committee Endorsement of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee’s Directive on Launching the Three-Anti Campaign in Factories (February 7, 1952) To all Central Bureaus, with copy to the party committees of major cities under their jurisdiction: The Central Committee deems the Shanghai document of February 4 concerning the launch of the Three-Anti Campaign in factories [1] to be correct and hereby instructs you to follow its example. Printed by the Central Committee on February 7, based on Mao Zedong’s manuscript.

Notes [1] Refers to the directive issued by the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee on February 4, 1952, regarding the launching of the Three-Anti Campaign in state-owned, public-sector, and joint public-private enterprises. The directive states that, judging from the democratic reform and pilot Three-Anti work carried out over the past half month in certain state-owned, public-sector, and joint public-private factories in Shanghai, the extent of corruption and waste within these enterprises is extremely serious; they have become veritable havens for “big tigers.” Launching the Three-Anti Campaign has thus become an urgent demand of the broad masses of workers and a key prerequisite for advancing all other tasks in the factories at present. It is therefore decided that all state-owned, public-sector, and joint public-private enterprises, provided their leadership is capable of organizing such a campaign, shall without exception conduct a thorough and comprehensive Three-Anti drive. Conducting the Three-Anti Campaign in factories not only does not conflict with democratic reform and production reform but can in fact be fully integrated with them, serving as a fundamental impetus for promoting these reforms. Given that factories are both intensive production units and breeding grounds for major corrupt elements, the Three-Anti effort there must not only thoroughly root out corruption and waste and eliminate the “big tigers” but also ensure that production is neither hindered nor adversely affected—on the contrary, that it is further enhanced. To this end, particular attention should be paid to the following points:

1. Properly handle the issues of worker theft and “milking” practices. The basic approach to resolving these problems should be positive education and institutional reform: adopt a policy of looking forward rather than dwelling on the past, and take firm measures to prevent recurrence.

2. Deal with care and seriousness the problems of corruption and waste in trade union funds, welfare programs, and cooperative organizations. The guiding principle here is to ascertain the facts clearly, make a full and honest report to the masses, while at the same time avoiding discouraging cadres or harming those who can still be reformed and saved.

3. With regard to clerical and technical personnel involved in corrupt practices, apply the principle of uniting and winning over the majority while isolating and punishing the minority, treating individuals differently according to their technical level and the importance of their roles.

4. As corruption is widespread in factories, inspections to detect corrupt activities and to round up “big tigers” must be focused and deliberate, avoiding indiscriminate, sweeping operations.

5. The Three-Anti Campaign in factories presents more complex challenges than in government organs, and the cadre contingent is relatively less prepared. Therefore, it is essential to emphasize a well-planned, step-by-step implementation; mechanical replication of the procedures used in government offices should be avoided, and the campaign must not be conducted in a hasty, perfunctory manner with arbitrary deadlines.