Remarks on the Fujian Provincial Party Committee’s Propaganda Department’s Self-Criticism Regarding Errors in the “Three-Anti” Reports in the Fujian Daily (March 1, 1952) To All Central Bureaus: I hope that the propaganda departments of all central bureaus, sub-bureaus, and provincial, municipal, and regional party committees will, like the East China Bureau’s Propaganda Department (which has already been notified) and the Fujian Provincial Party Committee’s Propaganda Department, conduct a thorough review of their own work [1] to determine whether they have properly managed the work of their newspapers, news agencies, and radio stations during the Three-Anti and Five-Anti campaigns.

Mao Zedong March 1 Based on the manuscript.

Notes [1] Refers to the opinions of the Propaganda Department of the CPC East China Bureau on the January 1952 Three-Anti reports in the Fujian Daily, as well as the Fujian Provincial Party Committee’s Propaganda Department’s self-criticism report concerning the errors in those Three-Anti reports. The East China Bureau’s Propaganda Department pointed out that, while the Fujian Daily had generally begun to attach importance to its coverage of the Three-Anti campaign, it had done far too little to concentrate its efforts on repelling the bourgeoisie’s offensive and to systematically organize materials to expose their criminal acts. This was manifested primarily in the following ways: First, the paper had never reprinted any of the Three-Anti editorials from the Liberation Daily. Second, there was an overabundance of reports from other regions and a dearth of local news; much of the content consisted of empty rhetoric with few concrete facts, and the newspaper failed to highlight major, exemplary cases. Third, the exposure of the bourgeoisie’s crimes was inadequate; in reporting on corrupt officials, the paper did not simultaneously reveal how the bourgeoisie had bribed, seduced, and corrupted them. These problems must be promptly examined and corrected. The Fujian Provincial Party Committee’s Propaganda Department’s self-criticism report stated that the East China Bureau’s criticism of the errors made by the Fujian Daily in its Three-Anti propaganda was entirely justified. Such mistakes had occurred because both the provincial propaganda department and the newspaper had initially adopted a very careless and unserious attitude toward Three-Anti reporting. In our struggle against the bourgeoisie, we had harbored a sense of complacency and rightist tendencies. Following this self-criticism, measures were decided upon to improve the newspaper’s work and intensify its Three-Anti reporting and publicity: the provincial propaganda department would strengthen its leadership over Three-Anti reporting; the newspaper would review its previous Three-Anti coverage, make adjustments, and reinforce its reporting team; and, in the immediate future, it would focus its efforts on covering the anti-corruption struggle within provincial and Fuzhou municipal organs, as well as the Five-Anti movement in Fuzhou City.