Central Instructions Forwarding Bo Yibo’s Report〔1〕 on the Second Phase of the Shanghai Five-Anti Campaign (April 5, 1952) Comrade Bo Yibo, the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, the East China Bureau, and all Central Bureaus and Branch Bureaus: (1) We approve Comrade Bo Yibo’s report of March 31〔2〕 and shall circulate it to all relevant units for reference. (2) Enterprises owned by the big bourgeoisie, owing to their advanced technology, large workforces, and substantial output, are of greater economic and political significance than small and medium-sized private enterprises. In the past, some comrades attached undue importance to the latter while neglecting the former. Even in matters concerning the organization of the Chinese People’s National Construction Association and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, there was a tendency to focus primarily on small and medium-sized entities. Such an outlook is clearly incorrect. It remains essential to organize the small and medium-sized sectors, swiftly resolve their issues during the Five-Anti Campaign, and promptly establish a united front to amplify our momentum and isolate those major speculators deeply steeped in the “Five Poisons”〔3〕. However, with the exception of a few wholly parasitic and harmful speculators, we must vigorously extend our work into the enterprises of the big bourgeoisie, strengthening trade union activities and Party organizational work. In conducting the Five-Anti Campaign, we should treat different categories of big capitalists in a differentiated yet appropriate manner, following the approaches adopted in Tianjin and Shanghai according to their respective circumstances. All major and medium-sized cities are urged to pay close attention to this point. Issued by the Central Committee on April 5, based on Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft.

Notes [1] Bo Yibo was then Director of the Central People’s Government Commission for Economy and Savings Inspection and had been dispatched by the Central Committee to Shanghai to assist in the Three-Anti and Five-Anti campaigns. [2] Refers to Bo Yibo’s report dated March 31, 1952, addressed to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee, which provided a detailed analysis of Shanghai’s industrial and commercial households and outlined the deployment for the second phase of the Five-Anti Campaign. The report stated: Shanghai has approximately 12,000 large capitalist and industrial-commercial households, accounting for 7.4 percent of the total number of such establishments; however, they employ 70 percent of all workers, and their economic weight far exceeds their numerical share. With regard to the second phase of the Five-Anti Campaign, it was decided to combine a broad mass mobilization with targeted inspections. The specific plan was as follows: (1) Strive to resolve the problems of 2,000 key households, including 1,500 ordinary key cases and 500 involving 390 upper-level capitalists’ businesses. For the ordinary key cases, two methods would be employed: for those who refused to confess or whose confessions were incomplete, preparations would be made to inspect between 500 and 800 households, using government pressure along with mutual persuasion and denunciations among capitalists to settle the remaining issues. As for the 500 households belonging to the 390 upper-level capitalists, worker and shop assistant denunciations would be encouraged within factories and stores, while each case would be handled individually according to its specific circumstances—most would be allowed to pass without severe punishment, but a small number would be dealt with strictly. (2) Half of the municipal party committee’s resources would be devoted to addressing the problems of small and medium-sized households, organized by district, street, or industry, with the goal of clarifying the situation in 30,000 such establishments. For the more than 60,000 family-run businesses and independent handicraft operations, a general appeal would be issued, with some cases resolved through registration and review by the Economy and Savings Inspection Committees. (3) Continue to carry out the Five-Anti Campaign while maintaining production. It was decided to keep injecting currency into the economy, to proceed with procurement and processing contracts, and to appropriately ease bank lending restrictions during April in order to sustain production. (4) Make full use of the experience gained in the first phase of the campaign. [3] The “Five Poisons” refer to five types of illegal conduct by certain capitalists: bribery, tax evasion, embezzlement of state property, shoddy workmanship, and theft of state economic intelligence.