Comrade Enlai, after reading, send to Comrade Peng Zhen:[2]

I have made some revisions to this document,[3] Comrade Shaoqi made some modifications, and I have made further substantial changes, and I think it can be used. If you agree with these revisions, please have the proofs carefully corrected before printing.

Mao Zedong
April 16, 5 a.m.

[1] Mao Zedong made more than one revision to Peng Zhen’s explanatory draft on the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Punishing Corruption. The third part of this text consists of Mao Zedong’s revisions to the section of the explanatory draft concerning the basis for formulating the regulations on punishing corruption. The text printed in Song typeface represents the words he rewrote or added.

[2] Peng Zhen, then Vice Chairman of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Government Administration Council and Vice Chairman of the Central People’s Government’s Economy and Austerity Inspection Committee.

[3] Refers to Peng Zhen’s explanatory draft on the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Punishing Corruption.

43

Complete Works of Mao Zedong
Volume 32

Premier Zhou, Comrade Peng Zhen:

I have made some further revisions and feel it is somewhat better. Please review it again. If it can be used, it may be printed and distributed.

Mao Zedong
April 17

Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee, Comrades:

The draft Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Punishing Corruption, after soliciting opinions from various quarters on multiple occasions and undergoing revisions, has been approved at the 130th Government Administration Council meeting of the Central People’s Government. Now, I will present a report on the basis for formulating these regulations and on the regulations themselves, and submit it to the Central People’s Government Council for examination and approval.

These regulations are formulated in accordance with the provisions of Article 18 of the Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference on severely punishing corruption, as well as the facts uncovered and the experience accumulated during the "Three Antis" and "Five Antis" movements.

The "Three Antis" and "Five Antis" movements are a great mass movement, relying on the broad masses of the people, under the leadership of Chairman Mao, the Central People’s Government, and the working class, aimed at cleansing the filth left over from the old society. During this recent period, the broad masses of people across the country have waged a fierce struggle to stop the lawless and disorderly conduct of corrupt elements, to halt the rampant attacks by lawless bourgeois elements, and to defend and implement the line of the Common Program, achieving a great victory. Except for a portion of major corrupt elements among state personnel who are completely lawless and disorderly, and a portion of major theft offenders in the industrial and commercial circles who are completely lawless, this struggle remains one within the people’s democratic united front, employing methods of mass movements and criticism and self-criticism, using the principles of the Common Program to reform the bad practices in society and among state personnel; it is a struggle by the broad masses who support the Common Program against unlawful acts that violate the Common Program; it is a struggle between the honest, simple, and revolutionary work style of serving the people practiced by the majority of state personnel and the corrupt, wasteful, and bureaucratic evil practices of a minority of degenerate elements; it is a struggle between the lawful path of private industrial and commercial operations conducted in accordance with the Common Program and state laws and the unlawful path of bribery, tax evasion, theft and fraud of state assets, cutting corners, and stealing state economic intelligence. In simple terms, except for the struggle against major corrupt elements and major theft offenders, this is a struggle between two styles and two lines within the people’s democratic united front. This is yet another mass social reform movement of great historical significance for our country, following the three major movements of resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea, land reform, and suppressing counterrevolutionaries.

In this movement, people have succinctly referred to the phenomena of corruption, waste, and bureaucracy as the "Three Evils"; and to the unlawful acts of bribery, tax evasion, theft and fraud of state assets, cutting corners, and stealing state economic intelligence as the "Five Poisons." The Five Poisons are currently the main forms of rampant attacks launched by lawless bourgeois elements against the state and the people, while the Three Evils are currently primarily the result of these rampant attacks by lawless bourgeois elements. Of course, the Three Evils also have other historical origins, meaning they are also filth left over from all exploiters and reactionary rulers of the old society, and the lawless bourgeois elements are currently the main social class foundation that inherits and supports this filth. Because we have been busy over the past three years suppressing and eliminating the remnants of the U.S.-Chiang bandit forces, busy with resisting U.S. aggression and aiding Korea and land reform, and busy with the restoration of economic and cultural undertakings and the development of various construction projects, we have not yet had time to systematically eliminate this filth. The theft elements within the bourgeoisie and the corrupt elements among state personnel have precisely exploited this gap, colluding with each other and acting in cahoots, recklessly developing their unlawful acts. But this does not mean that everyone within the bourgeoisie has broken the law without distinction. In the past period, based on the situation in major cities, among the petty bourgeoisie (here referring to independent handicraft households and family commercial households that generally do not employ workers or shop assistants, excluding street vendors) and the bourgeoisie as a whole, those who abide by the law account for about 10 percent; those who basically abide by the law but have minor unlawful acts account for about 60 percent; those who are half law-abiding and half law-breaking account for about 25 percent; and those who seriously or completely violate the law account for about 5 percent, consisting of highly speculative or completely speculative capitalists; among them, the most rampant and vicious speculators account for about 1 percent of the total number of industrial and commercial households, a number that is not very large. This last group consists of the so-called major theft offenders, who are no longer our friends but criminals, and therefore, except for those who confess, repent, and demonstrate meritorious conduct, they must be subjected to legal sanctions. Among the above proportions, law-abiding households and basically law-abiding households account for about 70 percent of the total in industrial and commercial circles, the majority of whom are petty bourgeois elements, but there are also many bourgeois elements, including some large industrial and commercial operators. Under the rampant attacks of lawless bourgeois elements and the erosion of the filth left over from the old society, many corrupt elements have emerged among state personnel. Among them, the most serious and vicious major corrupt elements are also a minority. These major corrupt elements are no longer our comrades but criminals who steal the wealth of the state and the people, and therefore, except for those who confess, repent, and demonstrate meritorious conduct, they must be expelled from our ranks and subjected to legal sanctions. Before the "Three Antis" and "Five Antis" movements began, the corruption existing among state personnel and the theft existing in industrial and commercial circles were very serious. However, because our state has the leadership of the Communist Party and the working class, has the strong and seasoned leadership backbone taught by Chairman Mao, and has the enthusiastic support of the broad masses of the people, as soon as Chairman Mao and the Central People’s Government issued the call, the "Three Antis" and "Five Antis" movements immediately unfolded nationwide. The broad working people, revolutionary intellectuals, and the vast number of active working cadres quickly united, responding to the state’s call, and finally, those staff members and industrial and commercial operators who had cleansed their hands also united with us, forming a great united front for the "Three Antis" and "Five Antis." This completely isolated the major corrupt elements within state organs and the major theft offenders in society, subjecting them to severe blows and sanctions; the tendency of lawless bourgeois elements to run counter to the state and the people was effectively halted and corrected. At the same time, the bourgeoisie itself, under the leadership and supervision of the working class and through the struggle waged by its own law-abiding, progressive, and active elements against the law-breaking, backward, and passive elements, received a universal education. Through the "Three Antis" and "Five Antis" movements, we can already clearly see that our country’s people’s democratic united front and people’s democratic dictatorship have been greatly consolidated, the conditions in both finance and the economy have been greatly improved, and the old thinking of intellectuals that was detrimental to the people’s cause has been reformed or is in the process of being reformed. Now, in order to punish corrupt elements and theft offenders respectively, to consolidate the victories already achieved in the "Three Antis" and "Five Antis" movements, and to continue the unremitting struggle against all acts of corruption and theft, it is entirely necessary to formulate a law, which is the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Punishing Corruption to be discussed today.