Comments by the Central Committee on Two Reports by An Ziwen [1] and a Letter from Mao Zedong to An Ziwen (December 19, 1952) I. To All Central Bureaus and Sub-bureaus, with Copy to Party Committees of Provinces, Municipalities, and Autonomous Regions: We are now transmitting to you Comrade An Ziwen’s report dated December 5 concerning the current work of rectifying and building the Party [2]. The Central Committee deems all the views set forth in this report to be correct. You are requested to guide the ongoing rectification and party-building efforts accordingly, so as to minimize errors. This report by Comrade An Ziwen should also be distributed to county-level party committees and to the rectification teams, and it is to be published in the Party journal. Central Committee, December 19 II. To All Central Bureaus and Sub-bureaus, with Copy to Party Committees of Provinces, Municipalities, and Autonomous Regions; and to All Directly Affiliated Primary-Level Party Committees under the Central Committee: We are forwarding for your study Comrade An Ziwen’s report dated December 18 on the Northeast Bureau’s experience in managing and examining cadres [3]. The Central Committee considers that the Northeast Bureau’s experience in cadre management and examination merits the attention of the entire Party; the problems it has identified are common to all regions and must be dealt with seriously. The Central Committee has decided to convene the Second National Conference on Organizational Work in the spring of 1953 to review and summarize experiences in cadre management and, following the Northeast model, to arrange for a thorough examination of cadres. You are asked to analyze your own situation in cadre management and examination in light of the Northeast experience, making preliminary preparations so that the Second National Conference on Organizational Work may successfully accomplish its tasks. Central Committee, December 19, 1952. Printed from Mao Zedong’s manuscript. III. To Comrade An Ziwen: Your reports of December 5 on rectifying and building the Party, and of December 18 on the Northeast’s experience in examining cadres, have both been received and read. They are very good, and today they have been circulated to all Central Bureaus, Sub-bureaus, and provincial/municipal/autonomous-region party committees. I delayed reading the report on rectifying the Party, which was a mistake. As this work is being carried out intensively across the country these past two or three months, and since it will likely take another month before your report reaches the county, district, and township levels, it would be advisable for you or your assistants to maintain frequent telephone contact with the organizational department heads of several Central Bureaus, who in turn should also keep in touch by phone with their subordinates, so as to promptly correct any deviations. Please give this matter due consideration. Mao Zedong, December 19, printed from the manuscript.

Notes [1] An Ziwen was at that time Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee. [2] In his report of December 5, 1952, addressed to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee, An Ziwen pointed out that the key issues requiring proper resolution in the current rural rectification and party-building campaign are as follows: (1) Regarding the integration of the Rectification Movement with the Three-Anti Campaign in the countryside, it is generally preferable not to raise the Three-Anti Campaign explicitly, but rather to incorporate its spirit into the rectification work as part of its content. (2) Educating party members clearly about the direction of rural development and opposing rich-peasant tendencies and exploitative practices involving hired labor has become a serious problem in the countryside. However, when combating such rich-peasant ideology and exploitative behavior among party members, clear boundaries must be drawn, and great care must be taken to prevent “left” deviations. (3) Based on the current state of Party organization in rural areas, it is appropriate to keep the number of party members subject to disciplinary action within 15–20 percent of the total membership. (4) The fundamental guarantee for completing the rural rectification lies in effective, strong leadership at all levels of the Party committees and in the strict adherence to policy and discipline by the rectification teams. The main danger at present is haste and overzealousness. With regard to party-building work, the report notes that the prevailing tendency to focus solely on increasing the quantity of new members while neglecting their quality constitutes the primary risk. Party committees at all levels must carry out party-building activities in accordance with their specific conditions and capabilities. [3] In his report of December 18, 1952, addressed to Mao Zedong and the Central Committee, An Ziwen stated that the Organization Department of the Northeast Bureau had convened a cadre conference in mid-November to review and summarize its work in cadre management. Over the past three years, the Northeast region had boldly promoted and trained a large number of cadres, successfully accomplishing various tasks, and its cadre work had yielded significant results. At the same time, several noteworthy problems were identified: First, deviations in implementing cadre policy included an undue emphasis on professional competence at the expense of political integrity; the practice of promoting and employing cadres based on personal likes and dislikes or on kinship ties; a preference for intellectuals over worker-peasant cadres; an excessive focus on seniority, which discouraged the bold promotion of young cadres; and discrimination against female cadres. Second, the Party’s cadre ranks were seriously impure. Third, among high-ranking and leading cadres, there were some individuals with problematic past records who had not yet undergone rigorous scrutiny. An Ziwen believed that this report from the Northeast Bureau’s Organization Department was excellent and, in order to draw widespread attention to it, requested that the Central Committee circulate it to all localities.