Comments on An Ziwen’s Report〔1〕 on the Rectification Campaign in Rural Areas of the Former Chahar Province (January 9, 1953) I approve the views set forth in this document〔2〕: the Organization Department should direct local organization departments to handle matters accordingly. After the completion of the first batch of rectification campaigns, there should be a pause—for example, one month—to conduct a summary and make arrangements before commencing the second batch. Mao Zedong, January 9. Zhou, Deng, and Zhu〔3〕 have reviewed it; return to An Ziwen for action. Printed from the manuscript.

Notes 〔1〕 An Ziwen was at that time Deputy Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.

〔2〕 Refers to An Ziwen’s report to the Central Committee dated January 7, 1953, concerning an inspection of the rectification campaign in rural areas of the former Chahar Province. The report stated that the rectification campaign in rural Chahar had begun relatively early. The first batch, comprising 1,124 party branches, started in November 1952 and was completed by mid-December. Upon inspection, it was found that although some gains had been made, the campaign had not achieved the desired results; in many villages, not only had the rectification failed to succeed but had actually gone awry. The main problems were: (1) Insufficient preparatory work for the rectification; there was a widespread impatience and what might be called a “task-oriented” approach from top to bottom. (2) Unclear objectives for the rural rectification campaign, leading to numerous errors in the implementation of rectification policies. (3) The erroneous application of the “Three Antis” methods used in government organs to the rural context. (4) Bureaucratic and complacent tendencies among the leadership, which resulted in a reluctance to face up to mistakes, thereby preventing timely correction of serious problems that had arisen during the campaign. The report proposed that these issues encountered in the rural rectification campaign in Chahar also existed, to varying degrees, elsewhere. In order to ensure that the rural rectification campaign would achieve the goal of “only good rectification, no bad rectification,” it was suggested that all localities be instructed, after the conclusion of the first batch of rural rectifications, to carry out a thorough summary, provide education to rectification cadres, reorganize the rectification teams, and draw up plans for the next phase. Any locality that had failed to conduct a proper summary, or whose summary was inadequate, was to be prohibited from hastily launching the second batch of rectification campaigns.

〔〕 Zhou refers to Zhou Enlai. Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at the time served as Vice Premier of the State Council. Zhu refers to Zhu De.