Comrade Rao Shushi and Comrade An Ziwen:

This document[2] holds great educational significance, and I believe it can be published in the People’s Daily. If you agree, please consider whether it is necessary to seek the consent of the Shandong Sub-bureau, and handle the matter as you see fit. In the future, whenever there are such good reports from various localities, please select and publish them as appropriate.

[1]
Hu Jiwei, then Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily.

Mao Zedong
March 15

[2]
Refers to Hu Jiwei’s report of February 21, 1953, to Deng Tuo, to be forwarded to Hu Qiaomu and An Ziwen, on the phenomenon of decentralization in Shandong provincial organs. The report stated: Before the enlarged meeting of the Shandong Sub-bureau in December last year, the overall leadership of the Provincial People’s Government was extremely weak, resulting in a serious phenomenon of decentralization where various departments and bureaus acted independently, with many major directives and decisions being issued by individual departments without authorization. The Party committee system within the Sub-bureau itself was also highly inadequate, exhibiting similarly severe decentralization. Most Sub-bureau members showed insufficient concern for overall work and did not regard participation in the Sub-bureau’s comprehensive leadership as an important duty. When the Sub-bureau convened meetings to discuss issues not under their direct management, they often showed little interest and offered few opinions. Although the situation of decentralization underwent fundamental change after the enlarged meeting of the Sub-bureau, the unified leadership of the Sub-bureau remained weak. If this problem is not properly resolved, the struggle against bureaucratism, commandism, and violations of law and discipline will be greatly affected. This report by Hu Jiwei was forwarded by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to the East China Bureau and the Shandong Sub-bureau on March 2, 1953, but was not subsequently published in the People’s Daily.