Letter and Comments on the Issue of Issuing Documents and Telegrams in the Name of the Central Committee[1]**
(May 19, 1953)

Comrades Shaoqi and Shangkun[2]:

(1) The report from the South China Sub-bureau and Fang Fang’s[3] self-criticism should be duplicated and distributed to Peng Zhen, Xi Zhongxun, Gao Gang, Bo Yibo, Chen Boda, Luo Ruiqing, Luofu, He Long[4], and other comrades attending the central meetings, in preparation for discussion. Henceforth, documents and telegrams concerning relatively major issues should all be handled in this manner.

(2) Before Comrade He Long leaves Beijing, he should be invited to attend all central meetings.

(3) Henceforth, all documents and telegrams issued in the name of the Central Committee must be reviewed by me before they can be sent out; otherwise, they are invalid. Please take note.

After Comrades Shaoqi, Enlai, and Dehuai[5] have read this, hand it to Comrade Shangkun:

Mao Zedong
May 19

(1) Please arrange for a thorough check of all telegrams and documents issued in the name of the Central Committee and the Military Commission from August 1 of last year (documents prior to August 1 have already been checked) to May 5 of this year, to determine if any, and how many, were issued without my review (excepting those during my inspection tours or sick leave). Report the results to me;

(2) Several times in the past, resolutions of central meetings were issued without my review and without authorization. This was mistaken and a breach of discipline;

(3) The No. 14 notice should be distributed as is.

Mao Zedong
May 19

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[1] The first part is Mao Zedong’s letter to Liu Shaoqi and Yang Shangkun; the second is Mao’s comment written on Yang Shangkun’s report regarding the handling of documents from meetings of the Central Committee’s Political Bureau and Secretariat. Yang’s report stated: “Decisions of the Political Bureau and Secretariat meetings are customarily compiled by me and, after being reviewed by Comrades Shaoqi and Enlai, are issued in the name of the General Office of the Central Committee. Following the spirit of your instructions, future issuances should also be reviewed by you before distribution. That they were not submitted to you previously is a matter for which I am responsible. I am now forwarding the notice on the Political Bureau meeting decisions of May 14 for your immediate review, so that it may be issued.”

[2] Shangkun, i.e., Yang Shangkun, then director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.

[3] Fang Fang, then third secretary of the South China Sub-bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice chairman of the Guangdong Provincial People’s Government.

[4] Peng Zhen, then alternate secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee. Xi Zhongxun, then head of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee and second secretary of the Northwest Bureau. Gao Gang, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and secretary of the Northeast Bureau. Bo Yibo, then first secretary of the North China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. Chen Boda, then deputy head of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee. Luo Ruiqing, then deputy director of the Political and Legal Affairs Committee of the Government Administration Council and minister of public security. Luofu, i.e., Zhang Wentian, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. He Long, then third secretary of the Southwest Bureau of the CPC Central Committee.

[5] Dehuai, i.e., Peng Dehuai, then member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice chairman of the People’s Revolutionary Military Council.

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