Comment on the Summary Report [1]
(January 26, 1955)

Comrade Shaoqi, please handle.

Mao Zedong
January 26

[1] This is a comment written by Mao Zedong on a report submitted by Peng Dehuai, member of the Central Military Commission of the CPC Central Committee, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Minister of National Defense, on January 26, 1955, addressed to Liu Shaoqi.

[2] In his summary report at the enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission on December 29, 1954, Peng Dehuai addressed nine issues:
(1) To accelerate the modernization and regularization of our army, implement the three major systems: compulsory military service, regulations on the service of officers, and salaries for officers.
(2) To reduce the leading units of the Central Military Commission and facilitate air defense command and work leadership in wartime, divide the country into 12 military regions, while retaining the provincial military districts. (3) The issue of reorganizing the public security forces. Continue to implement the decision that provincial public security forces shall be under the unified leadership of the provincial military districts. The policy of converting a portion of the public security forces into police, in order to gradually establish our country’s police system, should be affirmed and remain unchanged. (4) Issues concerning military training for troops and military studies for cadres. The meeting of senior Party cadres of the national military system in January 1954 had already decided that military training for troops shall be the central task of the entire army, and the work of schools for training and educating cadres shall be the center of this center. This is because the quality of military training achievements by the troops, and the quality of achievements by cadres at all levels in studying military science, will be the basic standard determining the combat effectiveness of our army in the future. To strengthen leadership over this work, establish the General Department of Military Training. (5) The issue of purifying the internal ranks. Make the purification of our army members, especially cadres, in terms of class origin and politics, a serious political task. (6) The issue of raising the ideological consciousness of cadres and preventing corruption and degeneration. (7) Train 200,000 junior cadres with combat experience. (8) Establish the Department of Armed Forces Supervision. (9) Issues such as the construction of national defense fortifications.
This summary report was revised and approved at the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on January 26, 1955. Liu Shaoqi gave the following instruction on January 27: "After Comrade Peng Dehuai has read it, hand it over to Comrade Shangkun for distribution."