Marx and Engels stated in the Communist Manifesto: “The communists disdain to conceal their views and aims.” We are communists—especially as senior Party cadres—and must therefore be aboveboard in our politics. We ought at all times to openly express our political convictions, taking a clear stand either for or against every major political issue, and we must never resort to the kind of treacherous machinations practiced by Gao Gang and Rao Shushi.

In light of various historical lessons, and recognizing that individual wisdom can only be effectively harnessed when combined with collective wisdom, we can better avoid mistakes in our work.

Comrades: We now find ourselves in a new historical period. A nation of 600 million people in the East is undertaking a socialist revolution, seeking to alter the course of its history and transform its national character. Over the span of roughly three Five-Year Plans, we aim to achieve basic industrialization.

Comrades! Communists are renowned for our fearlessness in the face of difficulty.

…Whenever difficulties arise, they are compelled to yield before us. As the saying goes, “Even lofty mountains must bow their heads, and rivers must give way.”

However, our approach to difficulties should be as follows:

(1) Tactically, we must take every difficulty seriously. With regard to each specific challenge, we must adopt a rigorous and conscientious attitude, create the necessary conditions, and employ appropriate methods, overcoming them one by one and in successive waves.

(2) Strategically, we should hold difficulties in contempt—that is, from an overall perspective, no matter how formidable the obstacle may seem, we should immediately discern its true nature. Such difficulties are nothing more than challenges posed by our adversaries and by nature itself—yet these are but dying forces, whereas we represent a rising, vibrant force, with truth on our side. In this sense, we have always been invincible—both in the natural world and in society. By their very nature, all emerging forces are indestructible. Therefore, we may—and indeed must—regard any great difficulties we encounter as trifles, dismissing them as “no big deal.” This is the essence of our optimism.