Reply and Annotations to a Letter from Huang Yanpei[I]
(May 26, 1955)

Mr. Renzhi:
Your esteemed letter of May 25[2] has been received and read. It is always beneficial to tirelessly seek detailed opinions on important issues. Recently, I again consulted leading comrades from fifteen provinces and municipalities to solicit their views on issues such as grain, the suppression of counterrevolutionaries, and cooperatives[3], and obtained more material, confirming what I said at the Supreme State Conference. However, further study is still needed to see whether this is ultimately the case. During your upcoming inspection tour, please pay attention to employing the method of comprehensive analysis. I have already reviewed the materials from the China Democratic National Construction Association conference[1] and found them very interesting; I intend to distribute them to all democratic parties for reference.

With salutations and respect,
Mao Zedong
May 26, 1955

After reading this document, Comrade Peng Zhen[2] is requested to have it printed and distributed to members of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and members of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference for reference.

Mao Zedong
May 26

[I] Huang Yanpei, courtesy name Renzhi, was then Chairman of the China Democratic National Construction Association and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
[2] Refers to Huang Yanpei's letter to Mao Zedong dated May 25, 1955. The letter stated: The China Democratic National Construction Association convened a symposium yesterday in Beijing and Tianjin for its Standing Committee members and Central Committee members, conveying the spirit of Chairman Mao's speech at the Supreme State Conference on strengthening the suppression of counterrevolutionaries and implementing amnesty. Everyone unanimously expressed support for Chairman Mao's 24-character concluding statement: "Heighten vigilance, eliminate all secret agents; prevent deviations, do not wrong a single good person." Regarding amnesty, most advocated for a principled and educational pardon to be carried out at an appropriate time. They unanimously expressed admiration and appreciation for Chairman Mao's spirit of extensively soliciting opinions and high degree of democracy.
[3] On May 17, 1955, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China convened a meeting of the Party secretaries of fifteen provinces and municipalities to discuss issues concerning grain, cooperatives, etc. At this meeting, Mao Zedong delivered the "Speech on the Question of Agricultural Cooperativization."
[1] Refers to the record of the symposium convened by the China Democratic National Construction Association on May 24, 1955, in Beijing and Tianjin for its Standing Committee members and Central Committee members, which was attached to Huang Yanpei's letter.
[2] Peng Zhen, then Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.