Comments by the Office of the Central Five-Man Group〔1〕 on a Briefing Regarding the Campaign to Root Out Concealed Counterrevolutionaries in Organs at the Central Level (July 13, 1955)

To the CPC Committees of all Provinces and Municipalities Directly Under the Central Government, and to the Party Committees of all Autonomous Regions:  With regard to the experience gained in Beijing in carrying out the campaign to purge concealed counterrevolutionaries, we have previously transmitted to you two reports from the Party Committee of State Organs〔2〕.

We are now forwarding another briefing, dated July 9, 1955, issued by the Office of the Central Five-Man Group〔3〕. Although some of its content overlaps with that of the earlier two documents, it nonetheless remains valuable for reference. We look forward to receiving your reports.

Issued by the Central Authorities on July 13, 1955, based on Mao Zedong’s manuscript.

To Liu and Deng〔4〕: Please review. To Shang Kun〔〕: To be sent by telegram. In addition, copies are to be distributed to all members of the CPC Central Committee residing in Beijing, members of the Central Military Commission, heads of various departments within the CMC system, leaders of all central ministries and commissions, party leading groups of the central government, and certain other key cadres—each receiving one copy.

Printed on July 13, 1955, from Mao Zedong’s manuscript.

Notes 〔1〕 Refers to the Central Five-Man Group established in May 1955 to handle the Hu Feng counterrevolutionary case, with Lu Dingyi as group leader and Luo Ruiqing as deputy leader. In July of the same year, the Central Five-Man Group was expanded into a Central Ten-Man Group.

〔2〕 Refers to the special report of the Party Committee of Central State Organs, dated June 30, 1955, on launching a campaign to purge all concealed counterrevolutionaries, and to the special report of July 6 on conducting a struggle to root out such elements. See Note 1 on page [page number] and Note 1 on page [page number] of this volume, respectively.

〔3〕 The main contents of the briefing issued by the Office of the Central Five-Man Group on July 9, 1955, are as follows: First, after the Party Committees of Organs Directly Affiliated with the CPC Central Committee and of State Organs respectively conveyed the Central Committee’s directives on purging all concealed counterrevolutionaries to their subordinate units, the campaign has made considerable progress compared with before; however, in a few units the masses have either not been mobilized at all or have been very poorly mobilized. Even in those units where the campaign is progressing relatively well, development remains uneven. Second, at present there are two principal problems confronting organs and organizations at the central level in carrying out this campaign: First, certain unit leaders still harbor right-leaning, complacent attitudes, are overly cautious, and dare not reach out widely and deeply among the masses. Second, many units insufficiently appreciate the importance of conducting, within small groups and under leadership guidance, ideological struggles to expose counterrevolutionary activities, and lack the necessary experience in this regard. Some fail to fully grasp the spirit of the Central Committee’s instructions, viewing political struggle and ideological struggle as entirely opposed to one another; as a result, they do not engage in ideological confrontation aimed at exposing counterrevolutionary activities during group meetings, confining themselves instead to general critiques of liberalism and individualism. Consequently, the campaigns in these organs lack vitality and fail to achieve the objectives of educating the masses and bringing to light a contingent of counterrevolutionary elements. The Party Committees of Organs Directly Affiliated with the CPC Central Committee and of State Organs are currently summarizing experience in this area.

〔〕 Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi. Deng refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at that time served as Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council.

〔〕 Shang Kun refers to Yang Shangkun, who at that time held the posts of Deputy Secretary-General of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.