Comments on Liao Luyan’s [1] Speech Draft for the Second Session of the First National People’s Congress (July 22, 1955), to be immediately forwarded to Comrade Chen Yun [2]: Please review it promptly to see whether there are any contradictions with what you have stated. Return it to Comrade Liao Luyan after reading. I find this document [3] very good. Mao Zedong, July 22, based on the manuscript. Notes [1] Liao Luyan was then Deputy Minister of the CPC Central Committee’s Rural Work Department and Minister of Agriculture. [2] Chen Yun was then a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council. [3] Refers to Liao Luyan’s speech draft, submitted for review on July 21, 1955, in preparation for delivery at the Second Session of the First National People’s Congress. The main points discussed were as follows: (1) The production targets set forth in the draft of the First Five-Year Plan for grain, cotton, oilseeds, livestock, aquatic products, and other items are relatively reliable and achievable—indeed, surpassable—and should be ensured to be met, with efforts made to exceed them. This year is a critical year for completing the plan. (2) The proposed ratio of investment between industry and agriculture in the draft of the First Five-Year Plan is appropriate, prescribed by the general line for the transitional period, and consistent with China’s current agricultural production conditions. As China remains an industrially backward country, widespread mechanization of agriculture is not yet feasible, nor can large-scale water conservancy projects be fully implemented. Therefore, the primary means of developing agricultural production lie in mutual aid and cooperation, rational use of labor, full utilization of land, improvement of farming techniques, and harnessing the advantages of collective production. The fundamental path to overcoming China’s agricultural backwardness is to pursue socialist industrialization and carry out socialist transformation of small-scale peasant economies; reducing industrial investment to increase agricultural investment is not an acceptable approach. (3) A proper assessment should be made of the agricultural cooperativization movement over the past few years. The movement has achieved significant results. By the spring plowing season this year, the nation had developed 670,000 cooperatives, and mutual aid and cooperation along the socialist path have become the dominant trend in rural areas. We do not conceal the shortcomings and mistakes that have occurred during this process; rather, by correcting errors and addressing deficiencies, we aim to ensure that the agricultural cooperativization movement advances more healthily and with greater confidence. The next two to three years represent a crucial period for the agricultural cooperativization movement, during which a solid foundation must be laid. (4) Regarding the living conditions of farmers: Following the completion of land reform, the immediate launch of the mutual aid and cooperation movement and the subsequent development of agricultural production have led to a marked improvement in farmers’ lives. The task ahead is to guide farmers along the socialist path and prevent capitalist exploitation, for only socialism offers a broad and prosperous road to happiness. For a better future, farmers must, together with the people of the entire country, engage in arduous struggle to build socialism.£² ３