Comments on the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People’s Committee’s Report on the Grain Conference Situation (July 28, 1955) To the Shanghai Bureau, the CPC committees of all provinces and municipalities directly under the central government, and the party committees of autonomous regions: The issue of grain is extremely important, and all localities must address it urgently. We are now forwarding one copy of the Heilongjiang report [1] for your reference. Issued by the Central Committee on July 28, 1955, based on Mao Zedong’s manuscript. Note [1] Refers to the report submitted by the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee and Provincial People’s Committee to the Central Committee and the State Council on July 15, 1955, concerning the province-wide grain conference. The report states that Heilongjiang Province convened a grain conference from July 6 to 10, conveying the spirit of the national grain conference. Attendees unanimously supported the Central Committee’s policy of “resolutely compressing sales volumes and appropriately reducing purchases,” expressing their determination to proceed from an overall perspective, actively seek solutions to overcome difficulties, tap potential, and resolutely reduce grain sales. Specific measures included mobilizing urban idle populations and surplus livestock to engage in agricultural production in rural areas; clarifying the population eligible for grain supplies and eliminating duplicate allocations; distinguishing between full-fledged and semi-farming households; lowering ration and urban feed standards, supplementing grain rations with potatoes, and appropriately controlling grain usage in the food processing industry; and thoroughly implementing austerity measures, strictly regulating grain consumption in collective dining facilities such as government offices and enterprises. The conference engaged in extensive discussions regarding the full implementation of a “rationing system based on individual needs,” unanimously agreeing that this was an important measure for compressing sales volumes and a fundamental component of grain work. To strengthen leadership over grain affairs, a special leading group was established under the unified leadership of the Provincial Party Committee to oversee this work, drawing personnel from relevant departments to form an office responsible for liaising with local areas, compiling information, conducting supervision and inspection, exchanging experiences, and answering questions. The conference emphasized the principle of subordinating tasks to policy, intensifying propaganda and educational work, and ensuring that policies were correctly implemented based on raising the ideological awareness of cadres and the general public, thereby preventing tendencies toward haste, simplification, and coercive orders.£² ７