Comments on the State Council Notice Calling for a Meeting to Review Grain Work (September 10, 1955)

Comrade Chen Yun [1]: This method of conducting inspections in successive short sessions [2] is very good. Please instruct all economic departments to follow suit. Mao Zedong, September 10, printed from the manuscript.

Notes [1] Chen Yun was at the time Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council. [2] The State Council’s notice dated September 8, 1955, addressed to the People’s Committees of Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Sichuan, stated that in order to quickly exchange experiences regarding this year’s work on setting fixed quotas for grain production, procurement, and sales in rural areas, to provide timely guidance for the campaign, to promote achievements, and to correct shortcomings, the State Council has tasked its Fifth Office with convening a preliminary meeting on the 12th of this month. One director or deputy director of each of the aforementioned nine provinces’ finance-grain-trade offices—persons responsible for the “three fixed” tasks and well acquainted with local conditions—is to attend. The main topics for discussion will be the key aspects and existing problems of the “three fixed” work in each locality, as well as possible deviations that may occur, such as rough estimates of production quotas, disconnects between procurement and sales, excessive emphasis on purchasing at the expense of selling, and the risk that busy schedules might cause grain-related work to be neglected. The meeting is tentatively scheduled to last two days, with each province allotted half an hour for its presentation.