Since no one else has anything to say, I'll say a few words.

Today we are holding this preparatory meeting. Comrade (Deng) ×× has already spoken; we need to discuss and revise several documents.

(I)

The purpose of this congress and the problem it aims to resolve is to sum up the experience gained since the Seventh Congress, unite all positive factors at home and abroad, enable us to do our work better, and strive to build a socialist country. Summing up experience and revising the Party Constitution can help us do our work better.

We must unite the more than ten million Party members across the country and carry out extensive work of education, persuasion, and unity.

In the past, foreign comrades did not understand our policy toward the national bourgeoisie and the rectification movement, but gradually they came to understand. Now the whole world knows that our Party is correct, and comrades from foreign parties generally understand us. We have accomplished two things: one is the new-democratic revolution, and the other is the socialist revolution. Even the bourgeoisie cannot deny our achievements.

The Russian bourgeoisie was a counter-revolutionary class. It refused to cooperate, opposed the Soviet regime, engaged in passive resistance and sabotage—unlike China's national bourgeoisie.

The United States refuses to let journalists come; even Dulles admits we have these merits (i.e., achievements and strengths), so much so that they dare not send people here. (Laughter)

This conference has representatives from fraternal parties of forty-nine countries attending our meeting; this is very good.

In the past, when we were not in power, everyone looked down on us. Now that we are in power and our level has risen, everyone holds us in esteem. Foreign comrades greatly respect our Party. In the past, foreigners called us the sick man of East Asia—said we couldn't play ball, couldn't swim, that even our moon was no good, that we had queues, bound feet, were uncouth, and so on. They thought everything about us was no good. Now we have turned things around. But having the Party alone is not enough; the Party is the core, but we must have the masses and rely on the masses. Ninety percent of the work is done by non-Party members, for example, Mei Lanfang and Zhou ×× are not Party members. I myself cannot sing opera; perhaps some comrades here can. Therefore, we must properly unite the whole Party and non-Party members. There are still many shortcomings in unity work that must be corrected. We must unite all forces that can be united. Abroad, we must unite with the Soviet Union and all people's democratic countries—all countries of the world. Unite all positive factors throughout the country, the whole Party, and the whole world. Why? In order to build a powerful socialist country. Can we say it should be called great? A country with a population of six hundred million is unique on this earth—that is us. The Party is great, the revolution is great, the country is great, and the construction is great. In the past, there was some reason for others to look down on us. At that time, Chiang Kai-shek had only a few tens of thousands of tons of steel, whereas now we have over four million tons of steel, and in the Second Five-Year Plan we can reach over ten million tons. In eleven years, we can reach over ten million tons and become one of the world's several strong nations. There are not many countries in the world with an annual output of over twenty million tons. Not only that, but after several more decades, we can surpass the United States, and indeed we should surpass the United States; otherwise, what are we six hundred million people for? Sixty years ago, the United States also had only four million tons of steel; we now have 4.5 million tons, lagging behind the United States. If we cannot catch up in several decades, then a number of people will have to be executed, and we will have to be expelled from the Earth's roster. Otherwise, we would be letting down all the countries of the world, and our contribution to the world would not be great.

(II)

In terms of ideological style and work style—we must overcome subjectivism and sectarianism. Are there still many other -isms? (Asks Comrade Deng ××) The central documents also mention bureaucratism; here we only speak of subjectivism and sectarianism. These are constantly swept away and then rise again, swept away and rise again; they will still exist even in ten thousand years.

Why did Stalin make mistakes? It was due to subjectivism—subjectivity not conforming to objectivity, not proceeding from objective reality. But many documents have not properly addressed this point. In our documents, we must do our utmost to overcome subjectivism and must conform as much as possible to actual conditions. In the past, during China's revolution, subjectivism brought us great losses; we lost ninety percent of our revolutionary forces. It was only through the rectification movement in 1939 that this problem was resolved. The basic idea of Marxism is to integrate subjectivity with objectivity, and politics with practice; otherwise, it is not genuine Marxism.

Sectarianism also arises from seeing only a partial view. For now, let's just talk about the Earth. As long as it is beneficial to unity, we should agree. We must unite the positive factors of the whole Party, the whole country, and the whole world; we must unite the Communist Parties of dozens of countries, first and foremost the Soviet Union. We cannot stop learning from the Soviet Union just because Stalin made mistakes; that would be wrong. They have been at it for decades and cannot avoid making mistakes; his mistakes are only a part, and his main aspect is correct. This is the mainstream. This is the world's first socialist country; it was through Marxism-Leninism that it became a powerful socialist industrial state. But we should not think that everything about the Soviet Union is fragrant. The Soviet Union itself says some things are stinky. In our past, we also had Chen Duxiu, Zhang Guotao, Li Lisan, Wang Ming, Gao Gang, and Rao Shushi; they were our teachers. But the greatest teachers were still Chiang Kai-shek and the imperialists; they educated us with guns and cannons—we must do a good job of unity. The unity spoken of here refers to one's own opponents, those who have struck blows, and moreover, those on the wrong side. (There's no need to speak of correct opponents.) Those who have cursed oneself as an opportunist, those with whom one has crossed hands—not those whose opinions are completely consistent with one's own. With people whose opinions are completely consistent with one's own, there is no task of unity. We must actively help and educate opponents who have made mistakes to correct their errors; standing by is a passive approach.

(III)

How many members are appropriate for the Eighth Central Committee? I think 150 to 170 is relatively suitable. The Central Committee of the CPSU has nearly 300 members; their Party is older. Let's wait a couple of years before discussing that. Having too many people is also difficult to manage. Performing "Lianhuan Tao" (Interlocking Rings) involves many people; I have seen "Lianhuan Tao." Doubling the seventy members from the Seventh Congress, a bit more, is relatively suitable.

The year 1938 forms a very important foundation for our practical work, but there weren't many people then. Difficulty in arranging positions is also a problem. I think we should... let's discuss it again in five years.

Everyone wants to propose 280, 190, 200—all figures around 200. The power rests with the delegates; if you want to propose 300 people, that's also fine. I am also a delegate, with only one vote; there's nothing I can do about it.

The previous Central Committee did not fail the trust placed in it by the Seventh Congress; it did a great deal of work, achieved results, and had no major problems. Among them, the achievements of individual comrades are also difficult to assess in this way. For example, Wang Ming is ill and cannot use his brain; whenever he tries to write a self-criticism, he falls ill and cannot write. He might really be ill, or he might not be. Wang Ming wrote a self-criticism once, acknowledging the correctness of the Central Committee's line, but soon afterward he denied it again. I said if he denies it, he can retract the self-criticism, but he did not retract it. Comrade Li Lisan is relatively understanding toward Wang Ming.

Should Comrades Wang Ming and Li Lisan be nominated? Everyone can consider it. Comrade Wang Ming is ill this time and cannot attend the conference. The Seventh Congress elected them. This time we can also elect them just like the Seventh Congress did. If we do not elect people who have made mistakes, then we would be handling matters according to their methods—they were the ones who excluded people who had struggled against them.

The most fundamental point is that they are not just individuals—they represent a section of the petty bourgeoisie. The petty bourgeoisie is vacillating: when elated, they can go wild with joy; when dejected, they become utterly crestfallen. China is a country where the petty bourgeoisie holds a very large proportion, and within our Party, the proportion of peasants is also very large. Among Party members, those of intellectual origin number one million. To classify these one million Party members as belonging to the bourgeoisie is inappropriate, and to place them in the proletariat is also unsuitable—they fit best in the petty bourgeoisie. They are prone to subjectivism and not a little sectarianism. Our election of these two individuals is meant to show that our attitude toward those who commit ideological errors differs from our attitude toward counterrevolutionaries and splittists (such as Chen Duxiu, Zhang Guotao, Gao Gang, and Rao Shushi). Chen, Zhang, Gao, and Rao had political programs; Wang and Li also had theirs, but they are different from Gao Gang and Rao Shushi, and there are social reasons for this. Vacillating elements and opportunists, shifting one way today and another tomorrow, are unprincipled. Take Wang Ming, for example—he first erred on the "Left" and later on the Right. Zhang Guotao did the same. Recently, it is said that in Hong Kong he has expressed a desire to return. If he comes back, that’s fine—Chiang Kai-shek will have one less person. Even without Party membership, one can still hold several other affiliations.

The petty bourgeoisie is bound to waver at critical junctures. Wang Ming at times veered extremely to the Right, and at other times extremely to the "Left." At the Seventh Congress, we elected Wang Ming and Li Lisan, and over the past eleven years, this has had no impact on our work. Surely today’s floods are not because they were still elected to the Central Committee?

If we elect them, will everyone then go and emulate Wang Ming? No, they will not. Electing Wang Ming and Li Lisan simply means vacating two seats—yielding them from two correct comrades or those with minor errors. To give up these seats is unfair, yes, that is the case. But, on the other hand, it is not quite so. Can we say, "The correct are inferior to the erroneous, and those with minor errors are inferior to those with major errors"? That is not the issue. The point is that they are known worldwide. By electing them, the whole world will say: The Communist Party is waiting for them. Foreign countries are aware that few other nations treat comrades who have erred in the way we do. Although this conference was hastily prepared, we still have over ten days left, and we must ensure it is conducted well... Everyone must be conscientious and meticulous—review documents, conduct elections, deliver speeches, and organize everything properly. Only by relying on everyone’s efforts can the conference be a success.