Comments on Deng Zihui’s [I] Report Regarding Commencement of Construction on the Sanmenxia Reservoir According to the Original Plan
(February 6, 1957)
Comrade Xiaoping121:
Please circulate this document131 to all members of the Political Bureau and the Secretariat for their consideration. Let Comrade Chen Yun’s five-member group141 handle it.
Mao Zedong
February 6
Chuan
Deng Zihui was at the time Minister of the CPC Central Committee’s Department of Rural Work and Vice Premier of the State Council.
[2]
Xiaoping refers to Deng Xiaoping, who was then General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Premier of the State Council.
[3]
This refers to Deng Zihui’s report dated February 5, 1957, addressed to Mao Zedong and the CPC Central Committee, recommending that construction of the Sanmenxia Reservoir proceed as originally planned. The report stated that the Sanmenxia Reservoir is a key hydropower project for the comprehensive utilization of the Yellow River; its completion would fundamentally resolve the millennia-old problem of flooding, ensure the stability of the riverbed, and thereby safeguard the lives and property of the people in Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, and Anhui provinces. Some preparatory work has already been completed, and the report suggests that construction should not be halted but rather commence in February of this year as scheduled, with the aim of achieving partial flood storage capacity by the 1959 flood season.
[4]
This refers to the Central Five-Member Group on Economic Work, composed of Chen Yun, Li Fuchun, Bo Yibo, Li Xiannian, and Huang Kecheng, with Chen Yun serving as the group’s leader.