Comments on Continuing Democratic Reform
(March 7, 1957)
To Liu, Zhou, Zhu, and Peng Zhen: Please review; return to Xiaoping (or Shangkun) for action.
I believe we should approve this policy.III
Mao Zedong
March 7
[1]
Refers to the policy proposed in the report submitted by the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC to the Central Committee on March 5, 1957, concerning the issue of democratic reform in the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, which called for the continuation and completion of the reform. The report stated that, with the exception of the pastoral areas, the buffer zone between pastoral and agricultural regions, and Luding County (predominantly Han), where collectivization had already been completed, democratic reform in the agricultural areas—covering approximately 320,000 people—had been finished in a region of 140,000, while work was underway in other areas and preparations were being made to press ahead. The Provincial Committee held that such an approach was in the fundamental interests of the Tibetan people as a whole. The reasons given were as follows:

1. It would help consolidate the gains already achieved in the reform, safeguard and stimulate the enthusiasm of cadres and the masses, expand production, gradually improve living standards, and substantially train and promote local cadres.
2. Persisting in the reform would educate the Tibetan upper classes, enable them to recognize the future course of events, and allay their concerns.
3. In areas where the reform had been completed, the prompt implementation of a policy of “encircling” the monasteries and providing them with long-term support would be conducive to social stability and economic development.
4. It would strengthen road transportation networks, facilitating the movement of supplies into Tibet.
5. Resolutely completing the reform in this region would undoubtedly promote development and progress throughout the Tibetan areas, enhance national unity, and alleviate Yunnan’s concerns about potential repercussions from behind.
6. Failure to persist in the reform would inevitably demoralize cadres, exacerbate the suffering of the masses, encourage right-wing tendencies among the upper classes, and even lead to greater chaos, resulting in a growing estrangement from the people and the undoing of previous achievements.