To the Shanghai Municipal Committee, to the provincial committees, directly administered municipal committees, and autonomous region committees of the CPC, and to the Party groups of all central departments and commissions, state organs, and people’s organizations:

Over the past two months, the discussions on contradictions among the people and the criticisms of errors and shortcomings committed by the Party and the government, which have been conducted at various meetings attended by non-Party figures and in newspapers and periodicals, have been extremely beneficial in helping the Party and the People’s Government correct their mistakes and enhance their prestige. These discussions should be continued and deepened; they must not be halted or interrupted.

It is true that some of the criticisms are incorrect, or that certain points within a particular critique are flawed. In such cases, counter-criticism is certainly warranted; erroneous ideas should not be allowed to spread without response. (The timing of the reply should be carefully considered, and it must be presented in an analytical manner, with sufficient persuasiveness.) However, the majority of the criticisms are well-founded and highly constructive, playing a vital role in strengthening unity and improving our work.

Even erroneous criticisms serve a useful purpose by revealing the true character of certain individuals, thus enabling us to provide them with ideological reeducation in the future.

The current rectification campaign has now begun. The Central Committee has reached an understanding with the leaders of the democratic parties and with non-affiliated prominent figures: for the time being—at least over the next few months—they are to refrain from expressing formal positions or calling for rectification within the democratic parties and in society at large. Instead, they are to continue criticizing the shortcomings and mistakes of our Party, thereby facilitating our own rectification effort. Otherwise, such a stance would be detrimental to our campaign (for without social pressure, the rectification drive would hardly achieve meaningful results). Our interlocutors have agreed to this approach.

Once our Party successfully completes its rectification, it will have gained complete initiative, at which point we can then encourage rectification across all sectors of society—beginning with the intellectual community.

Please bear this point in mind.

When non-Party figures participate in our Party’s rectification symposiums and working groups, they are invited to offer us their views and criticisms, not to criticize themselves. This too requires careful attention.

Should there be any practical difficulties, it would be preferable not to invite non-Party members to join the rectification process directly, but rather for the Party itself to convene symposiums with them, encouraging them to speak freely and put forward their candid observations on existing shortcomings and errors in our work.

Please make appropriate arrangements in light of local conditions.

Printed by order of the Central Committee on May 4, 1957, based on Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft.