Notice from the Central Committee on Increasing the Number of Rightists
Named and Criticized, among Other Matters⑴
(July 9, 1957)
To the Party Committees of all Provinces, Municipalities directly under the
Central Government, and Autonomous Regions; and to the Party Leadership Groups
of All Central State Organs:


Two matters are hereby notified as follows: (1) The struggle against the rightists
is deepening. The list of confirmed rightist core elements has doubled⑶—there are
not 4,000 nationwide, but approximately 8,000. For example, Beijing has about
800 such individuals, and Shanghai more than 700, including rightists among
university students (all 50 rightist core elements among faculty and students at
Tsinghua University). These are all rightist core figures who have been named and
criticized within various circles. The current problem is that those publicly named
and criticized in the newspapers account for only about three percent of the total.
For instance, Shanghai has over 700 rightist core elements, yet the newspapers have
named just over 20—less than three percent. The same few names keep appearing,
and readers have grown tired of them. Therefore, it is necessary to gradually add
more names in stages, eventually bringing the proportion up to around ten percent
of the total. As for the remaining ninety percent of rightist core elements, they
should be named and criticized within their respective work units, without publication
in the press. The ten percent to be named in the newspapers should include prominent
rightist figures among students. Anyone to be named must be supported by solid
evidence; preferably, they should also have a history of misconduct and have long
been unpopular. (2) Sixteen philosophers and social scientists in Beijing have
already launched a counteroffensive against the rampant attacks by rightists in the
academic sphere. This kind of counterattack in Beijing should be expanded, and other
localities should follow suit. Among natural scientists as well, whenever there are
flagrant political or academic attacks backed by accurate facts, a corresponding
counterattack should be organized.


The Central Committee
July 9, 1957


To the Central Committee:
A draft notice has been prepared. Please consult with Peng Zhen and Li Weihan⑴;
if you deem it feasible, please promptly decide to issue it.
Mao Zedong
July 9

--- Notes

>1］Peng Zhen was then a Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee.
Li Weihan was then Minister of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central
Committee.