Directive on the Report on the Patriotic Health Campaign
(March 4, 1958)

Comrade Wu Lengxi[1]:
This document[2] may be published and broadcast. Return to Ye Zilong[3].

Mao Zedong
March 4

[1] Wu Lengxi was then Director of the Xinhua News Agency and Editor-in-Chief of *Renmin Ribao* (*People’s Daily*).
[2] Refers to the report submitted on January 29, 1958, by the Fujian Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Fujian Provincial People’s Committee to the Central Committee, the State Council, and all local and municipal Party committees on the progress of the patriotic health campaign centered on eliminating the Four Pests. The report stated: Since October 1957, our province has successively launched a patriotic health campaign centered on eliminating the Four Pests in conjunction with the winter production drive. On January 2 this year, a mobilization rally for eliminating the Four Pests was broadcast, with millions of people listening in. Following the rally, the campaign advanced rapidly, expanding from urban areas into the countryside. The key insights gained from the campaign are: (1) Mobilize the masses extensively and deeply, employing diverse methods of publicity to ensure that every household is informed, achieving “mobilization in every household, participation by every individual.” (2) Leaders must take personal action, with Party secretaries assuming command. In most areas, leading Party, government, and military officials personally guided cadres and the masses in joining the campaign, boosting public confidence in eliminating the Four Pests. (3) Concrete plans must be formulated, integrating intensive campaigns with sustained, regular efforts. (4) Cultivate advanced models and organize observation visits to propel the campaign forward.
[3] Ye Zilong was then Mao Zedong’s secretary.