Notes on the Draft Directive of the Central Military Commission Concerning Military Struggle Against Taiwan and the Chiang-Kai-shek-occupied Islands along the Coast〔1〕 (September 3, 1958)Comrade Ke Cheng〔2〕: The directive and its annexes〔3〕 are very well written.
Please immediately submit them to Comrade Peng Dehuai〔4〕 for review; after they have been approved at a meeting of the Central Military Commission, they may then be issued.
At the meeting of the Commission, you are requested to explain the reasons in detail.Mao ZedongSeptember 3Published from the manuscript.To: The Fujian Military Region and all other military regions; the party committees of provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions; the various general headquarters of the Central Military Commission; the commands of all specialized arms; the members of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee; the secretaries of the Secretariat; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Lu Dingyi; Wu Lengxi〔〕. Published from Mao Zedong’s manuscript.

Notes〔1〕 While reviewing the draft directive of the CPC Central Military Commission concerning military struggle against Taiwan and the Chiang-Kai-shek-occupied islands along the coast, Mao Zedong not only wrote the two notes presented here, but also added, in parentheses after the phrase “all important actions and propaganda” in the fourth clause of the draft—“Since the struggle against Taiwan and the Chiang-Kai-shek-occupied islands along the coast is a complex international struggle with far-reaching implications for all fronts, all major operations and propaganda efforts must adhere to the principle of centralized unity and no one may act on their own initiative”—the following words: “proclamations, speeches, slogans, editorials, news reports, and radio broadcasts.”〔2〕 Ke Cheng refers to Huang Kecheng, who at that time served as Secretary-General of the CPC Central Military Commission and Vice Minister of National Defense.〔3〕 The “directive” refers to the draft directive of the CPC Central Military Commission on the military struggle against Taiwan and the Chiang-Kai-shek-occupied islands along the coast.
The “annex” consists of several provisions attached to the commission’s directive regarding naval and air force measures to counter enemy aircraft and warships operating along the coastline.〔4〕 Peng Dehuai was then a member of the CPC Central Military Commission, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Minister of National Defense, and he presided over the day-to-day work of the commission.〔5〕 Lu Dingyi was at the time head of the CPC Central Cultural and Educational Leading Group and Minister of Propaganda of the CPC Central Committee.
Wu Lengxi was then President of the Xinhua News Agency and Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily.3£·