Materials from several counties in Shanghai are available for review.

In cities—whether in industrial and mining enterprises, transportation, finance and trade, education, or other sectors—the formulation and implementation of major policies must invariably involve soliciting the views of grassroots cadres (such as branch secretaries, workshop directors, and team leaders) as well as active elements among the masses. It is essential that those individuals constitute an overwhelming majority at meetings where opinions are expressed; only then can opposing viewpoints be brought into focus, contradictions be exposed, truth be discovered, and movements be set in motion. Comrades who hold positions such as general branch secretaries, party secretaries of factories and mines, city party secretaries, heads of various organs under the municipal party committees and governments, secretaries of party leading groups, and bureau chiefs and department heads at the central level: we must be extremely cautious about placing undue trust in what they say. Many of them have become almost completely divorced from the masses and tend to act arbitrarily and autocratically. If directives from above do not suit their tastes, they will either pay lip service while acting otherwise behind the scenes, or simply ignore them altogether. On numerous issues, they rely solely on their own judgment, disavow the masses, and show no regard whatsoever for the mass line. In light of this, henceforth it is imperative to convene twice each year large-scale cadre conferences involving five, six, or even seven levels of leadership, with each session lasting ten days. By bringing the lower and middle ranks together to engage in frank discussion and mutual critique, we may correct the erroneous perspectives of middle-level cadres, loosen their rigid thinking, and enable them to make progress. Otherwise, there will be no effective remedy. If we listen too much to these cadres, we too risk being assimilated by their ways, making mistakes, remaining ignorant of the actual situation, failing to transmit information from below upward, and failing to disseminate instructions from above downward—conditions that pose an extreme danger. Holding such conferences twice a year would be highly beneficial to us as well, helping us to gain a clear understanding of the situation and rectify our errors. What has been said here pertains to urban issues, but the same applies to rural areas. I have already outlined the main points in my previous communication.

Mao Zedong

Beijing, March 29, 1959