Commentary on Truthful Reporting of Disaster Situations to Mobilize the People to Wage All-Out Struggle (June 20, 1959)

Comrades Qiaomu and Lengxi [1]: There has been heavy rainfall in Guangdong; reports must be made openly and truthfully. Similarly, disaster situations across the country should be reported publicly to rouse the people to engage in a full-scale struggle. Concealment must be avoided at all costs. Government relief efforts and the people’s self-help through production should be vigorously publicized and encouraged. Major industrial accidents and disasters also require reporting, with emphasis on formulating effective countermeasures. Please return this document [2] after reading. Mao Zedong, 4:00 a.m. on June 20th.

Printed from Selected Letters of Mao Zedong. Abbreviated and included in Selected Works on Mao Zedong’s Journalism. (With manuscript.) Notes [1] Qiaomu refers to Hu Qiaomu, who at that time served as an alternate member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and as Mao Zedong’s secretary. Lengxi refers to Wu Lengxi, then President of the Xinhua News Agency and Editor-in-Chief of the People’s Daily. [2] Refers to two reports published in Issue No. 280 of the “Internal Reference” compiled by the Xinhua News Agency on June 18, 1959: “The Flood Disaster in Guangdong Continues to Worsen; The Province’s Work Focus Has Shifted to Flood Control and Rescue” and “The People of Guangzhou Are Extremely Concerned About the Development of the Flood Situation.” The reports stated that Guangdong Province had experienced the most severe flooding since its liberation, with grave damage and enormous losses. Flood control and rescue had become the central task for all departments in the province. The Provincial Party Committee called upon every department to treat this work as it had treated war, subordinating personnel and material allocations entirely to the needs of disaster relief. The vast majority of cadres and the general public in Guangzhou had already demonstrated their support for the affected areas through concrete actions.