Commentary by the CPC Central Committee on the Hebei Provincial Party Committee’s Second Briefing Regarding the Implementation of the Spirit of the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee (September 6, 1959)

1. This document [1] is hereby circulated to the party committees of all provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions for reference. September 6, Central Committee

2. To be read by Liu and Peng Zhen [2]; to be handled by Shang Kun [3]. Additional copies are to be printed as previously instructed. Printed from Mao Zedong’s handwritten draft.

Notes [1] The brief submitted on September 3, 1959, by the Hebei Provincial Committee of the CPC to Mao Zedong and the CPC Central Committee stated that the committee’s eighth plenary session had concluded its discussion on increasing production and practicing economy. During the discussion, all comrades unanimously endorsed the resolution of the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee concerning the campaign to increase production and practice economy, holding that the adjusted major national targets for 1959 were ambitious yet realistic and attainable. They believed that, provided rightist tendencies were resolutely combated and effective measures were earnestly implemented, these targets could not only be met but also surpassed. However, a very small number of comrades still harbored rightist ideas and feelings of apprehension. After repeated deliberations, the meeting finally set the main targets for industry and agriculture across the province for the current year. At present, tangible results are already evident on the industrial front: steel and coal output have risen sharply, and the agricultural production drive has entered a new phase. [2] Liu refers to Liu Shaoqi. Peng Zhen was then a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee. [3] Shang Kun refers to Yang Shangkun, who at that time served as an alternate member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee.