Comrades:

This meeting has been very good. I say that those with ill intentions will eventually turn to their opposite. For the world's classes, for the world's parties, for the cause of the Party, the cause of the class, and the cause of the people, those with ill intentions will eventually turn to their opposite, meaning their goals will not be achieved. For example, if they aim to achieve a certain goal, but in the end, that goal is not achieved, they lose their moral ground and become isolated among the masses. For instance, there are a few comrades who, in my opinion, have never been Marxists, and even now, they have never become Marxists. What are they? They are fellow travelers of Marxism. There is ample material to prove this point, such as many documents now being distributed, materials from the Anti-Japanese War period, and materials from the late Long March, such as sowing discord.

Materials from the Anti-Japanese War period, such as "freedom, equality, fraternity," and the idea that "the Anti-Japanese front cannot be divided into left, center, and right; dividing it into left, center, and right is wrong," or "do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you." In class relations, between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the oppressors and the oppressed, to put forward such principles as "princes who break the law should be punished like commoners" – I think these views cannot be called Marxist views, absolutely not Marxist views. This violates Marxism, deceives the people, and represents bourgeois views. Later, the views of the Gao-Rao-Peng-Huang anti-Party alliance, such as the "military party theory," sowed abnormal relations within the Party, believing that there was one faction here and another faction there. Such views and actions are not those of Marxists. The large number of divisive activities exposed this time, many years before the Lushan Conference, the Lushan program, and also during the Li Lisan line period, there is a lot of material. It is mainly in written form, exposed by everyone, as I just mentioned. So, to prove the point I just made, that they have never been Marxists, that they are merely our fellow travelers, that they are merely bourgeois elements and opportunists who have infiltrated our Party. To prove this point, to substantiate this point, the material is sufficient. I am not going to elaborate on these things now, because to elaborate would require writing articles and the work of many comrades; I am just mentioning it. It is completely understandable that bourgeois revolutionaries who joined the Communist Party, whose bourgeois worldview and stance have not changed, cannot avoid making mistakes. Such fellow travelers cannot avoid making mistakes at various critical junctures.

The Lushan Conference and this current conference, Party organizations at all levels across the country are discussing the resolution of the Eighth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee, using this matter to educate the broad masses, to elevate and enlighten them further. It fully proves that the majority of people, the vast majority of Party cadres, for example, 95%, do not approve of them, proving that our Party is mature and demonstrating the attitude of these comrades towards them.

Bourgeois elements have infiltrated the Communist Party. Among our Communist Party members, there are many bourgeois and petty-bourgeois elements, which should be analyzed and divided into two parts: the majority are good, and they can enter communism because they are willing to accept Marxism. A small number, perhaps one, two, three, four, or five percent. In recent weeks, provincial-level meetings have exposed a considerable number of high-ranking cadres as right-opportunists, causing trouble there, fearing nothing but peace and order. Whenever trouble arises, they are happy; their principle is: "If there is peace and order in the world, no trouble in all directions, and work goes smoothly, they are uncomfortable. If there is any sign of trouble, they are happy." For example, if there is not enough pork, not enough vegetables, not enough soap, not enough hairpins for women, they seize the opportunity. "You people are not doing things well!" They call it "your" business, not their business. They say that when the organization held meetings to make decisions, they kept silent, for example, at the Beidaihe Conference, they kept silent; at the Zhengzhou Conference, they kept silent; at the Wuchang Conference, they kept silent; at the Shanghai Conference, they said a few words, but we didn't hear them. Then, when things happened (they believed things happened), "Look, it's vegetables again! It's pork again! It's grain in some areas again, it's soap again, and umbrellas again!" For example, in Zhejiang, there weren't enough umbrellas, which they called "disproportion," "petty-bourgeois fanaticism," and so on. It is difficult for a small number of people to enter communism and truly become Marxists. When I say difficult, I don't mean impossible; it's what Comrade Liu Bocheng said, "to be reborn." Those who were warlords were warlords, and there are also those who were not warlords, for example, Comrade XXX, what kind of warlord is he? He's a literary warlord, an academic warlord! Without being reborn, one cannot enter the gate of communism. Five line errors: the Li Lisan line error, the first Wang Ming line; the second Wang Ming line, the Gao-Rao line, and this time the Peng-Huang-Zhang-Zhou line. Some people have committed five errors, some not five. For example, Comrade XXX had not yet arrived during the Li Lisan line, and Peng and Huang were also attacked during the Li Lisan line. This is not accidental, the seriousness of the five line errors. The last two, Gao-Rao and Peng-Huang, used conspiratorial methods to split the Party, which violates Party discipline. A Marxist party must have discipline; they don't know that Lenin argued that the proletarian party must have discipline, iron discipline. What kind of discipline is it for these comrades? Is it iron discipline, steel discipline, or gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wooden discipline, or tofu discipline? Water discipline means no discipline; what iron discipline is there? Engaging in divisive activities and violating discipline, their purpose and result will certainly be to undermine the dictatorship of the proletariat and establish another dictatorship.

The banner of unity is very important. Unite! Marx's slogan: "Workers of the world, unite!" They don't; it seems the fewer people they have, the better. They want to form their own group, to do their own thing, violating the will of the broad masses. At the Lushan Conference, I said they didn't raise the slogan of unity, because once that slogan was raised, they couldn't carry out their activities. This slogan was unfavorable to them, so they dared not raise it. So-called unity includes those who have made mistakes; we must help them correct their mistakes and unite again, let alone those who have not made mistakes? They want to destroy them; they are destroying policy, not uniting policy; their banner is destruction. Destroying those who disagree with them, whom they consider bad people, and these so-called bad people are actually the vast majority, more than 95%.

To unite, there must be discipline. For the purpose of building a powerful country within a few five-year plans for the entire nation. The current task is for the entire nation and the entire Party to build a powerful country within a few five-year plans; there must be iron discipline, without iron discipline, it will not work, and we must unite. I ask, otherwise, how can this goal be achieved? Is it possible to build a strong socialist country within a few five-year plans? In the past, it was about revolution; now, it's about construction. Is it possible? Without iron discipline, none of this is possible. Unity requires discipline. Comrades, please compare Peng Dehuai's many documents in the Taihang Mountains with Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang First National Congress Declaration and Peng Dehuai's views published during the Anti-Japanese War in the Taihang Mountains. One is a Kuomintang member, the other a Communist Party member. The times are 1924 for one, and 1938, 1939, 1940 for the other. A Communist Party member is more backward than a Kuomintang member; the name of this Kuomintang member is Sun Yat-sen, who was more progressive. Sun Yat-sen was influenced by the Communist Party; why did he publish that article? I recently looked at Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang First National Congress Declaration, and it contains ideas of class analysis. How could he approve of the Communist Party's iron discipline? How could he approve of proletarian discipline? Without the language of the Communist Party, without a common stand and viewpoint, discipline cannot be established. I say Peng Dehuai is inferior to Sun Yat-sen, and as for Zhang Wentian, he is also inferior to Sun Yat-sen. Sun Yat-sen was revolutionary at that time, while these comrades are regressive, seeking to destroy the established organization, and the slogans they put forward are beneficial to the enemy, detrimental to the class, and detrimental to the people. There are also some other views, for example...

Absolutely no colluding with foreign countries behind the back of the motherland. Comrades have held meetings and criticized this. Because they are all Communist Party organizations, Marxists. It is not permissible for one group to undermine another group. We do not permit Chinese Party members to undermine foreign Party organizations, to incite some people against others. At the same time, we do not permit accepting foreign instigation behind the back of the Central Committee. ...

Now I want to advise the comrades who have made mistakes: you must be prepared to listen to gossip. I once advised others, for example, Comrade Luo Binghui. He made mistakes at that time and got very angry. We later advised him, "Don't get angry. You made mistakes, let others talk, let them talk until they don't want to talk anymore." The reason they won't want to talk is that you have corrected yourself. If you are kind to people and have a spirit of self-criticism regarding your own mistakes, why would others talk? They won't talk anymore. Now, to the comrades who have made mistakes, I advise you to be prepared to listen to gossip. Don't be alarmed when your mistakes are brought up; be prepared for people to talk about you for a few years. I say it won't be long; it depends on how you change. If you change quickly, they won't talk after a few months. If you change slowly, they won't talk after a few years. As long as you change, fast or slow is fine. Be sincere with people, don't tell lies, be honest and speak the truth. I advise comrades who have made mistakes: you must draw closer to the majority, cooperate with the majority, and not just with the few who share your views. If you can implement these points: first, you can listen to gossip, be prepared to listen, grit your teeth, "You talk, I'll listen. You're right, I did make that mistake!" Ah Q had shortcomings, and his shortcomings were manifested in his not-so-handsome head, which was bald. Because he couldn't stand being talked about, people insisted on talking, and he would get angry as soon as they mentioned it. He would get angry if they said "it's shiny." For example, "that bald head is shining" couldn't be said; if they said "it's bald," he would get angry; if they said "it's shiny," he would get angry. The author describes an unawakened, simple peasant. Ah Q was a good person; he didn't organize factions, but that person was unawakened; he couldn't stand having his shortcomings mentioned; he wasn't proactive.

If you are not proactive, everyone will insist on talking. As soon as they talk, you get angry; when you get angry, you fight; if you can't win the fight, you say, "Son beats father." People say, "Ah Q, if you don't want me to beat you, say 'Father beats son,' and I won't beat you." "Okay, father beats son." After the person who beat him left, he would say, "Son beats father," and he would become arrogant again. Comrades who have made mistakes must be prepared to listen to gossip, be prepared to listen a lot. Be honest and sincere with people, genuinely sincere, and don't tell lies to people. Another point is to draw closer to the majority. As long as you have these points, I believe you will definitely correct yourselves. Otherwise, you won't be able to. If you can't even listen to gossip, are not sincere with people, tell lies, and don't draw closer to the majority, then it will be difficult. "Who is not a sage, who can be without fault?" Actually, this saying is not entirely appropriate; even sages have faults. "The faults of a gentleman are like the eclipses of the sun and moon; when he errs, all see it; when he corrects, all look up to him." We are not Confucius; I think Confucius also had faults. Everyone, more or less, big or small, makes some mistakes! Making mistakes is not a big deal; don't treat making mistakes as a huge burden, something extraordinary. Just correct them. "The faults of a gentleman are like the eclipses of the sun and moon," like a celestial dog eating the sun and moon. When you make mistakes, everyone sees them; if you correct them, everyone looks up to you.

We all need to learn something, and we need to learn Marxism. I very much agree with Comrade [X]'s proposal for a learning task; this includes all of us, we should all learn. What if there isn't enough time? If there isn't enough time, we can make time. The key is to develop the habit of learning, and then we can keep learning. I am saying this first to comrades who have made mistakes. Second, I am saying it to all our comrades (including myself). There are many things I haven't learned; I have many shortcomings, I am not a perfect person, and there are many times when I don't like myself. I haven't learned the various branches of Marxism well. For example, I haven't learned foreign languages well. I am just beginning to learn economic work now. But, comrades, I am determined to learn until death, and when I die, that's it. In short, as long as I live, I will learn. Let's all create a learning environment together. I think I should also learn a bit, otherwise, I will feel very uncomfortable when I meet Marx. What if he asks some questions and I can't answer them? He must be interested in various things about the Chinese revolution. Also, my natural science is very poor, and my technical science is also poor. What should we do when there are so many things to learn now? It's still the same: learn a little bit of everything, delve into a little bit. I've made up my mind, and I believe I can learn, regardless of age. Let me give an example. I only learned to swim well in 1954; I hadn't learned it well before. In 1954, Tsinghua University had an indoor swimming pool. I went every night, wearing a mask as a disguise, for three months without interruption. I studied the temperament of water: water won't drown people! Water fears people, not people fear water. Of course, there are some exceptions, but generally, water should be swimmable; this is a major premise. For example, there is water in the Yangtze River in Wuhan, so the Yangtze River in Wuhan is swimmable. I refuted those comrades who opposed my swimming in the Yangtze River. I said you haven't even learned formal logic. All water is swimmable, except for certain situations. For example, water one inch deep cannot be swum in, frozen water cannot be swum in, places with sharks cannot be swum in, and places with whirlpools (like the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River in Sichuan and Hubei) cannot be swum in. Except for certain situations, all water should be swimmable; this is a major premise. This major premise is derived from practice. For example, the Yangtze River in Wuhan is water, and the conclusion is that the Yangtze River in Wuhan is swimmable. For example, the Miluo River and the Pearl River have water, they are swimmable. Beidaihe is swimmable, isn't it water? All water should be swimmable; this is a major premise. Except for water one inch deep, water over 100 degrees [Celsius] cannot be swum in, frozen water below zero degrees [Celsius] cannot be swum in, places with sharks cannot be swum in, and places with whirlpools cannot be swum in. Other than these, all water is swimmable. This is a truth. This is a truth, don't you believe it? If you make up your mind, as long as you have the will and make up your mind, I believe everything can be successful. I urge comrades to learn. Recently, we saw the Great Hall of the People in Tiananmen Square, wow! There's quite a story there! Would you like to go and see it sometime (the audience loudly responded: Yes!)? Let Comrade [X] talk about it. This person, surnamed [X], travels ten thousand li a day. In only ten months, many people said they didn't believe it, and a Soviet expert said he didn't believe it. By June of this year, the Soviet expert said it was possible, and by September, they were greatly impressed, saying that China indeed had a Great Leap Forward. Twelve thousand people, brought from all over the country, the strength of all provinces, technical strength, human strength. They didn't take Sundays off at all, working three shifts a day, and they didn't do piece-rate wages. Many people originally worked eight hours, but they ended up working twelve hours, not leaving work. Did they need money for the extra four hours? They didn't. There were also some people who wouldn't leave until the project was finished; some didn't sleep for two days and two nights, staying there, not eight hours, nor twelve hours, but forty-eight hours on the construction site without leaving. Was material incentive needed? Add a few yuan, one yuan an hour? They didn't want it, these people didn't want it. Material incentive is still material incentive; it's nothing more than an average wage of fifty yuan, just that little bit, but they were fighting for a common cause. Twelve thousand workers, in ten months, successfully completed such a large project. This not only involved remuneration according to work but also what Lenin called "the great initiative—communist Saturdays," including unpaid labor. Comrades, you should all go and see it, and ask Comrade [X] to tell you about it. Not too much, half an hour will do. Also, the Miyun Reservoir. I went swimming in the Miyun Reservoir yesterday. People from nineteen counties worked there. Seventy percent of the entire project was completed in eleven months, twenty-five million cubic meters of earthwork, two hundred thousand people. That's also amazing! Everything has to be calculated in money! You calculate money every day when you hold meetings there. You wrote many things, speeches, probably each piece costs three silver dollars. I don't deny it now, and I affirm that remuneration according to work, necessary remuneration according to work, is completely correct. But it cannot be completely forbidden, and if it exceeds a little, it's not allowed. If you give money for a little extra, the people don't want it. If you calculate money, they don't want it. If we were to calculate money, I probably spoke for an hour today! You give money! Political leadership and material incentives are two things. The role of politics must be combined with remuneration according to work. I think this is a good thing. Whenever we make up our minds, with firm will, things that people thought could not succeed, ended up succeeding. This is our Great Hall of the People; many people thought it couldn't succeed. Our Great Leap Forward, the people's communes, many people wrote about them. They will succeed, and they have already succeeded, or are continuing to achieve results. For example, steel needs to be fast, industry needs to be fast, agriculture also needs to be fast, and learning is the same. As long as we make up our minds, I think we can learn well, not fearing too many tasks. If there isn't much time, we can make time and develop this habit. We must conquer this Earth; our object is the Earth. As for how to work on the sun, we won't discuss it for now. The moon, Mercury, Venus, the eight planets besides Earth, we can explore them in the future, visit them if we can get there. As for work, our struggle, I think it's still on Earth. To build a strong nation, we must have such determination. To build our Great Hall of the People, many dams, many factories, I think it must be this way.

The whole Party and the whole nation unite! The proletariat of the whole world unite! Our goal will surely be achieved!