Commentary on the CPC Taiyuan Municipal Committee’s Resolution on Launching a Campaign for Technological Renovation and the Technological Revolution (January 23, 1960)

Premier: Please take a look at this document [1]. In my view, it could be forwarded in the name of the Central Committee to the party committees of all provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, as well as to the party committees of all medium-sized cities nationwide, for their study and reference in carrying out related work.
Mao Zedong January 23

Based on the manuscript print.  refers to the “Resolution of the CPC Taiyuan Municipal Committee on Launching a Campaign for Technological Renovation and the Technological Revolution Centered on Mechanization and Semi-Mechanization” (abstract), published in No. 17 of the “Briefings on Current Affairs,” compiled and printed by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee on January 11, 1960.
Its content is as follows:

I. According to Taiyuan City’s preliminary plan for 1960, industrial output value is expected to increase by 47.2 percent over that of 1959, with some factories and mines seeing increases ranging from double to fivefold.
To achieve this, many units have been requesting a substantial increase in the workforce for 1960.
This line of thinking—relying solely on expanding the labor force to boost production—must be resolutely overcome.
Although Taiyuan’s level of mechanization and industrial labor productivity are relatively low compared with the national average, the city does possess a certain industrial base and technical capability.
By fully utilizing favorable conditions and adopting various effective measures, it is entirely feasible to reduce or even eliminate manual operations, gradually achieve mechanization, and rapidly raise labor productivity.

II.
A mass campaign for technological renovation and the technological revolution, centered on vigorously promoting mechanization and semi-mechanization, should be launched immediately.
Through this campaign, labor productivity is to be increased by fifty percent.
The specific requirements and measures are as follows: (1) From December 1959 to the end of June 1960, the city’s degree of mechanization and semi-mechanization is to be raised in two stages, from 42 percent to 65–70 percent. (2) The implementation of this campaign for technological renovation and the technological revolution should proceed along the following lines: First, all units still employing manual labor must vigorously promote semi-mechanization and full mechanization.
Second, units that have already achieved semi-mechanization should strive to advance toward mechanization and automation.
Third, focusing on weak links in production, key equipment should be improved or self-manufactured, so as to balance production capacity at an advanced level.
Fourth, existing equipment should be fully utilized to enhance its rate of use.
Fifth, processes, tools, and equipment must be improved.
Sixth, political, cultural, and technical training for workers should be strengthened; scientific research should be intensified; materials should be used more comprehensively to reduce consumption; designs should be refined to improve product quality; and the range of products should be expanded to increase output value.
Seventh, labor organization should be improved by reducing non-productive personnel and enhancing cooperation.
Eighth, effective advanced experiences should be systematically summarized and widely disseminated.

III.
In order to quickly ignite a vigorous upsurge of the campaign throughout the city and achieve tangible results as soon as possible, the following points must be observed: (1) Party committees at all levels must strengthen their leadership and vigorously mobilize the masses. (2) Concentrated efforts should be made to tackle those technical problems that require little capital, yield quick results, and are urgently needed in production, so as to produce immediate effects in manufacturing. (3) The principle of “walking on two legs” must be upheld, overcoming such tendencies as favoring foreign technology over domestic, prioritizing large-scale projects while neglecting smaller ones, and simply seeking financial assistance without taking concrete action. (4) A system of “five determinations”—defining projects, measures, responsible persons, timeframes, and regular inspections—and tiered responsibility for organization and implementation should be put in place. (5) Attention should be paid to technical appraisal, standardization, and dissemination, and model workers should be identified.
The campaign for technological innovation should be combined with labor competitions featuring emulation, learning, catching up, and mutual assistance.

IV. The spirit of communist-style cooperation should be fully promoted. On January 30, 1960, the CPC Central Committee forwarded this document.