--- Notes



The note appended to the Henan Provincial Party Committee’s brief report〔1〕 on the current drought-fighting and wheat-watering efforts (March 5, 1960) is very good; all comrades should read it. Where similar circumstances prevail, proceed in the same manner; this is of paramount importance. Mao Zedong, March 5. Printed from the manuscript.

Notes 〔1〕 The Communist Party of China Henan Provincial Committee submitted this brief report to the Central Committee and to Mao Zedong on February 27, 1960. It stated that the most pressing problem in our province at present is widespread drought affecting the wheat crop, a situation which is rapidly worsening. In early February, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People’s Committee jointly issued an urgent directive on drought relief and wheat irrigation. Subsequently, the Provincial Party Committee held three consecutive emergency teleconferences to further plan and inspect the implementation of this work. Throughout the province, meetings were widely convened with cadres, members of the Communist Party and the Youth League, and the general public; drought-relief command centers were established, and a mass campaign for drought prevention and wheat irrigation was swiftly launched. On February 23, the Provincial Party Committee again convened an emergency meeting of its Standing Committee to analyze the current situation. It was determined that drought relief and wheat irrigation, together with drought-resistant spring sowing, constituted the central task for the entire province at that time, and the following measures were decided upon without delay: (1) To carry out a further large-scale mobilization of the people throughout the province, quickly launching a vigorous, all-people movement to combat the drought. (2) To exhaust every possible means of tapping all available water sources, ensuring that the wheat crop receives sufficient irrigation. (3) To continue to attend carefully to the arrangement of the people’s daily lives, so as to maintain their high morale and fighting spirit. (4) To provide financial and material support for drought relief, promptly securing the urgently needed supplies. (5) To assign a large number of cadres from provincial-level organs, led by responsible officials, to be dispatched to various localities to assist in drought-relief efforts and further promote the broad and in-depth development of the drought-relief campaign.