The problems discovered in Shandong undoubtedly exist in all provinces, cities, and autonomous regions as well, though they may vary only slightly from one place to another. The situation is grave; it cannot be left unaddressed. In some counties and communes, the decisions of the Zhengzhou Conference of last March have been forgotten, as have the eighteen provisions adopted at the Shanghai Meeting in April; the “communist wind,” the “wind of exaggeration,” and the “commandist wind” have once again swept through. Certain commune officials are exceedingly arrogant, completely lacking any sense of discipline, and dare to carry out equalization and reallocation without authorization from higher authorities. In addition, three other maladies—corruption, waste, and bureaucratism—are running rampant once more, inflicting great harm on the people. They pay no heed whatsoever to the law of value or to the principle of equivalent exchange. All of this has been perpetrated at the commune level. The scale is neither vast nor insignificant. It remains to be determined whether roughly one-tenth of the communes are engaging in such reckless behavior. The Central Committee is confident that the majority of communes act with prudence, fairness, and strict adherence to discipline; the disorderly ones constitute a small minority. Moreover, even within these recalcitrant communes, not all staff members are equally culpable; only a portion are responsible for the misconduct. These individuals should be dealt with appropriately, according to their respective circumstances, with education taking precedence over punishment. Those most egregiously at fault must be resolutely removed and replaced by new personnel. With regard to equalization and reallocation, a full accounting must be made, and all improperly transferred resources must be returned in their entirety; no exceptions will be tolerated. As for major embezzlers, they must be brought to justice. Why have certain county Party committees failed to notice these problems? They have gravely neglected their duties and must henceforth make every effort to rectify this shortcoming. Where a small number of county committees are simply incapable of performing their functions, they too must be resolutely replaced. Comrades should understand that this is a long-standing, objective reality. The emergence of such abuses is both inevitable and unavoidable, representing the lingering vestiges of the old society’s harmful customs. Overcoming them will require sustained educational work. Accordingly, we must conduct ideological rectification campaigns annually and convene six-level cadre conferences twice each year. The overall national situation remains very favorable, and good people and good deeds undoubtedly account for more than ninety percent of the total. Such exemplary conduct deserves widespread commendation. For comrades who have committed minor errors but are themselves willing to correct them, educational methods should be employed to assist them in making amends while continuing to perform their duties. Our calls for resolute removal or legal prosecution apply only to those whose offenses are extremely serious and arouse intense public indignation. Likewise, anyone demonstrably unfit for their job and unable to continue in their post must be firmly relieved of their responsibilities.