Comments on Issue No. 50 of “Propaganda and Education Briefs” (July 18, 1960) Comrade Shangkun [1]: This issue [2] contains items that are all worth reading and should be read. It is worthy of careful consideration. Please circulate it to all comrades [3]. Mao Zedong July 18

Printed from the manuscript. Notes [1] Shangkun refers to Yang Shangkun, who at that time served as Alternate Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee. [2] Refers to Issue No. 50 (No. 654 overall), compiled and printed on July 15, 1960, by the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee. This issue contained a total of nine articles, covering topics such as: the views of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia on the current international communist movement; the unauthorized alterations made by German-language specialists at the Central People’s Broadcasting Station to radio summaries of three articles, including “Long Live Leninism,” with many passages sharply addressing issues of war and violence being modified or even entirely deleted, particularly those strongly criticizing U.S. imperialism and modern revisionism; the disagreement expressed by Italian-language specialists at the Central People’s Broadcasting Station regarding the broadcast of the People’s Daily commentary “Solidarity with the Struggle of the Italian People,” on the grounds that Italy did not face the “serious fascist threat” nor was its ruling class attempting to follow “Mussolini’s old path,” as claimed in the July 8 article; and a letter from a Swedish listener to the Central People’s Broadcasting Station asking why Khrushchev seemed to disregard Lenin’s teachings—was he planning to depart from Lenin and establish a new form of socialism? What was the Beijing station’s view on this matter? and so forth. [3] Refers to the comrades then attending the CPC Central Committee work conference in Beidaihe.