--- Notes



Commentary on Luo Ruiqing’s [1] report [2] proposing the establishment of a special committee to strengthen leadership over the atomic energy industry (November 3, 1962): Very good; carry out as proposed. Great efforts must be made to ensure close coordination in accomplishing this task. Mao Zedong, November 3. Printed from the manuscript.

Notes [1] Luo Ruiqing was at that time a Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, Vice Premier of the State Council, and Chief of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army of China. [2] In his report of October 30, 1962, addressed to Mao Zedong and the CPC Central Committee, Luo Ruiqing stated that, after a thorough analysis of all relevant conditions, the Second Ministry of Machine-Building Industry had set the goal of detonating the first atomic bomb by 1964. The successful detonation of an atomic bomb would be a concentrated manifestation of the nation’s level of scientific and technological development and industrial production; it could by no means be achieved by any single department acting alone. Therefore, in addition to the strenuous efforts required by the Second Ministry itself, close cooperation from all industrial sectors and scientific research institutions, together with extensive support in terms of both human and material resources nationwide, would be essential. With only two years remaining until the scheduled date, he recommended establishing, under the direct leadership of the Central Committee, a special committee to strengthen guidance over the atomic energy industry, to regularly review and supervise the implementation of plans, and to