Comments on the Report Concerning the Leadership Core and the Cultivation of Successors for Principal Leaders [!]
(September 6, 1963)


To Comrade Xiaoping121,
To be discussed by the Secretariat.


Mao Zedong
September 6
[1]
These comments were written on a letter dated September 5, 1963, from An Ziwen, Minister of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, to Mao Zedong, submitting a report from the Organization Department on strengthening leadership cores at or above the prefectural level and cultivating successors for principal leaders. The report stated that since the beginning of this year, particularly after the launch of the “Five-Anti” Campaign, our department together with the central bureaus and the organizational departments of provincial, municipal, and autonomous regional party committees had conducted surveys on cadres under central management and assessed the state of leadership cores at or above the prefectural level. The overall condition of these leadership cores was generally good. However, in some units the leading teams were far from sound or efficient, lacking strong fighting capacity; in particular, there was often a gap in succession planning for the principal leader. Looking at the leading bodies of ministries and commissions of the central state organs, as well as those of the provincial, municipal, and autonomous regional party committees, the vast majority were found to be relatively complete, with only a small number failing to form a solid and powerful leadership core. By contrast, the situation was somewhat worse among the departments, bureaus, and offices of provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions, as well as at the prefecture and city party committee levels. Many of the units with weak leadership cores were directly related to either the absence of a principal leader or the inability of the incumbent to effectively lead. Consequently, the issue of succession for principal leaders at or above the prefectural level has become an extremely urgent problem that needs to be addressed immediately. In order to truly transform leadership cores at or above the prefectural level into sound, lean, and highly capable command centers capable of guiding the entire cadre contingent and successfully accomplishing all tasks, the Central Organization Department proposes the following measures: First, adjust, rotate, and promote certain cadres to reinforce and strengthen leadership cores at or above the prefectural level. These units should not only have a principal leader competent to handle all aspects of work but also a more comprehensive and united leadership team—combining seasoned, experienced veterans with promising young talents. Second, further intensify efforts to train and improve cadres at all levels. Specifically, first, we must ensure effective study within leadership cores at all levels; second, all cadres must frequently go deep among the masses, take root among them, conduct investigations and research, continuously accumulate practical experience, and enhance their working abilities; third, nurturing new forces and successors is an important task for cadres at all levels; fourth, supervision of cadres at all levels should be strengthened. Third, actively and properly arrange for the placement of elderly and infirm cadres. [2]


Xiaoping refers to Deng Xiaoping, who at that time served as General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee.