[Speaking about the experience of the Songliao Plain] The Ministry of Petroleum was the first to adopt a set of methods used by the People’s Liberation Army. All industrial departments should learn from the PLA and establish political-work departments, using political work to ensure the completion of construction tasks. The Ministry of Petroleum has followed the PLA’s example: just as political work in a company is integrated with its operational activities, so too should political work in industrial settings remain closely linked to technical and production work.

The Ministry of Petroleum is relatively straightforward, whereas the First Ministry of Machine-Building is more complex (in terms of its product range). We need to assign some personnel to carry out political work in industrial departments; after all, the PLA serves as a training ground for talented cadres.

[Reporting on the Ten-Year Plan for Science and Technology] If we are to fight this battle, science and technology are indeed productive forces. In the past, our efforts in the superstructure were also aimed at developing productive forces. Without waging this particular campaign, it will be impossible to raise the level of productivity. We must approach scientific and technological work with a revolutionary spirit.

[Reporting on basic theoretical research] It is imperative that we engage in theoretical work. We need to build up a contingent of theorists, encompassing both natural sciences and social sciences.

[Reporting on the dispatch of students abroad] We have been sending students overseas while remaining inward-looking domestically, failing to draw on the best practices of advanced institutions.

[Reporting on the import of foreign books and periodicals] How much foreign exchange is allocated for this? (Answer: ×× ten thousand US dollars.) That’s not much. Are publications in the social sciences included? (Answer: Yes, they are.) When photocopying foreign-language journals, we should make sure not to remove any advertisements.

[Reporting on ten-year capital-investment plans totaling ×× billion] Ten years’ worth of ×× billion—averaging × billion per year—that’s not a large sum!

[Reporting on laser-emission technology] We need to assign specific personnel to focus on this area over the long term. In quantitative terms, other countries have far greater resources than we do, making it difficult for us to compete directly. However, historically speaking, we should adopt a dual strategy of offense and defense, with defense receiving due consideration. For instance, fortifications such as city walls were constructed primarily for defensive purposes.

[Reporting on efforts to manage the Yellow River–Huai River–North China Plain region] This research project will require the participation of tens of thousands of people.

[Reporting on public-health issues] The problem of cold remedies needs to be addressed seriously.

[Reporting on exploratory work] We should allow individuals to openly admit their mistakes, yet criticize them when errors are identified. At the same time, we must offer encouragement and permit people to publicly correct those mistakes.

[Referring to North Korea’s wartime preparations, which involved constructing ×× thousand li of underground tunnels to serve as factories] We too have sometimes engaged in imprudent actions.

[Concluding with a discussion of the Three Great Revolutions and asking about the meaning of “scientific experimentation”] By “scientific experimentation,” I am primarily referring to the natural sciences. Social sciences, philosophy, political economy, and military science do not lend themselves to scientific experimentation. Nor can one conduct experiments on commodities or the law of value. War itself is not a subject for laboratory experimentation, nor is dialectics. Theoretical principles are generalizations; military exercises are not equivalent to laboratory studies. In a certain sense, parts of the social sciences may also be regarded as forms of scientific experimentation.