Comments on Wang Heshou’s [!] Work Report on Ideological and Political Work in Enterprises
(December 11, 1963)


Comrade Bo Yibo:
Please take a look at Document No. 121. It appears that other industrial ministries have also begun to attach importance to ideological and political work. Could you please check this and let me know? It seems that learning from the People’s Liberation Army and transferring some of its capable cadres to work in the industrial sector would be a good approach. Please consider this matter.
Mao Zedong
December 11


Chuan


Wang Heshou was then Minister of the Metallurgical Industry and Secretary of the Party Group of the Ministry of the Metallurgical Industry of the CPC.
[2]
Refers to Wang Heshou’s report dated December 9, 1963, addressed to Mao Zedong, concerning ideological and political work in enterprises. The report stated that this year, within enterprises, in addition to conducting socialist education and launching campaigns for increased production and economy as well as the “Five-Anti” movement, we primarily focused on two tasks: first, carrying out “economic activity analysis”; and second, studying the PLA’s political work. Economic activity analysis involves comparing, within a given enterprise or work team, various economic indicators for the current month—such as output, quality, cost, product variety, material consumption, recovery rate, and labor productivity—against the previous month, against the best quarter, against other enterprises and teams, and against world-leading standards. Through such comparisons, one identifies gaps and the causes underlying them. As for studying the PLA’s political work, it means applying the PLA’s methods of political work to carry forward the spirit of the “Anshan Steel Constitution,” as previously endorsed by the Chairman. This not only provided us with a model for effectively conducting ideological and political work in enterprises but also resolved many long-standing problems, with very significant results.