The spontaneous forces of capitalism have not yet been eliminated,
and new bourgeois elements will inevitably re-emerge and grow.
We must resolutely strike against these newly emerging bourgeois elements.
(III) On the question of the “left” wing of the bourgeoisie. It was previously asserted that the left wing of the bourgeoisie, in terms of political stance, constituted part of the working class—they had already separated themselves from the bourgeoisie—this view was erroneous. (IV) On the nature of the democratic parties. In the past, we proposed that within five years, or perhaps a bit longer, the democratic parties could be transformed from bourgeois parties into socialist parties, with solid socialist leadership cores established at all levels of their organizations, from the central to the grassroots. This proposition was wrong. The various democratic parties can never become parties adhering to scientific communism.


During the 1962 National United Front Work Conference, it was suggested that democratic parties should generally no longer be referred to as bourgeois parties, which blurred their class character and should therefore be corrected. (V) On the nature of the united front. Our people’s democratic united front is led by the working class, based on the worker-peasant alliance, and comprises a broad coalition including all democratic classes, the democratic parties, ethnic minorities, religious circles, overseas Chinese, and other patriotic persons. On one hand, it contains socialist elements; on the other hand, it remains a class alliance. It cannot be said that the united front has already become a socialist united front. (VI) On the work of transforming rightist elements. In July 1962, we put forward the idea that if the leadership deemed it necessary and either the rightist himself or his family requested rehabilitation, then rehabilitation should be granted. This was an erroneous approach. Objectively, such a policy would inevitably lead to the widespread rehabilitation of rightists, which would in turn negate the great achievements of the 1957 Anti-Rightist Campaign, with grave consequences. (VII) On an assessment of the Central United Front Work Department’s work over the past few years. Over these years, under the direct leadership of the Central Committee, the Department has implemented the policies, guidelines, and instructions issued by the Central Committee and the Chairman. The overall direction was correct, and the achievements were significant. However, in our understanding of certain theoretical and policy issues, there have long existed some fundamental errors, primarily a lack of clear class consciousness, insufficient long-term and holistic perspectives on class struggle, and an overly simplistic and facile view of the socialist transformation of bourgeois elements and the democratic parties. After being reviewed and revised by Mao Zedong, this summary was transmitted by the CPC Central Committee on January 13, 1964, via Document Zhongfa [64] No. 26, to all Central Bureaus, provincial, municipal, and regional Party committees, as well as to all central ministries and Party groups.


On August 18, 1980, in its report reviewing the case for fully rehabilitating Comrade Li Weihan and restoring his political reputation, the Central United Front Work Department recommended revoking this central document. On November 20 of the same year, the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee discussed and approved this recommendation.
[2]


This passage by Mao Zedong was added below the following sentence in Xu Bing’s inspection summary concerning the elimination of the bourgeoisie: “Historical development has taught us that as long as imperialism, capitalism, counter-revolutionary forces in various countries, and modern revisionism continue to exist in the world, these sinister winds will from time to time blow into our country, affecting not only the original bourgeois elements but even causing some Communist Party members to degenerate.”


A passage added to Xu Bing’s “Inspection Summary on Several Theoretical and Policy Issues of the Central United Front Work Department Over the Past Few Years,” regarding the issue of eliminating the bourgeoisie:
“The bourgeoisie and its ideology can never be completely and utterly eradicated. Class society has existed in our country for thousands of years, while the bourgeoisie has been present for over a century. It may take decades, even centuries, to eliminate class distinctions, the gap between urban and rural areas, and the differences between manual and mental laborers in order to complete the transition from capitalism to communism. This would be a tremendous achievement with profound global implications. It is by no means an unattainable goal; however, it is better to allow more time, as we have always known the saying ‘haste makes waste.’” In this passage, the phrases “capitalism and the counter-revolutionary forces of various countries” were added by Mao Zedong, while “even centuries” was a revision he made from the original text, which read “even a hundred years.”


On the Issue of Revolutionizing the Press
(January 1964)
The fundamental problem in running a newspaper well lies in revolutionizing its staff. To revolutionize means to purge all vestiges of feudal and bourgeois ideologies. Some erroneous ideas are readily apparent, whereas others are more subtle—for example, the mistake in Wen Hui Bao’s article “Courage and Insight,” which praised the “young generation” for daring to criticize generals. Another manifestation of non-revolutionization is a lack of dialectical thinking, often leading to a rigid, inflexible way of viewing problems.


Revolutionization concerns one’s stance and viewpoint. What exactly a newspaper should promote, what systematic themes it ought to cover, and whether it can make sound choices—all of these are matters of revolutionization. Despite having so many cadres, why does Liberation Daily fail to produce quality content? True revolutionization requires going down to the grassroots level and engaging in practical struggles to gain experience. For people to be revolutionized, the machinery itself must also undergo revolutionization.


Newspapers must prioritize ideological work.
(When discussing the merits of Liberation Daily)
Its strength lies in its relatively greater attention to ideological work. Every single page of a newspaper should be imbued with ideological content. Both in the past and now, you at Liberation Daily have fallen short in this regard, frequently treating valuable material as secondary and, at other times, exaggerating ordinary matters as if they were of great importance.


Who should run a newspaper? It should be run by socialist activists, and the best content should come from the masses themselves.
You must be adept at seizing living, concrete examples, elevating them to a theoretical level, and using them to propagate vibrant principles.