[Some localities have reported the emergence of nascent bourgeois elements.]

Calling them “nascent bourgeois elements” is hard for peasants to understand; it’s better to refer to them as corrupt officials involved in embezzlement, theft, speculation, and profiteering—peasants can grasp that.

[The issue of strengthening leadership over the socialist education work teams. Should the front be shortened somewhat?]

Shortening it would be easy—just pull back!

[On Party rectification and Party building in the countryside]

I have long been in favor of this. …

[We need to admit a new batch of Party members]

We should still recruit from among the poor and lower-middle peasants and worker activists to join the Party.

[Down below, they’re using the anti-capitalist campaign to oppose the poor and lower-middle peasants.]

Let them carry on! If you don’t let them, they’ll just bottle it up. Once they start going after the masses, their true colors will be revealed.

[There are quite a few Class Four Elements among the families of government cadres; they need to be cleared out. This is a widespread problem.]

There are only so many counter-revolutionaries, local tyrants, and Class Four Elements! Tens of millions, or at most a few million, scattered across the country—they’re always a minority. There simply aren’t that many. They exist, yes, and they should be dealt with, but there aren’t really very many of them.

[It’s best for leading cadres to station themselves at the production brigade level.]

Focus on the middle, while keeping an eye on both ends.

[In this round of the socialist education movement, several localities have also uncovered a considerable amount of hidden farmland.]

I’d say concealing twenty to thirty percent would already be considered good.

[My view is that once it’s been discovered, we shouldn’t collect grain until three or five years later.] Don’t requisition grain for five to ten years; then, as production increases, we can gradually increase the amount taken. It’s better to leave the grain with the people. Otherwise, it will discourage them from reporting any hidden land.

[We must formalize the system whereby cadres do not detach themselves from production.]

To combat bureaucratism, cadres should work alongside the workers on the shop floor.

[Half a day’s work would be sufficient for office staff.]

We also need to guard against red-tape mentality.

If people can work four or five hours, the factory director and the Party secretary will have less to do; there will be fewer meetings and less paperwork, and the job can get done properly.

(At the end of the meeting) Our meetings will convene in plenary session every afternoon at 3:30 p.m., where everyone can speak freely. In the morning, we’ll hold smaller group meetings. If you engage in secret talks and produce briefing notes, I won’t even read them. I encourage you to speak your minds openly and spontaneously. So what if what you say isn’t entirely correct? We can all be forgiving!