The reformed prisoners have accomplished much; they are useful and, under certain conditions, can be put to work for us. We cannot do without a few corrupt officials—nor can such a large country afford to be without a handful of counterrevolutionaries.

They certainly possess talent! Without talent, why would anyone engage in counterrevolutionary activities? Given the right circumstances, they can accomplish a great deal. Those who render meritorious service may have their labels removed, and some even deserve rewards. Article 23 stipulates precisely this: members of work teams need not be entirely above reproach. There is no need to fear the presence of bad elements. Some may be politically unreliable but highly capable. Let us reform them. Even if we fail to fully reform them, as long as we guide them onto the correct path, they can still be of great value. We ourselves neither practice corruption nor understand technology; these individuals do. As long as we keep close watch over them and maintain political leadership, they can carry out many tasks and play an important role. The key is to mobilize them. Among them are truly talented people. One of them invented the vacuum electric furnace, a high-grade piece of equipment that we ourselves could not produce, yet he was able to do so.

(April 1965, Instructions Regarding Wang Canwen’s Invention of the Vacuum Smelting Electric Furnace)

Reform must be pursued with urgency. We should not focus on financial gain or try to extract money from the reformed prisoners. Our primary goal is reform itself, allowing them to send a small amount of money home.

First comes ideological transformation; second is production. The cadres working in the reformatory system must not be weak—they require training. Two weeks of training will suffice.

(April 1965, Instructions on Reformatory Work Delivered During the Fourteenth Public Security Conference)