Comments on the Record of Conversations by Our News Team [!]
(November 1965)
Reviewed by Jiang Qing; returned to Mao for safekeeping.
It is necessary to send supplies such as mosquito nets, cloth, canned food, meat floss, medicines, tarpaulins, and hammocks—and in large quantities.
End.
[ I]
Refers to a document issued on November 6, 1965, by the General Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, titled “Record of Conversations During the Southern Vietnamese Leadership’s Meetings with Our News Delegation to South Vietnam.” This record consists of three parts: 1) The record of a conversation on August 31, 1965, between Comrade Truong Son, Secretary of the Central Committee of South Vietnam, and our news delegation; 2) Records of two meetings in March and April 1965 between Comrade Vu Chi Cong, Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee of South Vietnam and Secretary of the Central Region, and our news delegation; and 3) The full text of Comrade Vu Chi Cong’s conversation with our news delegation (compiled in June 1965). The full text comprises 12 questions and two appendices: (1) The goals and basic direction of the revolution in the South; and (2) The situation of the people’s armed forces. Finally, there is an appendix by the reporter, which discusses the troops’ organization, equipment, combat effectiveness, and logistical support, among other matters.

[2]
These comments were written in response to the following situation described in the reporter’s appendix: In the mountainous areas of the Central Region, it is quite difficult to supply the main force units. The terrain is vast and sparsely populated, and the local ethnic minority populations lead impoverished lives, with very few supplementary foodstuffs available; they do not cultivate vegetables. As a result, the soldiers generally have no side dishes—just plain rice with salt (each person receives half a kilogram of salt per month, which must be carried into the mountains from the plains entirely by human porters, a highly arduous task). Occasionally, they can gather some wild greens (but even these are quickly exhausted due to the large number of troops), leading to severe nutritional deficiencies. The soldiers camp in the forests year-round. With heavy rainfall and high humidity, coupled with large daily temperature fluctuations, they lack shelter, hammocks, or tarpaulins for overnight protection. Mosquitoes are particularly abundant, yet many soldiers do not have mosquito nets. Owing to malnutrition and the rampant insect infestation, cases of malaria are widespread, while preventive and curative medicines are severely scarce. Although regulations stipulate that each soldier should receive one set of clothing annually, some units are unable to meet this requirement. Consequently, the soldiers’ health has been adversely affected to a certain extent.