(May 30, 1966)
Agree to do so.
Mao Zedong
May 30th, 11 PM
[l]
On May 30, 1966, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, and Deng Xiaoping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, wrote to Mao Zedong stating that over the past two months, the People’s Daily’s prestige had significantly declined, adversely affecting the Party and the state. As the newspaper’s editorial board was unable to change the current situation, many people were calling for the central leadership to send a working group. Today we held a meeting and decided to form a temporary working group under the direct leadership of Chen Boda to take charge of the newspaper’s daily layout while also guiding Xinhua News Agency and the radio station in their external news reporting. The members of the working group stationed in Beijing were scheduled to begin work at the newspaper on May 31. Inside the newspaper, rectification campaigns and study sessions would be conducted, and large-character posters could continue to be posted. A portion of the editors with a positive attitude and willingness to work actively would be concentrated to ensure the daily publication of the paper. Once the newspaper’s appearance had improved, further internal issues could then be addressed. The letter also included a list of the temporary working group’s members in Beijing. After reviewing it, Mao Zedong wrote this comment.