Deal with it as is.
Mao Zedong
May 12
Comrades Lin Biao and Enlai [2]:
Please read this document. The views expressed seem reasonable. Please consult with
Comrades Zhang, Xi, and Zhan Danan [3]. Since Comrade Hu Jizong and others have come
forward and share the views of the Military Region and actively support the Third
Headquarters, is it possible to refrain from implementing military control and, instead,
follow the Military Region's opinion and establish a Provincial Revolutionary Committee after
a period of work? Please consider the above.
Mao Zedong
May 14, 2:00 AM
To Comrade Lin Biao:
I have read this document. It is very good. Act on it.
Mao Zedong
July 30

[1] The first part of this article is a commentary on the "Several Opinions on the Gansu
Question" issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Central
Military Commission, the Central Cultural Revolution Group, and the All-Army Cultural
Revolution Group on May 12, 1967. The opinion stated, "In view of the fact that the
establishment of a temporary power structure combining the three elements of power in
Gansu Province is not yet mature, the Central Committee has decided to impose military
control on Gansu Province." The second part of this article is a commentary on the "Report
of the Lanzhou Military Region Requesting Instructions on Supporting the 'Red Third



Command'." This telegram, sent at 12:00 on May 13, 1967, by the Lanzhou Military Region
Party Committee of the Chinese People's Liberation Army to the Central Military Commission
of the Communist Party of China, the All-Army Cultural Revolution Group, and the Central
Cultural Revolution Group, stated that the current situation of the Cultural Revolution in the
Lanzhou area remained excellent, and that some leftist organizations had formed the "Gansu
Red Rebel United Third Command" (abbreviated as the "Red Third Command"), a coalition of
the proletarian revolutionary left in Gansu. Former Provincial Party Committee Acting First
Secretary Hu Jizong and other leading cadres have expressed support for the "Red Third
Headquarters," so the "Red Third Headquarters" has decided to merge with them. We
believe that with the "Red Third Headquarters" as the core, further work should be
conducted among other revolutionary mass organizations and the broader revolutionary
masses, striving to unite all possible mass organizations, achieve a grand revolutionary unity,
promote the "three-in-one" approach, and establish the Gansu Provincial Revolutionary
Committee. After deliberation, the Military Region Party Committee believes that a clear
statement of support for the "Red Third Headquarters" should be made. Please provide your
instructions promptly. This third article is a commentary on the July 29th notice and minutes
of the "Minutes of the Talks on the Gansu Question" forwarded by the CPC Central
Committee, the State Council, and the Central Military Commission. These minutes were
produced following Mao Zedong's May 14th directive, summoning over 20 leaders from the
Lanzhou Military Region and Gansu Provincial Military Region, including Xi Henghan and
Zhan Danan, and Hu Jizong, to Beijing for a discussion on the Gansu question. The minutes
pointed out that, given the establishment of the "Red Third Headquarters" and the
emergence of comrades like Hu Jizong, the situation of the Cultural Revolution in Lanzhou
was improving. It was agreed that Gansu Province could directly establish a preparatory
group for the Revolutionary Committee without imposing military control.
[2] Lin Biao, then Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party
of China, was re-elected to the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC
Central Committee at the 11th Plenary Session of the 8th CPC Central Committee and was
soon named Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Committee. Enlai is Zhou Enlai.
[3] Zhang refers to Zhang Dazhi, then commander of the Lanzhou Military Region of the
Chinese People's Liberation Army. Xi refers to Xi Henghan, then political commissar of the
Lanzhou Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Zhan Danan, then deputy
commander of the Lanzhou Military Region of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and
commander of the Gansu Provincial Military Region.