A Talk on Strengthening the Army’s Organizational Discipline
(May 20, 1968)
There is currently a notion going around: one should resist incorrect leadership. This may be acceptable among the general public, but it cannot be allowed in the armed forces. If everyone were to act according to his own views, how could the army ever go into battle? It simply will not do for every member of the military to act on his own judgment; such a situation would render the army utterly disorganized. … As you [2] once said: “Execute what you understand, and execute even what you do not understand.”
Notes
Printed from the lead-type copy preserved in the Central Archives.
[1] This passage originally appeared in the General Office of the CPC Central Military Commission’s Notice of June 22, 1968, “On Thoroughly Conveying and Resolutely Implementing the Important Instructions Delivered on May 20 by the Great Commander Chairman Mao Zedong and Vice Chairman Lin Biao Concerning the Strengthening of the Army’s Organizational Discipline.” The notice stated: “The important instructions delivered on May 20 by Mao Zedong and Lin Biao regarding the strengthening of the army’s organizational discipline have been approved by Chairman Mao and Vice Chairman Lin for dissemination and education throughout the entire armed forces. These instructions bear immense and far-reaching significance for reinforcing our army’s centralized and unified leadership and for advancing the ideological and organizational revolution within the armed forces. They also hold extremely important practical significance for better fulfilling the glorious tasks of ‘supporting the three areas’ and ‘military units assisting both the government and the people,’ and for securing a comprehensive victory in the Proletarian Cultural Revolution.”
[2] Refers to Lin Biao, Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission.