Comments on the Report [1] Regarding the Convening of the Twelfth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee, Expanded
(September 20, 1968)
Please have Comrade Lin Biao read it first, then I will review it. Only after discussion at one or two meetings should a decision be made. In my view, it would not be appropriate at present to establish a Central Revolutionary Committee, nor would it be advisable to greatly expand the membership of the plenary session; a little over 100 members would suffice.
Mao Zedong
September 20
[1]
Refers to a report submitted on September 19, 1968, by Zhou Enlai, Chen Boda (then a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group), Kang Sheng (also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee and advisor to the Central Cultural Revolution Group), and Jiang Qing (then deputy head of the Central Cultural Revolution Group) to Mao Zedong and others. The report detailed the discussions held during the Central Cultural Revolution Group meetings from the evening of September 1 to the morning of September 5 regarding the convening of the Twelfth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee, expanded to include more participants. It noted that one item on the agenda would be the election of a Central Revolutionary Committee to serve as the temporary supreme authority of the Party and state prior to the Ninth National Congress, and estimated that approximately 300 people, including full and alternate members of the Central Committee who could attend, would participate in the expanded plenary session.
The Twelfth Plenary Session of the Eighth CPC Central Committee, expanded in scope, was held in Beijing from October 13 to October 31, 1968.