A Remark on the Working Class as the Leading Class
(1968)

Our country has a population of 700 million, and the working class is the leading class. We
must give full play to the leading role of the working class in the Cultural Revolution and in
all other work. The working class should also continuously raise its political consciousness in
the struggle [1].

[1] On August 15, 1968, the People's Daily and the Liberation Army Daily published an
editorial titled "Warmly Cheer for the Establishment of the Yunnan Provincial Revolutionary
Committee," which quoted Mao Zedong's words in boldface. The editorial also stated:
"Chairman Mao's latest instruction is extremely important and has great significance for us
in completing the various tasks we face." On August 14, when Chen Boda, head of the
Cultural Revolution Group of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and
Yao Wenyuan, a member of the group, submitted the draft editorial to Mao Zedong for
review, they noted next to Mao's words: "This quotation appears in print for the first time."
During his review, Mao made some minor revisions to the text and wrote: "Publish as is.