We should speak directly to anyone who asks us about this, without dodging or evading. We
should send a notice to all levels of Party committees in China, foreign affairs personnel, and
embassies and consulates abroad.

[1] Lin Biao, formerly Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Committee and Vice Chairman of the
Central Military Commission. During the Cultural Revolution, he formed a counterrevolutionary group with Chen Boda and others, and colluded with and competed with the
Jiang Qing counter-revolutionary group to seize the supreme leadership of the Party and the
state. After his conspiracy was exposed, he fled on September 13, 1971, and died in a plane
crash in Wulankhan, Mongolia. In August 1973, the CPC Central Committee passed a
resolution to expel Lin Biao from the Party. In 1981, the Special Tribunal of the Supreme
People's Court of the People's Republic of China confirmed him as the main culprit in the
counter-revolutionary group case.
[2] These eight comments were written in the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to
Zhou Enlai on July 1, 1972. The report said that recently, some American friends and
Chinese-American friends who visited China had asked about Lin Biao's issues during their
contacts with us. Our reception staff still avoided the issue, which was very likely to have a
negative effect. It is suggested that we can reveal some information, that is, admit that Lin
has problems, but do not discuss the specific details.