Print and distribute to all comrades of the Politburo. Please ask Ji and Wang [2] to handle
the issues raised in the second letter.
January 2, 1973

[1] Tan Zhenlin, formerly a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, a
member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, and a vice premier of the State
Council. He was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and exiled to Guilin, Guangxi. On
December 26, 1972, he wrote two letters to Mao Zedong. The second letter mentioned that
he had unfortunately broken his right leg on July 24 and hoped to return to Beijing for a
checkup. He also suggested that his wife Ge Huimin should return to Beijing for treatment
and that their two children should be taken back to Beijing for schooling or employment. In
August 1973, Tan Zhenlin was elected a member of the CPC Central Committee at the 10th
National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
[2] Ji refers to Ji Dengkui, then an alternate member of the Political Bureau of the CPC
Central Committee and a member of the Organization and Propaganda Group of the CPC
Central Committee. Wang refers to Wang Dongxing, then an alternate member of the
Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC
Central Committee.