put on it. All in all, I find no injustice in your previous life or hatred in your present life [to make you unyielding enemies]. You simply encounter one another, and find some differences in your opinions. Others have either criticized you or opposed you, and you have attacked back. Consequently, contradictions emerge. Those who oppose you are not necessarily bad people. One person in Beijing whom many have wanted to overthrow is Xie Fuzhi.43 He then adopted a method: he told all organizations which hoped to overthrow him that there was nothing wrong with them, and that the organizations which favored him were not necessarily good.

Therefore, what I want to say is what I have said in the past, that is, to unite together to achieve even greater victories. There is concrete content in this statement. It concerns what we are going to do, what kind of victory we are going to pursue, and how we should unite together.

I still have faith in those old comrades who have committed mistakes. Originally, we had a long list, including thirty-odd names, and we thought that it was good if all of them could be elected to the politburo. Later someone put forward a shorter list with less than twenty names, and we felt that that list was too short. The majority held a position in between. They oppose both the longer list and the shorter list, favoring a medium list with some twenty-odd names. So we can only elect representatives [from them]. This is not to say that all those alternate members of the Central Committee are not as good as full members of the Central Committee in terms of their political consciousness, working ability, virtue, talents and seniority. This is not the real question. There is unfairness involved here. Do you think that everything is so fair? In my view, there are many things that are not so fair. There are many things that are not so just.

Everyone of us should be prudent and cautious. No matter who one is, an alternate member of the Central Committee, a full member of the Central Committee, or a member of the Politburo, everyone should be prudent and cautious. We should not forget who we are when there is a sudden inspiration. Since the time of Marx [the Communists] never talk about who should take more or less credit. We are Communist Party members, and we belong to the part of the masses which is more conscious than others, and we belong to the part of the proletariat which is more conscious than others. So I am an advocate of this slogan, that is: "First we should not be scared by hard work; second we should not be scared by death." And I do not favor the slogan: "Even if I have not achieved anything, at least I have worked hard; even if I have not worked hard, at least I have made myself tired.” This slogan is in opposition to "First we should not be scared. by hard work; and second we should not be scared by death." You see, how many of us have died in the past? All the old comrades who remain here today are lucky survivors who have survived by chance. Comrade Pi Dingjun," how many were with you when you worked in the Hubei-Henan-Anhui base area? How many survived?

46

There were many people there at that time, but not many alive today. At that time, in the Jiangxi Soviet Area, the Jinggang Mountain Soviet Area, the base areas in northeastern Jiangxi, western Fujian, western Hunan and Hubei, and northern Shaanxi, the wars resulted in tremendous sacrifices. Not many old comrades survived. This is what we call "first we should not be scared by hard work; second we should not be scared by death." For many years, we did not have any salary, and there was nothing like the eight-tier wage system. We had only a fixed amount of food. At best we could get three qian of cooking oil, five qian of salt, and one-and-a-half jin of rice.45 How about vegetables? How could we get vegetables everywhere the troops passed through? Now we have entered the cities. It is a good thing for us to enter the cities. Without entering the cities, they would still be occupied by Jiang Jieshi [Chiang Kai-shek]. But it is also a bad thing for us to enter the cities because it has made our Party no longer pure. Therefore, some foreigners and reporters say that our party is being rebuilt. Now, we ourselves have also put forward this slogan, that is, Partyrectification and Party-rebuilding. The Party needs to be rebuilt. Every Party branch needs to be rectified with the supervision of the masses. The whole thing must go through the masses. It should not just involve a few Party members. The masses outside the Party should attend the meetings and should participate in providing comments. A few individual Party members are really not good, and they should be advised to leave the Party. A very small number of Party members may need to be disciplined. This is included in the Party's constitution, isn't it? It also needs to be passed by the Party branch meeting and should be approved by the superior Party committee. All in all, we must adopt prudent methods. This should be done, and this must be done. However, this should be done in prudent ways.

It seems that this national congress is a very good one. In my opinion, it is a congress of unity and a congress of victory. We use the method of issuing communiqués [to announce the convening of the congress], and the foreigners cannot get our news. They say that we are holding a secret meeting. We are both open and secret. It seems to me that the reporters in Beijing are not so good. Probably we have uprooted almost all of the traitors and special agents who were hidden among us. In the past, when there was a meeting, its content were leaked out immediately, appearing in Red Guards papers. After the downfall of Wang [Li], Guan [Feng], and Qi [Benyu],47 and Yang [Chengwu], Yu [Lijin],48 and Fu [Chongbi]," they no longer know anything about the activities of our Central Committee.

More or less that is what I want to say. The meeting is adjourned.

[Source: Jianguo yilai Mao Zedong wengao, vol. 13, pp. 35-41.]

I. The struggle between China, the United States, and the Soviet Union.

The present struggle between these three powers is different from the ones between the "seven powers" before World War II or the American-Soviet confrontation in the early post-war era.

(1) China represents the fundamental interests of the world proletariat class. The Ninth National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party declared that China and the true Marxists-Leninists and the revolutionary people all over the world should fight resolutely side by side until "the system of man exploiting man is eliminated on the earth and that the whole of mankind is emancipated."

(2) The U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists are two "brands" of representatives of the international bourgeoisie class. On the one hand, they both take China as the enemy; on the other, they take each other as the enemy. U.S. imperialists and Soviet revisionists are hostile toward China, spreading slanderous rumors about China's "expansionist ambition." In fact, socialist China does not have even a single soldier stationed abroad.5 China's behavior during the last twenty years, especially during the war against the Indian invaders and the war to resist U.S. aggression and assist Vietnam, has fully proven that China has no expansionist intentions. In fact, the imperialists, the revisionists, and the counterrevolutionaries are not really scared by China's so-called military aggression. What scares them most is the prospect that people's revolutions of all nations, under the guidance of the invincible Mao Zedong Thought, will send them to the grave. Therefore, the U.S. imperialists' and the Soviet revisionists' hostility toward China, in the final analysis, is hostility toward the Mao Zedong Thought, toward the revolutions in their own countries as well as the world revolution, and toward the people of their own counties and the people all over the world. However, it should be noted that Nixon takes China as a "potential threat," rather than a real threat.57

For the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists, the real threat is the one existing between themselves. For all other countries, the real threat comes from U.S. imperialists and Soviet revisionists. Covered by the banner of opposing China, U.S. imperialists and Soviet revisionists collaborate with each other while at the same time fighting against each other. The contradictions between them, however, are not reduced because of the collaboration between them; rather, their hostilities toward each other are more fierce than ever before.

(3) The other countries, controlled by either the United States or the Soviet Union, have yet to become a force to contend with them. While only a few of them follow the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists to

carry out an anti-China policy, the majority of them maintain a different attitude toward China. Some adopt a dual stand toward China; some maintain an onlooker's position; some use friendship with China to resist the attempts by the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists to control them; some resent U.S. and Soviet plots to re-divide the world and openly challenge them. As China becomes more and more powerful and the U.S. imperialists and Soviet revisionists become weaker and weaker, this situation will develop further, making it more difficult for them to form an anti-China united front, let alone to find hatchet men to use against China in military affairs.

II. Our opinions on the war against China.

We believe that in the foreseeable future it is unlikely that U.S. imperialists and Soviet revisionists will launch a large-scale war against China, either jointly or separately.

(1) The U.S. imperialists do not dare to attack China rashly. The main reasons are as follows:

(a) The United States and China are separated by the vast Pacific Ocean. The U.S. imperialists' defeats in the Korean War and the Vietnam War have taught them a bitter lesson causing a deeper crisis both at home and abroad, thus forcing them to claim that they would never again be involved in wars similar to the ones in Korea and Vietnam. China is different from Korea and Vietnam, and the U.S. imperialists must be even more careful while dealing with China.

(b) The strategic emphasis of the U.S. imperialists lies in the West. The U.S. imperialists have been bogged down in South Vietnam, which has seriously weakened their position in the West. If they were to enter a war against China, it would last longer and the result would be more miserable for them. The last thing the U.S. imperialists want to see is involvement in a war against China, allowing the Soviet revisionists to take advantage of it.

(c) The U.S. imperialists wish to push Asian countries to the front in a war against China, especially by using Japan as the vanguard. Japan, however, does not dare to take reckless actions, not only because it suffered seriously in the defeat of its aggression against China, but also because the strength of the new China today is much stronger than that of the old China. Japan's strength is becoming full-fledged. Although Sato Eisaku58 and his like raise an anti-China hullabaloo, their actual intentions are to make money through anti-China war propaganda, to recover Japan's lost territory occupied by the United States and the Soviet Union, to expand southward, to pursue a leadership role in Asia, and to contend with the United States and the Soviet Union. Japan is unwilling to serve as the scapegoat in a war against China, and the U.S. imperialists are even less willing to do so.

Therefore, it is unlikely that the U.S. imperialists will rashly launch or enter a war against China.

(2) The Soviet revisionists have made China their main enemy, imposing a more serious threat to our

security than the U.S. imperialists. The Soviet revisionists are creating tensions along the long Sino-Soviet border, concentrating troops in the border area and making military intrusions. They are creating anti-China public opinion [in the Soviet Union], creating chaos on the international scene, while at the same time forcing some Asian countries to join an anti-China ring of encirclement with a "carrot-and-stick" method. All these are serious steps that the Soviet revisionists are taking in preparation for a war of aggression against China. However, before they can enter a major war with China, the Soviet revisionists still must deal with many concerns and difficulties.

(a) Both China and the United States take the Soviet Union as their enemy thus the Soviet revisionists do not dare to fight a two-front war. In appearance, the U.S. imperialists are taking a hands-off policy toward the SinoSoviet dispute, claiming that they will neither take sides nor intervene. In reality, however, they are relaxing their relationship with the Soviet revisionists in the West, and pushing the Soviet revisionists to stand on the first front of a major war against China. By "sitting on top of the mountain to watch a fight between two tigers," they will see the weakening of both China and the Soviet Union. They may even use this opportunity to take over Eastern Europe, or even press forward to the heart area of the Soviet revisionists.

(b) If the Soviet revisionists decide to launch a largescale attack on China, they will try to fight a quick war. Or they may follow the example of Japan's aggression against China, adopting a strategy of encroaching on China piece by piece, so that they will have time for rectification, as well as to observe the reactions of the U.S. imperialists and other countries. But, once they start a major war against us, we certainly will not allow them to fight a quick war and achieve quick results. We will not give them any breathing spell or freedom of action, and will act in accordance with Chairman Mao's teaching to "fight to the end." We will change the war into a protracted ground war. This will create great difficulties for the Soviet revisionists:

First, the Soviet revisionists' anti-China policy is without any popular support. As of now, they have used defensive excuses to deceive the people. If they are to launch an all-out offensive against China, they will arouse the people's opposition. In addition, the Soviet revisionists have carried out propaganda emphasizing the terror of war for many years, which may produce a negative impact. upon their effort to start a war.

Second, the main industry of the Soviet Union is distributed in its European part. It is difficult for the Soviet revisionists to get supplies in Siberia, and everything must be transported from Europe. There is only one railroad. An exhausted army on a long expedition cannot last long. At present the revisionist Soviet Union already faces great shortages of daily necessities. It would be even more difficult for it to hold on in a war.

Third, in order to win a war, a consolidated rear is indispensable. The rear area of the Soviet revisionists is far from consolidated, where domestic class and national contradictions have been intensifying. A war of aggression against China inevitably would be a long-lasting one, and changes are inevitable over a long period, the worst of which will be troubles emerging in the rear area. When the problems on the front have not been solved, troubles at home break out. If American military forces penetrate the Soviet revisionists' spheres of influence in Europe, they will be bogged down there.

(c) We believe that, like the U.S. imperialists, when the Soviet revisionists are moving their troops eastward, it does not mean that their strategic emphasis is also moving eastward. The strategic emphasis of the Soviet revisionists remains in Europe. Eastern Europe is the Soviet Union's main market and defensive barrier, on which it will never let down its guard. To be sure, the Soviet revisionists indeed are preparing for a war against China. But their main purpose is to use military mobilization to consolidate their political control and to suppress resistance to them at home and in Eastern Europe. They are making a show of readiness to fight. This is designed, on the one hand, to serve their attempt to occupy a strong position to negotiate with us, and, on the other hand, to convince the U.S. imperialists that they really intend to fight a major war against China. They hope that this will bring stability to them on the western front, and that the U.S. imperialists will endorse their action of establishing an anti-China ring of encirclement. Consequently, they, with their expansionist attempts in Southeast Asia and other areas being covered, will be able to put their hands into the pockets of the Americans and the British and to redivide the world. The U.S. imperialists, on their part, are pushing the Soviet revisionists to attack China so that they may use this opportunity to take over the Soviet revisionists' spheres of influence.

(3) Will the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists launch a surprise nuclear attack on us? We must be fully prepared for this. However, it is not an easy matter to use a nuclear weapon. When a country uses nuclear weapons to threaten another country, it places itself under the threat of other country's nuclear weapons, and will thus inevitably face the strong opposition of its own people. Even the use of nuclear weapons cannot conquer an unbending people. In the final analysis, the outcome of a war will be determined by the continuous fighting of the ground forces. Therefore, nuclear weapons cannot save the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists.

(4) According to the current situation, it is difficult for U.S. imperialists and Soviet revisionists to attack China, either jointly or independently, or by gathering [on their side] such countries as Japan and India. In fact, when they argue for the need to attack China, either jointly or independently, they have other purposes in mind. In reality, they know that it is not easy to bully China, and

once they are bogged down in China, it is not easy to get out. Both the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists. want others to take the lead, allowing them to take advantage by hiding in the back. We are ready in full battle array. No matter how the aggressors will come, jointly or independently, they will be thoroughly defeated.

III. Analyzing the American-Soviet contradiction (1) The Soviet revisionists have adopted a "one-leg" policy in the construction of their country. They first pursued partial development in heavy industry, and then pursued a deformed development in advanced military industry. This provided them with the capacity for expansion. The U.S. imperialists have been trapped in South Vietnam, and the British imperialists have decided to withdraw from areas east of the Suez Canal, which has created a new opportunity for Soviet expansion. The Soviet revisionists also carry out expansion in the name of anti-imperialism or under the cover of opposing China. They often begin with the vulnerable spots, occupying grounds in North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. They even have extended their hands into the U.S. Imperialists' backyard: Latin America. One of the most conspicuous indications of Soviet expansionism is the allout effort to develop a navy. The ocean was controlled by the United States and Britain in the past, and the Soviet revisionists are vigorously expanding in the ocean, causing conflicts with the capitalist-imperialists.

(2) The expansion by the Soviet revisionists has been. conducted for the purpose of squeezing out the U.S. imperialists. The Soviet revisionists hope to divide the world equally with the U.S. imperialists, as well as take charge of world affairs together with the U.S. imperialists. The U.S. imperialists are determined to maintain their superior position, and are unwilling to give up their hegemony and the world hegemon's position. The U.S. imperialists will not allow the Soviet revisionists to consolidate their position in the Middle East. The U.S. imperialists do not believe that the Soviet revisionists will really enter a major war against China, and they thus will not allow the Soviet revisionists to expand at will.

(3) Both the Soviet revisionists and the U.S. imperialists are making plans for action now. The Soviet revisionists want to extend their influence into Western Europe, and the U.S. imperialists hope to put a leg into Eastern Europe. They give tit for tat, competing to seize what is possessed by the other side. What exists between them is a real and concrete conflict of interests. The struggles between them are both constant and severe.

(4) Both the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists face crises at home and abroad, but they will not shrink back simply because they are facing difficulties. The Soviet revisionists are making active preparations in the East, not relaxing efforts in the West, and hoping to develop in the South. The U.S. imperialists also want to pursue a path of expansion. It is necessary that the contradictions between them will intensify.

(5) The contradictions between the United States and the Soviet Union concentrate on Europe and the Middle East. The unification of Germany is the core of the European problem. The strength of West Germany has been increasing. Eastern Europe was Germany's traditional market, and at present, the influence of France has reduced to a certain extent. In the Middle East, the conflict between Arabic countries and Israel has been characterized by an indirect confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union. In Europe, if the contradictions develop further, the possibility cannot be excluded that a conflict might happen between the United States and the Soviet Union. We must pay close attention to this development.

We have made full preparations, and we are ready to defeat any enemy who dares to invade our territory. However, it is more beneficial to us to postpone the war. We should make full use of time and strengthen preparations in all respects, "making revolution, while promoting production, promoting our work, and promoting war preparation." We must promote the continuous great leap forward of our industrial and agricultural production, build China into an unshakable proletarian country with stronger economic power and stronger land, naval and air forces. In the struggle against the enemy, we should adopt a military strategy of active defense and a political strategy of active offense. We should continue to expose and criticize the Soviet revisionists and the U.S. imperialists. We should enhance our embassies and consulates in other countries, and actively carry out diplomatic activities. We should expand the international united front of anti-imperialism and antirevisionism. We should strive for greater victory in the struggle against the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists.

[Source: Zhonggong dangshi ziliao [CCP Party History Materials], no. 42 (June 1992), pp. 70-75.]

Document No. 10

The CCP Central Committee's Order for General Mobilization in Border Provinces and Regions,59 28 August 1969

The borders of our great motherland are sacred and inviolable. To defend the motherland is the sacred obligation of the people of the whole country. In this regard, the soldiers and people in the border areas in particular have direct responsibility. In order to defend the motherland, to defend our borders, to defend the great achievements of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, to consolidate the proletarian dictatorship, to prepare to smash the armed provocations by the U.S. imperialists and the Soviet revisionists at any time, and to prevent them from launching sudden attacks [against our motherland], the Party Central Committee orders:

(1) Chairman Mao's great instructions on "raising our vigilance and defending our motherland" and "preparing for fighting a war" must be followed resolutely, and a high alertness to the presence of the enemy must be established. You should overcome the status of lacking alertness because of peace, and should not look down upon the enemy. You should be fully prepared to fight a war against aggression, should strengthen unity between the army and the people, and should be prepared to eliminate any enemy who dares to invade our territory.

(2) In face of a formidable enemy, the whole army and the whole people should unite together as one person, confronting the enemy with one stand. The unity within the army should be enhanced; the unity between the army and the people, as well as the unity between the army and the government, should be enhanced; and the unity among the revolutionary people of all nationalities should be enhanced. The leadership role of the revolutionary committees at all levels should be consolidated. All activities to divide our own strength should be opposed. Any actions against unity should be opposed. Bourgeois factionalism should be opposed. Class enemies who provoke others to damage the unity between the army and the people and the unity between different nationalities should be cracked down upon without mercy. The main culprits should be punished in accordance with the law. 3. The commanders and soldiers of army units stationed on the border area must stick to their fighting posts, must carry out all orders resolutely, must obey orders and be strictly disciplined, and must be combatready in all aspects and pay close attention to the enemy's movement, so that they will be able immediately to take action when they are ordered to do so. For members of the army, no action damaging discipline will be tolerated. Members of the army must not leave their posts without approval, and are not allowed to establish liaison with other units by traveling there. Those who fail to correct wrongdoings after education will be severely punished.

4. All revolutionary mass organizations should follow the great leader Chairman Mao's teaching to realize the "great revolutionary unification" in accordance with their working systems, professions, working branches, and working units. All mass organizations that are established across professions will be dissolved immediately. Any attempt to establish a separate organization or to reestablish an organization is illegal, and organizations of this kind should be ordered to dissolve.

5. The Party Central Committee's "July 23 Order”60 should be carried out resolutely. All factional struggle by violent means should be stopped unconditionally and immediately. All professional teams for struggle by violent means should be dissolved. All strongholds for struggle by violent means should be eliminated. All weapons should be handed back. If any team for struggle by violent means continues to occupy a stronghold and stubbornly refuses to surrender, the People's Liberation Army can surround the stronghold by force, launch a

political offensive toward it, and confiscate the weapons [held by the team] by force.

6. In no circumstance should anyone be allowed to attack the People's Liberation Army. In no circumstance should anyone be allowed to seize the Army's weapons, equipment, and vehicles. In no circumstance should anyone hinder the Army's war preparations, or expose and steal military intelligence. Any violation of the above will be treated as current reactionary behavior. Key military positions and war preparation facilities must be protected resolutely. The secrets of national defense must be carefully maintained. The People's Liberation Army's preparations for war should be aided and supported.

7. Transportation must be protected, and the working condition of the communication system must be guaranteed. Any actions damaging railway, highway, and water transportation, damaging the communication liaison system, and of cutting off electricity lines will be regarded as counter-revolution activities, and must be investigated and severely punished.

8. The revolution must be carried out resolutely, and production must be promoted vigorously, so that extensive support can be given to the front-line. Laboring disciplines should be observed, production posts should be maintained, and the industrial and agricultural production should be carried out smoothly. Anyone who has left his production or work post must return to his work unit to take part in "making revolution, promoting production, promoting work, and promoting war preparation." Anyone who fails to return to his own unit on time will not get salary as a worker or clerk, or will not get workpoints as a peasant. He will be disciplined in accordance with the seriousness of the violation, and can be expelled from the work force. Those who provoke or threaten the workers and peasants to leave their production and work posts must be punished severely in accordance with the law. 9. The counterrevolutionary elements must be suppressed without mercy. Those counterrevolutionaries who have connections with foreign countries or plan to escape abroad, who sabotage social safety and stability, who plunder state property, who sabotage production, who conduct homicide, arson, poisoning, and who utilize feudal superstition to provoke rebellion, must be suppressed without mercy. Landlords, rich peasants, reactionaries, bad elements, and rightists who have not been transformed must be placed under tight supervision of the revolutionary masses and accept transformation through labor.

[Source: Jianguo yilai Mao Zedong wengao, vol. 13, pp. 59-61.]