Chapter 29 Struggle for the basic improvement of the country's financial and economic situation[1]

(June 6, 1950) The current international situation is favorable to us.The World Front for Peace and Democracy headed by the Soviet Union is stronger than last year.People's movements for peace and against war have grown in countries around the world.The national liberation movement to break free from imperialist oppression has developed extensively. What is particularly noteworthy is the rise of the mass movements of the Japanese and German people against the U.S. occupation, and the development of the people's liberation struggles of the oppressed nations in the East.At the same time, the contradictions among the imperialist countries, mainly the contradictions between the United States and Britain, also developed.Quarrels among factions within the American bourgeoisie and among factions within the British bourgeoisie have also increased.On the contrary, the relationship between the Soviet Union and the people's democracies is very united.The new Sino-Soviet Treaty of great historical significance has consolidated the friendly relations between the two countries. On the one hand, it enables us to freely and quickly carry out domestic construction work, and on the other hand, it is pushing people all over the world to strive for peace and democratic opposition. The great struggle of war and oppression.The threat of war from the imperialist camp still exists, and the possibility of a third world war still exists.However, the forces of struggle to check the danger of war and prevent the outbreak of a third world war are developing rapidly, and the level of consciousness of the majority of the people of the world is rising.As long as the Communist Party of the world can continue to unite all possible peaceful and democratic forces and enable them to achieve greater development, a new world war can be stopped.The war rumors spread by the Kuomintang reactionaries are deceiving the people and are groundless.

The current situation in our country is that the Central People's Government of the People's Republic of China and local people's governments at all levels have been established.The Soviet Union, various people's democracies and several capitalist countries have successively established diplomatic relations with my country.The war has basically ended on the mainland, and only Taiwan and Tibet have yet to be liberated, which is still a serious struggle.The Kuomintang reactionaries have resorted to bandit guerrilla warfare in several areas of the mainland, inciting some backward elements to fight against the People's Government.The Kuomintang reactionaries also organized many secret agents and spies against the people's government, spreading rumors among the people in an attempt to undermine the prestige of the Communist Party and the people's government, and to drive a wedge between the unity and unity of all nationalities, democratic classes, democratic parties, and people's organizations. cooperate.Secret agents and spies carried out activities to sabotage the people's economic undertakings, assassinated the staff of the Communist Party and the people's government, and collected intelligence for the imperialists and the Kuomintang reactionaries.All these counter-revolutionary activities are instigated by imperialism, especially U.S. imperialism.These bandits, secret agents and spies are all lackeys of imperialism.In the thirteen and a half months since the People's Liberation Army won decisive victories in the three major battles of Liaoshen, Huaihai, and Pingjin in the winter of 1948, and since it began crossing the river on April 21, 1949, , occupied all the territory except Tibet, Taiwan and some other sea islands, wiped out 1.83 million Kuomintang reactionary troops and 980,000 bandit guerrillas, and the people's public security organs cracked down a large number of reactionary spy organizations and secret agents molecular.Now the People's Liberation Army still has the task of continuing to wipe out the remaining bandits in the newly liberated areas, and the people's public security organs have the task of continuing to attack the enemy's spy organizations.Most people across the country warmly support the Communist Party, the People's Government and the People's Liberation Army.In recent months, the People's Government has realized unified management and unified leadership of financial and economic work across the country, achieved a balance in fiscal revenue and expenditure, curbed inflation, and stabilized prices.The people of the whole country supported the people's government by paying grain, paying taxes, and buying public bonds.Our country suffered extensive famines last year. About 120 million mu of arable land and 40 million people were hit by floods and droughts of varying severity.The people's government organized large-scale relief work for the victims, and carried out large-scale water conservancy construction work in many places.This year's annual harvest is better than last year's, and the summer harvest seems to be generally good.If the autumn harvest is also good, it is conceivable that next year's situation will be better than this year's.The long-term rule of imperialism and the Kuomintang reactionaries has brought about an abnormal state of social economy and a large number of unemployed groups.After the victory of the revolution, the whole old social and economic structure is being reorganized in various degrees, and the number of unemployed is increasing again.This is a major event, and the people's government has already begun to take relief and resettlement measures for the unemployed in order to solve this problem step by step.The people's government has carried out extensive cultural and educational work, and a large number of intellectuals and young students have participated in the study of new knowledge or participated in revolutionary work.The people's government has already done some work to rationally adjust industry and commerce and improve public-private relations and labor-management relations, and it is continuing to do this work vigorously.

China is a big country, and the situation is extremely complicated. The revolution first won victory in some areas, and then won victory in the whole country.In line with this situation, in the old liberated areas (approximately 160 million people), the land reform has been completed, the social order has been stabilized, the economic construction has begun to go on track, and the lives of most working people have improved. The problems of unemployed workers and unemployed intellectuals have been solved (Northeast), or are close to being solved (North China and Shandong).Especially in the Northeast, planned economic construction has already started.In the newly liberated areas (with a population of about 310 million), because the liberation period is only a few months, six months, or a year, there are still more than 400,000 bandits scattered in remote places waiting for us to exterminate. Problems have not been solved, industry and commerce have not yet been rationally adjusted, unemployment still exists seriously, and social order has not yet stabilized.In a word, the conditions for carrying out planned economic construction have not yet been obtained.Therefore, I once said: the series of victories we have achieved on the economic front, such as the close balance of fiscal revenue and expenditure, the stop of inflation and the stabilization of prices, etc., show that the financial and economic situation has begun to improve, but this is not yet the case. Fundamentally better.To achieve a fundamental improvement in the financial and economic situation, three conditions are required, namely: (1) the completion of land reform; (2) the rational adjustment of existing industries and commerce; (3) a large reduction in the funds required by state agencies.It will take a considerable amount of time to strive for these three conditions, about three years or a little more.The whole party and the people of the whole country should work hard to create these three conditions.I and everyone believe that these conditions can be achieved within three years or so with absolute certainty.At that time, we can see a fundamental improvement in the overall financial and economic situation of our country.

To this end, the whole Party and the people of the whole country must unite as one and do the following tasks well: (1) Carry out land reform in a step-by-step and orderly manner.Because the war has basically ended on the mainland, which is completely different from the situation from 1946 to 1948 (the People's Liberation Army and the Kuomintang reactionaries were engaged in a life-and-death struggle, and the winner was not decided), the state can use loans to help Poor peasants solve their difficulties to make up for the lack of a part of the poor peasants' land.Therefore, our policy towards the rich peasants should be changed, that is, from the policy of expropriating the rich peasants’ surplus land property to the policy of preserving the rich peasants’ economy, so as to facilitate the early restoration of rural production, and also help to isolate the landlords, protect the middle peasants and protect the small land renters.

(2) Consolidate the unified management and unified leadership of financial and economic work, and consolidate the balance of fiscal revenue and expenditure and the stability of prices.Under this policy, taxation should be adjusted to reduce the burden on the people as appropriate.Under the principle of overall planning, gradually eliminate blindness and anarchy in the economy, rationally adjust existing industries and commerce, effectively and properly improve public-private relations and labor-capital relations, and make various social and economic sectors have a socialist nature Under the leadership of the state-owned economy, the division of labor and cooperation, each in its own place, to promote the recovery and development of the entire social economy.Some people think that capitalism can be eliminated early and socialism can be implemented. This kind of thinking is wrong and not suitable for the situation of our country.

(3) Under the condition of ensuring that there are sufficient forces for liberating Taiwan and Tibet, consolidating national defense and suppressing counter-revolutionaries, the People's Liberation Army should demobilize a part in 1950 and preserve its main force.This demobilization work must be carried out carefully, so that demobilized soldiers can return to their hometowns to produce with peace of mind.The reorganization of the administrative system is necessary, and the redundant staff must be properly dealt with so that they can have opportunities to work and study. (4) Carry out the reform of the old school education and the old social and cultural undertakings step by step and prudently, and win all patriotic intellectuals to serve the people.On this issue, it is not right to procrastinate for time and unwilling to reform, nor is it right to be too hasty and attempt to carry out reforms in crude ways.

(5) Relief work for unemployed workers and unemployed intellectuals must be earnestly carried out, and the unemployed must be helped to find jobs in a step-by-step manner.Relief work for the victims must continue in earnest. (6) We must conscientiously unite democrats from all walks of life, help them solve work and study problems, and overcome the tendencies of closed-doorism and accommodationism in the work of the united front.It is necessary to conscientiously convene people's representative conferences from all walks of life that are sufficient to unite people from all walks of life to work together.All important work of the people's government should be referred to the people's congress for discussion and decision.The deputies attending the People's Representative Conference must have a full right to speak, and any action to suppress the speech of the people's representatives is wrong.

(7) We must resolutely eliminate all bandits, spies, bullies and other counter-revolutionaries who endanger the people.On this issue, a policy of combining repression and leniency must be implemented, that is, the policy of punishing the perpetrators, not questioning the henchmen, and rewarding the meritorious, cannot be neglected.The whole party and the people of the whole country must be more vigilant against the conspiratorial activities of counter-revolutionaries. (8) Resolutely implement the Central Committee's directives on consolidating and developing the party's organization, on strengthening the relationship between the party and the masses, on conducting criticism and self-criticism, and on the rectification of the whole party.In view of the fact that our Party has grown to 4.5 million members, we must adopt the policy of prudently developing the Party's organization in the future, we must resolutely prevent the opportunists from joining the Party, and properly cleanse the speculators from leaving the Party.Attention must be paid to systematically absorbing class-conscious workers into the party and expanding the worker component of the party organization.In the old liberated areas, we should generally stop recruiting party members from the countryside.In the newly liberated areas, before the completion of the land reform, the Party organizations should generally not be developed in the countryside, lest speculators take the opportunity to sneak into the Party.The whole party should carry out a large-scale rectification movement in the summer, autumn and winter of 1950 under the condition that it is closely integrated with various tasks and not separated from them. Analyzing the situation, developing methods such as criticism and self-criticism, raising the ideological and political level of cadres and ordinary party members, overcoming mistakes made in work, overcoming the pride and complacency of self-proclaimed heroes, overcoming bureaucracy and commandism, and improving the Party relationship with the people.

According to the publication of "People's Daily" on June 13, 1950. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] This is Mao Zedong's written report at the Third Plenary Session of the Seventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.