From
R. Rojas, "La Guardia Roja Conquista China", 1968, pp. 430-440
-----------
  DECISION CONCERNING THE GREAT PROLETARIAN CULTURAL REVOLUTION
  ( Adopted on 8 August 1966, by the CC of the CCP)(official English version)

1.- A NEW STAGE IN THE SOCIALIST REVOLUTION

    The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution now unfolding is a great
revolution that touches people to their very souls and constitutes
a new stage in the development of the socialist revolution in our
country, a stage which is both broader and deeper.

    At the Tenth Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of 
the Party, Comrade Mao Tse-tung said: to overthrow a political power,
it is always necessary first of all to create public opinion, to do
work in the ideological sphere. This is true for the revolutionary
class as well as for the counter-revolutionary class. This thesis
of Comrade Mao Tse-tung's has been proved entirely correct in 
practice.

    Although the bourgeoisie has been overthrown, it is still trying
to use the old ideas, culture, customs and habits of the exploiting
classes to corrupt the masses, capture their minds and endeavour to
stage a comeback. The proletariat must do the exact opposite: it must
meet head-on every challenge of the bourgeoisie in the ideological
field and use the new ideas, culture, customs and habits of the
proletariat to change the mental outlook of the whole of society. At
present, our objective is to struggle against and overthrow those
persons in authority who are taking the capitalist road, to criticize
and repudiate the reactionary bourgeois academic 'authorities' and 
the ideology of the bourgeoisie and all other exploiting classes and
to transform education, literature and art and all other parts of the
superstructure not in correspondence with the socialist economic base,
so as to facilitate the consolidation and development of the
socialist system.

2. THE MAIN CURRENT AND THE TWISTS AND TURNS

  The masses of the workers, peasants, soldiers, revolutionary 
intellectuals, and revolutionary cadres form the main force in this
Great Cultural Revolution. Large numbers of revolutionary young 
people, previously unknown, have become courageous and daring 
pathbreakers. They are vigorous in action and intelligent. Through
the media of big-character posters and great debates, they argue
things out, expose and criticize thoroughly, and launch resolute
attacks on the open and hidden representatives of the bourgeoisie.
In such a great revolutionary movement, it is hardly avoidable that
they should show shortcomings of one kind or another; however, their
general revolutionary orientation has been correct from the beginning.
This is the main current in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
It is the general direction along which this revolution continues to
advance.

    Since the Cultural Revolution is a revolution, it inevitably meets
with resistance. This resistance comes chiefly from those in authority
who have wormed their way into the Party and are taking the capitalist
road. It also comes from the force of habits from the old society. At
present, this resistance is still fairly strong and stubborn. But 
after all, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is an 
irresistible general trend. There is abundant evidence that such
resistance will be quickly broken down once the masses become fully
aroused.

    Because the resistance is fairly strong, there will be reversals
and even repeated reversals in this struggle. There is no harm in 
this. It tempers the proletariat and other working people, and 
especially the younger generation, teaches them lessons and gives them
experience, and helps them to understand that the revolutionary road
zigzags and does not run smoothly.

3. PUT DARING ABOVE EVERYTHING ELSE AND BOLDLY AROUSE THE MASSES

    The outcome of this Great Cultural Revolution will be determined
by whether or not the Party leadership dares boldly to arouse the
masses.

    Currently, there are four different situations with regard to the
leadership being given to the movement of Cultural Revolution by Party
organizations at various levels:

    (1) There is the situation in which the persons in charge of Party
organizations stand in the van of the movement and dare to arouse the
masses boldly. They put daring above everything else, they are 
dauntless communist fighters and good pupils of Chairman Mao. They 
advocate the big-character posters and great debates. They encourage
the masses to expose every kind of ghost and monster and also to
criticize the shortcomings and errors in the work of the persons in
charge. This correct kind of leadership is the result of putting
proletarian politics in the forefront and Mao Tse-tung's thought in
the lead.

    (2) In many units, the persons in charge have a very poor 
understanding of the task of leadership in this great struggle, their
leadership is far from being conscientious and effective, and they
accordingly find themselves incompetent and in a weak position. They
put fear above everything else, stick to outmoded ways and 
regulations, and are unwilling to break away from conventional 
practices and move ahead. They have been taken unaware by the new
order of things, the revolutionary order of the masses, with the
result that their leadership lags behind the situation, lags behind
the masses.

    (3) In some units, the persons in charge, who made mistakes of
one kind or another in the past, are even more prone to put fear
above everything else, being afraid that the masses will catch them
out. Actually, if they make serious self-criticism and accept the
criticism of the masses, the Party and the masses will make allowances
for their mistakes. But if the persons in charge don't, they will
continue to make mistakes and become obstacles to the mass movement.

   (4) Some units are controlled by those who have wormed their way
into the Party and are taking the capitalist road. Such persons in
authority are extremely afraid of being exposed by the masses and
therefore seek every possible pretext to suppress the mass movement.
They resort to such tactics as shifting the targets for attack and
turning black into white in an attempt to lead the movement astray.
When they find themselves very isolated and no longer able to carry
on as before, they resort still more to intrigues, stabbing people
in the back, spreading rumours, and blurring the distinction between
revolution and counter-revolution as much as they can, all for the
purpose of attacking the revolutionaries.

    What the Central Committee of the Party demands of the Party
committees at all levels is that they persevere in giving correct
leadership, put daring above everything else, boldly arouse the 
masses, change the state of weakness and incompetence where it exists,
encourage those comrades who have made mistakes but are willing to
correct them to cast off their mental burdens and join in the 
struggle, and dismiss from their leading posts all those in authority
who are taking the capitalist road and so make possible to recapture
of the leadership for the proletarian revolution.

4. LET THE MASSES EDUCATE THEMSELVES IN THE MOVEMENT

    In the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the only method is
for the masses to liberate themselves, and any method of doing things
in their stead must not be used.

    Trust the masses, rely on them and respect their initiative. Cast
out fear. Don't be afraid of disturbances. Chairman Mao has often told
us that revolution cannot be so very refined, so gentle, so temperate,
kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. Let the masses educate
themselves in this great revolutionary movement and learn to 
distinguish between right and wrong and between correct and incorrect
ways of doing things.

    Make the fullest use of big-character posters and great debates to
argue matters out, so that the masses can clarify the correct views,
criticize the wrong views and expose all the ghosts and monsters. In
this way the masses will be able to raise their political 
consciousness in the course of the struggle, enhance their abilities
and talents, distinguish right from wrong and draw a clear line 
between ourselves and the enemy.

5. FIRMLY APPLY THE CLASS LINE OF THE PARTY

    Who are our enemies? Who are our friends? This is a question of 
the first importance for the revolution and it is likewise a question
of the first importance for the Great Cultural Revolution.

    Party leadership should be good at discovering the left and 
developing and strengthening the ranks of the left; it should firmly
rely on the revolutionary left. During the movement this is the only
way to isolate the most reactionary rightists thoroughly, win over the
middle and unite with the great majority so that by the end of the
movement we shall achieve the unity of more than 95 per cent of the
cadres and more than 95 per cent of the masses.

    Concentrate all forces to strike at the handful of ultra-
reactionary bourgeois rightists and counter-revolutionary 
revisionists, and expose and criticize to the full their crimes 
against the Party, against socialism and against Mao Tse-tung's 
thought sos as to isolate them to the maximum.

    The main target of the present movement is those within the Party
who are in authority and are taking the capitalist road.

    The strictest care should be taken to distinguish between the 
anti-Party, anti-socialist rightists and those who support the Party
and socialism but have said or done something wrong or have written
some bad articles or other works.

    The strictest care should be taken to distinguish between the
reactionary bourgeois scholar despots and 'authorities' on the one
hand and people who have the ordinary bourgeois academic ideas on the
other.

6. CORRECTLY HANDLE CONTRADICTIONS AMONG THE PEOPLE

    A strict distinction must be made between the two different types
of contradictions: those among the people and those between ourselves
and the enemy. Contradictions among the people must not be made into
contradictions between ourselves and the enemy; nor must 
contradictions between ourselves and the enemy be regarded as
contradictions among the people.

    It is normal for the masses to hold different views. Contention
between different views is unavoidable, necessary and beneficial. In
the course of normal and full debate, the masses will affirm what is
right, correct what is wrong and gradually reach unanimity.

    The method to be used in debates is to present the facts, reason
things out, and persuade through reasoning. Any method of forcing a
minority holding different views to submit is impermissible. The
minority should be protected, because sometimes the truth is with the
minority. Even if the minority is wrong, they should still be allowed
to argue their case and reserve their views.

    When there is a debate, it should be conducted by reasoning, not 
by coercion or force.

    In the course of debate, every revolutionary should be good at
thinking things out for himself and should develop the communist
spirit of daring to think, daring to speak and daring to act. On the
premise that they have the same general orientation, revolutionary
comrades should, for the sake of strengthening unity, avoid endless
debate over side issues.

7. BE ON GUARD AGAINST THOSE WHO BRAND THE REVOLUTIONARY MASSES
   AS 'COUNTER-REVOLUTIONARIES'

    In certain schools, units, and work teams of the Cultural
Revolution, some of the persons in charge have organized counter-
attacks against the masses who put up big-character posters 
criticizing them. These people have even advanced such slogans as:
opposition to the leaders of a unit or a work team means opposition
to the Central Committee of the Party, means opposition to the Party
and socialism, means counter-revolution. In this way it is inevitable
that their blows will fall on some really revolutionary activists.

This is an error on matters of orientation, an error of line, and is
absolutely impermissible.

    A number of persons who suffer from serious ideological errors,
and particularly some of the anti-Party and anti-socialist rightists,
are taking advantage of certain shortcomings and mistakes in the mass
movement to spread rumours and gossip, and engage in agitation, 
deliberately branding some of the masses as 'counter-revolutionaries'.
It is necessary to beware of such 'pickpockets' and expose their 
tricks in good time.

    In the course of the movement, with the exception of cases of 
active counter-revolutionaries where there is clear evidence of crimes
such as murder, arson, poisoning, sabotage or theft of state secrets,
which should be handled in accordance with the law, no measures should
be taken against students at universities, colleges, middle schools 
and primary schools because of problems that arise in the movement. 

To prevent the struggle from being diverted from its main target, it
is not allowed, under whatever pretext, to incite the masses or the
students to struggle against each other. Even proven rightists should
be dealt with on the merits of each case at a later stage of th%
movement.

8. THE QUESTION OF CADRES

    The cadres fall roughly into the following four categories:
      (1) good;
      (2) comparatively good;
      (3) those who have made serious mistakes but have not become
          anti-Party, anti-socialist rightists;
      (4) the small number of anti-Party, anti-socialist rightists.

    In ordinary situations, the first two categories ( good and
comparatively good ) are the great majority.

    The anti-Party, anti-socialist rightists must be fully exposed,
refuted, overthrown and completely discredited and their influence
eliminated. At the same time, they should be given a chance to turn
over a new leaf.

9. CULTURAL REVOLUTIONARY GROUPS, COMMITTEES AND CONGRESSES

    Many new things have begun to emerge in the Great Proletarian
Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolutionary groups,committees and
other organizational forms created by the masses in many schools and
units are something new and of great historic importance.

    These Cultural Revolutionary groups, committees and congresses 
are excellent new forms of organization whereby the masses educate
themselves under the leadership of the Communist Party. They are an
excellent bridge to keep our Party in close contact with the masses.
They are organs of power of the proletarian Cultural Revolution.

    The struggle of the proletariat against the old ideas, culture,
customs and habits left over by all the exploiting classes over
thousands of years will necessarily take a very, very long time.
Therefore, the Cultural Revolutionary groups, committees and 
congresses should not be temporary organizations but permanent,
standing mass organizations. They are suitable not only for colleges,
schools and government and other organizations, but generally also
for factories, mines, other enterprises, urban districts and villages.

    It is necessary to institute a system of general elections, like
that of the Paris Commune, for electing members to the Cultural
Revolutionary groups and committees and delegates to the Cultural
Revolutionary congresses. The lists of candidates should be put
forward by the revolutionary masses after full discussion, and the
elections should be held after the masses have discussed the lists
over and over again.

    The masses are entitled at any time to criticize members of the
Cultural Revolutionary groups and committees and delegates elected
to the Cultural Revolutionary congresses. If these members or 
delegates prove incompetent, they can be replaced through election
or recalled by the masses after discussion.

    The Cultural Revolutionary groups, committees and congresses in
colleges and schools should consist mainly of representatives of the
revolutionary students. At the same time, they should have a certain
number of representatives of the revolutionary teaching and 
administrative staff and workers.

10. EDUCATIONAL REFORM

    In the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution a most important 
task is to transform the old educational system and the old principles
and methods of teaching.

    In this Great Cultural Revolution, the phenomenon of our schools
being dominated by bourgeois intellectuals must be completely changed.

    In every kind of school we must apply thoroughly the policy 
advanced by Comrade Mao Tse-tung of education serving proletarian
politics and education being combined with productive labour, so as to
enable those receiving an education to develop morally, intellectually 
and physically and to become labourers with socialist consciousness 
and culture.

    The period of schooling should be shortened. Courses should be 
fewer and better. The teaching material should be thoroughly 
transformed, in some cases beginning with simplifying complicated
material. While their main task is to study, students should also
learn other things. That is to say, in addition to their studies they
should also learn industrial work, farming and military affairs, and
take part in the struggles of the Cultural Revolution to criticize
the bourgeoisie as these struggles occur.

11. THE QUESTION OF CRITICIZING BY NAME IN THE PRESS

    In the course of the mass movement of the Cultural Revolution,
the criticism of bourgeois and feudal ideology should be well
combined with the dissemination of the proletarian world outlook and
of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Tse-tung's thought.

    Criticism should be organized of typical bourgeois representatives
who have wormed their way into the Party and typical reactionary
bourgeois academic 'authorities', and this should include criticism
of various kinds of reactionary views in philosophy, history, 
political economy and education, in works and theories of literature
and art, in theories of natural science, and in other fields.

    Criticism of anyone by name in the press should be decided after
discussion by the Party committee at the same level, and in some cases
submitted to the Party committee at a higher level for approval.

12. POLICY TOWARDS SCIENTISTS, TECHNICIANS AND ORDINARY MEMBERS
    OF WORKING STAFFS

    As regards scientists, technicians and ordinary members of 
working staffs, as long as they are patriotic, work energetically,
are not against the Party and socialism, and maintain no illicit
relations with any foreign country, we should in the present 
movement continue to apply the policy of 'unity, criticism, unity'.
Special care should be taken of those scientists and scientific and
technical personnel who have made contributions. Efforts should be
made to help them gradually transform their world outlook and their
style of work.

13. THE QUESTION OF ARRANGEMENTS FOR INTEGRATION WITH THE SOCIALIST
    EDUCATION MOVEMENT IN CITY AND COUNTRYSIDE

    The cultural and educational units and leading organs of the 
Party and government in the large and medium cities are the points of
concentration of the present proletarian Cultural Revolution.

    The Great Cultural Revolution has enriched the socialist education
movement in both city and countryside and raised it to a higher level.
Efforts should be made to conduct these two movements in close 
combination. Arrangements to this effect may be made by various 
regions and departments in the light of the specific conditions.

    The socialist education movement now going on in the countryside
and in enterprises in the cities should not be upset where the original
arrangements are appropriate and the movement is going well, but 
should continue in accordance with the original arrangements. However,
the questions that are arising in the present Great Proletarian 
Cultural Revolution should be put to the masses for discussion at the
proper time, so as to further foster vigorously proletarian ideology
and eradicate bourgeois ideology.

    In some places, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is
being used as the focus in order to add momentum to the socialist
education movement and clean things up in the fields of politics,
ideology, organization and economy. This may be done where the local
Party committee thinks it appropriate.

14. TAKE FIRM HOLD OF THE REVOLUTION AND STIMULATE PRODUCTION

    The aim of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is to 
revolutionize people's ideology and as a consequence to achieve 
greater, faster, better and more economical results in all fields of
work.If the masses are fully aroused and proper arrangements are
made, it is possible to carry on both the Cultural Revolution and
production without one hampering the other, while guaranteeing high
quality in all our work.

    The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is a powerful motive
force for the development of the social productive forces in our
country. Any idea of counterposing the Great Cultural Revolution to
the development of production is incorrect.

15. THE ARMED FORCES

    In the armed forces, the cultural revolution and the socialist
education movement should be carried out in accordance with the
instructions of the Military Commission of the Central Committee of
the Party and the General Political Department of the People's
Liberation Army.

16. MAO TSE-TUNG'S THOUGHT IS THE GUIDE TO ACTION IN THE GREAT
    PROLETARIAN CULTURAL REVOLUTION

    In the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, it is imperative to
hold aloft the great red banner of Mao Tse-tung's thought and put
proletarian politics in command. The movement for the creative study
and application of Chairman Mao Tse-tung's works should be carried
forward among the masses of the workers, peasants and soldiers, the
cadres and the intellectuals, and Mao Tse-tung's thought should be 
taken as the guide to action in the Cultural Revolution.

   In this complex Great Cultural Revolution, Party committees at all
levels must study and apply Chairman Mao's works all the more
conscientiously and in a creative way. In particular, they must study
over and over again Chairman Mao's writings on the Cultural Revolution
and on the Party's methods of leadership, such as ON NEW DEMOCRACY,
TALKS AT THE YENAN FORUM ON LITERATURE AND ART, ON THE CORRECT 
HANDLING OF CONTRADICTIONS AMONG THE PEOPLE, SPEECH AT THE CHINESE
COMMUNIST PARTY'S NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PROPAGANDA WORK, SOME 
QUESTIONS CONCERNING METHODS OF LEADERSHIP and METHODS OF WORK OF
PARTY COMMITTEES.

    Party committees at all levels must abide by the directions given
by Chairman Mao over the years, namely that they should thoroughly
apply the mass line of 'from the masses, to the masses' and that they
should be pupils before they become teachers.They should try to avoid
being one-sided or narrow. They should foster materialist dialectics
and oppose metaphysics and scholasticism.

    The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is bound to achieve
brilliant victory under the leadership of the Central Committee of
the Party headed by Comrade Mao Tse-tung.
======================================rrojas/end 16points========== 
BACK