Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

That's why this Secretariat meeting is happening. The issues raised at the United Front Work Department's symposium must be resolved. The Chairman or Premier will definitely need to hold another symposium to talk to these people.

After listening to Li Weihan's answer, Wei Hongjun could only sigh. Li Weihan has a long history in the party, but he is really not a cadre who can take on responsibilities.

If you were to say he was incompetent, that's not the case; he handled many things with impeccable efficiency. But if you were to say he was highly competent, his history was marked by his erratic nature. Li Weihan's history is incredibly complex, or perhaps even unpredictable.

He was Chairman Mao's junior at Hunan Normal University, a member of the New Citizen Society founded by Chairman Mao and his colleagues, and a student traveler. Initially in Europe, he supported Xiao Zisheng's moderate reforms and actively opposed the revolutionary ideas of Cai Zeying and his colleagues. However, he later changed his stance and, along with Premier Li Keqiang and Zhao Shiyan, founded the Young Communist Party of China in Europe. Upon returning to China, he joined the Communist Party through the introduction of Chairman Mao and Cai Zeying, becoming a member of the Chinese Communist Party.

During the Great Revolution, his position within the Party gradually rose. He chaired the August 7th Conference, co-chairing it with Qu Qiubai. Consequently, he began to veer wildly toward the left. Under Li Lisan, he actively promoted the "Li Lisan Line." He was incredibly active at the time, and many memoirs describe him sleeping very little each day, devoting all his energy to his work.

Later, Li Lisan was criticized by Wang Ming and others, so Li Weihan went to the Soviet Union. Upon his return, he joined Wang Ming, Bo Gu, and others in the major critique of the Central Soviet Area's line. The first criticism of the Chairman's line in the Central Soviet Area was the "Luo Ming Line" in Fujian, which Li Weihan personally criticized. After returning from Fujian, Li Weihan then targeted the "Luo Ming Line in Jiangxi," which later became the "Deng, Mao, Xie, and Gu" line.

Li Weihan was also personally present during the criticism of the "Deng, Mao, Xie, and Gu" faction. It was Li Weihan who publicly criticized them for factional activities. At the time, the "Deng, Mao, Xie, and Gu" faction stubbornly refused to acknowledge the existence of an "anti-Party group," threatening to rewrite CCP history. Consequently, Chairman Mao later stated that Bo Gu bore primary responsibility for the "left" opportunist errors of the late Soviet period, followed by Li Weihan and then Zhang Wentian. This demonstrates how deeply Chairman Mao was impressed by Li Weihan, his junior and old friend.

During the Anti-Rightist Movement, Li Weihan happened to be in charge of the United Front Work Department. He put forward several outrageous proposals. One was to eliminate classes and class struggle within a few years. He also proposed that "within five years, democratic parties should be transformed into socialist parties, with left-wing and center-left elements reaching 70 or even 80 percent." He also proposed that enterprises undergoing socialist transformation of industry and commerce should stop paying fixed interest to capitalists participating in public-private joint ventures.

These proposals were quickly criticized within the Central Committee and the United Front Work Department, and even the State Council criticized them.

Of course, Li Weihan is not saying that he has never done work for the Party.

On the contrary, when he worked alongside other cadres, he achieved remarkable results. During the Great Revolution, he served as Secretary of the Hunan Regional Executive Committee in Hunan. Under the leadership of Chairman Xiu Yang, Comrade Li Lisan, and others, Li Weihan performed exceptionally well in the development of the Hunan Party organization and the peasant movement.

After the Long March, Li Weihan worked alongside Dong Biwu to tackle the anti-counterrevolutionary campaign in northern Shaanxi. This campaign involved a wide range of people and issues, creating significant conflicts and complex situations. Yet, Li Weihan performed remarkably well under Dong Biwu's guidance. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he worked alongside Lin Boqu, primarily producing investigative reports that served as the basis for central government decisions. He also performed this work admirably.

It can be said that every time he is left alone, he easily gets excited and messes up or complicates things. But as long as he works honestly with someone, his results are very good.

Now Wei Hongjun is very dissatisfied with Li Weihan.

While the United Front Work Department allowed democratic parties and figures to express their opinions at the symposium, the initiative should have been firmly in the hands of the department. But take a look at this meeting record.

Although the other party did come with ill intentions and launched a surprise attack, it is not to say that the United Front Work Department was completely at a loss in the face of the various inquiries and suggestions from democrats.

How can we work if we have no responsiveness at all? Chairman Mao clearly stated the issue of the united front during the War of Resistance Against Japan. The largest united front at the time was with the Kuomintang, working together to resist Japan.

At that time, the Chairman made a very clear statement regarding the various ideologies within the Party. Unity survives when it is sought through struggle, but it dies when it is sought through compromise. This statement is worth pondering at all times.

The new China was to unite with those who were democratic, including the bourgeoisie; otherwise, the socialist transformation of industry and commerce would not have been implemented. The central government's slogan was not to overthrow the bourgeoisie, but to carry out socialist transformation on them. In fact, the central government wanted to unite both the bourgeoisie and the petty bourgeoisie.

But this unity means unity centered around the Communist Party of China.

When uniting with them, we should not only consider "good for you and good for me" but also consider principles. How to flexibly complete the task of unity while adhering to one's own principles is the work of the United Front Work Department.

But it is obvious that the United Front Work Department has done a very unsatisfactory job.

It almost became a criticism meeting.

So Wei Hongjun stopped looking at Li Weihan and said to everyone, "Comrades, everyone has read the detailed report of this symposium. It contains a lot of different things, and I have summarized the key points. It contains three main points."

"The first opinion was mainly that of Luo Longji, Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the China Democratic League and Minister of Forest Industry of the State Council. He brought out Comrade Khrushchev's 'Secret Report' and argued that even Comrade Stalin was capable of making mistakes, and indeed made so many serious ones. This showed that the international communist movement, the socialist revolution, and socialist construction all had major flaws, and that significant mistakes must have occurred during their implementation. Our Party, as a Marxist-Leninist party, was no exception."

"He criticized the land reform, the 'Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries' Movement, and the 'Three Antis Movement' after the founding of the People's Republic of China, all of which had many problems. So he called for the joint establishment of a 'Rehabilitation Committee' by the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. This committee would include our party, democratic parties, and people from all walks of life."

"This committee should examine past issues from land reform, the 'suppression of counter-revolutionaries,' and the 'Three Antis' campaign. It should also publicly declare and encourage everyone to come forward with complaints about any grievances. Minister Luo Longji also stated that while Communist Party members may be politically strong, they may not necessarily possess extensive technical knowledge and experience in economic planning. We should feel comfortable allowing veteran intellectuals to participate in management work."

"Many people later had their own opinions, but many of them were consistent with Minister Luo Longji's statement."

Look at the adverse effects of Khrushchev’s “Secret Report”.

Stalin was wrong.

Who among you Marxist-Leninist parties dares to claim to be free of mistakes? Luo Longji's words at the United Front Work Department symposium were relatively euphemistic. Privately, he even stated that socialist revolution was a mistake. Look at Stalin in the "Secret Report." Is he a normal person? How can socialist revolution be a good thing when such a person leads the international communist movement?

While both were socialist revolutions, China's political landscape differed from that of Eastern Europe. The People's Republic of China was forged by the Chinese Communist Party over two decades, with the sacrifice of millions of its soldiers. Government agencies and the military were directly led by the CCP. Those leaders were veterans of battle, and unlike Eastern European governments, they were not easily controlled.

A frontal attack is definitely not possible because we don’t have the strength.

But there were solutions. Khrushchev's "Secret Report" gave Luo Longji and his group ample excuse and ammunition. While Luo Longji affirmed the CCP's achievements and acknowledged its leadership, he also used the "Secret Report" as a weapon to express concerns about the socialist revolution. He therefore proposed the establishment of a "Rehabilitation Committee," holding the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference responsible. In essence, this committee, primarily composed of non-Party members, would review the CCP's policies over the years.

"The second was raised by Zhang Bojun, Vice Chairman of the China Democratic League Central Committee and Minister of Transportation. He said that, as shown in the 'Secret Report,' Comrade Stalin's mistakes were the mistakes of 'personality cult.' This applies not only to personal issues but also to political parties. If a party lacks democracy and oversight, it will make the same mistakes as Comrade Stalin."

"Therefore, he proposed that technological development, economic construction, and national political construction are different from fighting wars. Communist Party members have low cultural levels and a rough work style, so we should rely more on intellectuals. He also proposed that the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the National People's Congress, the democratic parties, and people's organizations should be the four political design institutes. The role of these design institutes should be given greater play. Some basic political construction should be discussed with them in advance."

They are all very smart.

Ask them to risk their lives for revolution, and they lack the courage. Ask them to propose a grand strategy for national development, and they lack the ability. But within the rules, especially within the rules of officialdom, they are more professional than the other in "struggling for power and profit."

They always acknowledge the leadership of the Party first and never talk about challenging the Party's leadership.

But they clearly wanted to use the "secret report" to further enhance the status of democratic parties in China's political system. If Luo Longji's "Rehabilitation Committee" was to review the policies of the Communist Party of China.

It expresses the need to supervise the CCP.

So what Zhang Bojun proposed was to directly participate in the formulation of the CCP's policies.

They call themselves the "Political Design Institute," but in reality, they are simply trying to increase the voice of democratic parties in political decision-making. They use "secret reports" as a weapon and democratic decision-making as a slogan to form a coalition government with the CCP.

"The third issue concerns 'Party rule' and retirement. Chu Anping believes the retirement system is a very progressive one, capable of curbing the Stalinist problems revealed in the 'Secret Report.' However, he stated that the retirement policies formulated at the Eighth National Congress and the First National People's Congress are problematic. He stated that the current retirement policy favors CCP members while penalizing members of other democratic parties and non-party members, and is therefore an unfair system."

"He cited the example that all current vice premiers of the State Council are members of the Communist Party of China, and ministers of various ministries are also basically members of the Communist Party of China. When members of the Communist Party of China are about to reach retirement age, they can be promoted to avoid retirement. But members of democratic parties and independents do not have such opportunities."

"So he believes that China's current political landscape is trending towards 'Party rule.' Under this trend, the retirement policy established in 1952 is unfair. The retirement system should be revised and should not favor Communist Party members. This is inconsistent with the spirit of the original political consultation system."

Of course there are many other explanations.

But these are the most representative.

Other statements can basically be classified into these three opinions.

They know that since the founding of the People's Republic of China, great achievements have been made in all aspects. Just look at the recent fanfare the People's Daily has been promoting for the eighth anniversary of the National Day, with article after article praising the country's achievements. Major newspapers across the country are rushing to reprint the articles.

Even many newspapers in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia are reprinting the article from the People's Daily.

The occasion was unprecedented.

Under this circumstance, it is not easy for them to attack directly from this aspect.

So they're focusing on one thing: Khrushchev's "Secret Report." Look, this is an article written by the current leader of the Soviet Communist Party, criticizing former Soviet leaders. And not just Soviet leaders, but former leaders of the international communist movement, including the Chinese Communist Party, which was once under Stalin's leadership.

Therefore, Stalin’s problem is also the CCP’s problem, and no one can escape it.

Why did Stalin make mistakes?

It is because of the lack of democracy and supervision.

So they started directly from this aspect, demanding the establishment of a "Rehabilitation Committee" and a "Political Design Institute." Finally, Chu Anping directly criticized the current retirement system, believing that it was too unfair to democratic parties and non-partisans.

After Wei Hongjun summarized these three aspects, he said, "Everyone, please share your thoughts."

"Some of the issues they raise are indeed valid and reasonable. We should listen to them and make some corrections. However, the solutions they propose are inappropriate and problematic. Not only should we not accept them, we should also take a firm stance."

Deng Xixian spoke first.

He is very sharp.

Deng Xixian was impressed by Wei Hongjun's quick ability to summarize the United Front Work Department's symposium into three key areas. The key points were immediately clear: supervision, democracy, and finally, organizational procedures.

If all of this is achieved, the influence of democratic parties in China's political landscape will expand rapidly.

They raised some questions.

But their methods are tainted with "private agendas." Therefore, Deng Xixian stated, "Central government policies affect such a vast region and such a large population. Our work cannot be perfect, and some wrongful convictions are inevitable. We must acknowledge this. However, the correct approach to addressing this issue is to strengthen review processes. This work can be entrusted to the Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Supervision. Their job is not only to oversee Party committees and government agencies, but also the political and legal system. Reexamining past cases is also the responsibility of the Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Supervision. There's no need to establish a special 'rehabilitation committee.'"

They want to use the "Rehabilitation Committee" to supervise the policies of the Party and the government.

Actually, it’s not impossible.

The CCP’s rule and the supervision by democratic parties and non-party members is also a political design.

However, using the current "Secret Report" as an opportunity to play this game is unacceptable because the timing is inappropriate. If the central government accepts such a proposal, then chaos will ensue throughout the country. If various cases are publicly redressed, then a Chinese version of the "Secret Report" will emerge.

Deng Xixian still has principles in this regard.

We must uphold the leadership of the Party and the socialist system.

Besides, New China is developing so well now, and Deng Xixian can't allow anyone to come and disrupt it. Wei Hongjun looked at Dong Biwu and said, "Comrade Dong Biwu, what do you think?"

Currently, Dong Biwu has the most experience in the Secretariat.

If it weren't for the conflict between Dong Biwu and the Chairman and Comrade Xiuyang over the issue of "separation of party and government" in the early days of the People's Republic of China, which led to criticism from the Central Committee, Dong Biwu's qualifications and rank within the Party at the time might have made him a member of the Politburo Standing Committee earlier than Wei Hongjun.

Dong Biwu also carefully read the speeches at the symposium.

When Wei Hongjun questioned him, Dong Biwu put down the documents in his hand. Dong Biwu supported the "separation of party and government," but he insisted on the party's leadership. The Politburo had also held several meetings regarding Comrade Khrushchev's "secret report."

It's about discussing how to deal with it.

So he knew that it was definitely problematic for the democrats to use the "secret report" to cause trouble at the symposium.

Looking at the report before him, Dong Biwu said, "A 'Rehabilitation Committee' can be established, but not now. Problems are already beginning to arise in the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries, and they're not minor. Society as a whole is in a state of chaos. Our country needs stability more than ever at this time, especially political stability. Only when there are no political problems can we achieve economic and social stability. Therefore, we should be more resolute in our rejection of this issue."

"I think Comrade Deng Xixian's views are very reasonable. We should strengthen the supervisory power of the Supervisory Commission and the Ministry of Supervision, and strengthen the professional capabilities of the political and legal departments. One is to prevent wrongful convictions, and the other is to supervise and correct the occurrence and aftermath of wrongful convictions."

They are all senior cadres of the Party.

Understand what is happening now in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.

So I know that China needs stability now.

"I think the idea of ​​a 'Political Design Institute' has merit. Just like the existence of a military general staff during wartime, we do need this concept in everything we do. Our government departments and agencies also need their own general staffs. But it's not what Zhang Bojun said."

Deng Xixian continued to express his views.

"In fact, many of our ministries have similar departments. Some departments have their own 'Policy Research Offices,' which essentially serve as advisors. It's just that some ministries prioritize this, while others don't. I think this should be taken seriously. Every ministry should have a dedicated 'Policy Research Office' to provide a basis for policymaking. However, this is a consulting agency, not a decision-making body."

Zhang Bojun wanted to establish a "Political Design Institute" to directly participate in the decision-making of New China.

That’s a good idea.

It is really smart to use this method to implement joint governance with the Communist Party of China.

But the CCP is not stupid either.

His ideas had merit, but the solutions he proposed were self-serving and miscellaneous. Deng Xixian adopted their suggestions but rejected their solutions. In fact, many ministries and commissions under the State Council currently have their own "advisory bodies."

Not to mention the Party Central Committee's "Policy Research Office," the Ministry of Rural Affairs also has its own "Policy Research Office." The State Council's ministries and commissions have "Planning Departments" under them, which house many experts and talents.

The CCP came from the Tubalu (Tubalu) movement, but precisely because of this, it places greater emphasis on this aspect of development.

Chen Tanqiu continued, "Yes, our Party and state government agencies all have similar departments. However, many of these departments are not formally established. Some have their own staffing structure, while others are just temporary agencies within certain ministries. We can strengthen this aspect."

Wei Hongjun listened to everyone's discussion and recorded his own thoughts.

The first generation of Chinese Communist Party leaders all emerged from the bloody storm. Even if some of them rose to high positions due to special circumstances, such as Xiang Zhongfa, those without ability were eliminated long ago during the war years.

So no matter what his personality or revolutionary ideals are, his abilities are beyond reproach.

Look at this Secretariat meeting.

One is smarter than the other.