Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Because the National People’s Congress meeting is divided into many parts.

Each part of the meeting needs to be chaired by someone. That's why so many executive chairmen are elected, and their job is to take turns chairing the general meeting.

Comrade Xiuyang chaired the preparatory committee for this conference, chaired the NPC committee, and served as both the executive chairman and standing chairman of the presidium. Therefore, he presided over the first day of the NPC and delivered the opening remarks.

There wasn't much to discuss on the first day.

Representatives from the CPC Central Committee, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), ambassadors to China, and various foreign organizations spoke on stage, congratulating the convening of China's Second National People's Congress. Wei Hongjun, as he chairs the Secretariat, also spoke on behalf of the CPC Central Committee, expressing congratulations and expectations for the conference.

The next day we started to discuss the formal issues.

Premier Wu Hao, on behalf of the State Council, delivered a "Government Report" to the National People's Congress representatives covering the five years from 1952 to 1956. While the report covered a wide range of topics, the Premier focused on the achievements of the First Five-Year Plan. Needless to say, New China's First Five-Year Plan was highly successful, with most plans successfully completed two or three years ahead of schedule.

So I was very passionate about making this report.

Almost every time the Prime Minister said a few words or gave a few numbers, he would be interrupted by applause.

Although everyone knew that the First Five-Year Plan was a success, hearing the Prime Minister's figures still made people excited. So, driven by the atmosphere of the whole audience, there was thunderous applause and continuous cheers.

The Premier's report on the oil sector was particularly well-received by the audience. Besides providing a comprehensive report on the oil sector, he also highlighted the good news from the Songliao oil campaign.

The Ministry of Petroleum began exploring the Songliao Oilfield in 1951, and discovered industrial oil and gas in 1952. Although the Ministry of Petroleum mainly developed the Liaohe Oilfield, it never gave up exploring the Songliao Oilfield, nor did it give up building roads and houses here to prepare for the subsequent major battle.

In 1955, more and more troops and workers began to enter the Songliao Oilfield to develop it. In 1956, the Songliao Oil Campaign took place, with over people entering the field, far exceeding the scale of the Daqing Oil Campaign.

And we are more prepared than in history.

After several years of exploration, we had a general plan for the oil field. In addition, roads and houses had been built here in the past few years, so the oil team had no worries after the major battle.

As a result, in 1956, the crude oil production of Songliao Oilfield reached 290 million tons, surpassing Liaohe Oilfield to become the oilfield with the highest crude oil production in China. And according to the current situation, in 1957, the crude oil production of Songliao Oilfield will reach 500 million tons.

The rapid increase in crude oil production has caused the refineries and oil pipelines currently under construction to lag behind.

According to the Premier, the Songliao Oilfield's crude oil production would reach 1956 million tons in 1957, 1958, and 1500, contributing at least 14 billion yuan to the treasury. Not only would all the previous investment have been recouped, but a net profit of over million yuan would have been realized. This is the hallmark of industry.

The investment is large, but the accumulation is also amazing.

Consider the Songliao Oilfield, which had only just begun large-scale development. However, by 1958, it was already recovering its investment and generating profits. Of all the projects invested in by New China, the Songliao Oilfield would become the most profitable.

The Prime Minister also announced that China would be completely self-sufficient in oil from this point on, and even had surplus oil that could be exported to neighboring countries in exchange for needed products or foreign exchange.

At the same time, due to the great success of the Songliao Oil Campaign, the State Council awarded many awards for this campaign.

It can be said that the oil front stole the show at this National People's Congress.

After the Premier's government report, Comrade Deng Xixian briefed the deputies on the contents of the Second Five-Year Plan. These reports were, in fact, merely formalities, as the deputies had already carefully reviewed the specific reports on the First and Second Five-Year Plans during their group meetings.

However, reading materials and listening to reports are two different things.

Just like everyone has seen the data files for the First Five-Year Plan, hearing the Premier explain those figures still makes one's blood boil. The National People's Congress representatives finally voted to approve the Second Five-Year Plan.

Then Li Fuchun made a report on the "State Final Accounts for 1956 and the Draft State Budgets for and ," which reported on the state's financial situation in , including revenue and expenditures in various areas.

Summarize the financial problems that occurred in 1956.

Which areas of revenue fell short of the budget? Which areas of work went wrong? Next, which areas of expenditure exceeded the budget? What needs to be corrected? Then, the 1957 fiscal budget situation.

Finally, the budget for 1958 needs to be approved by the National People's Congress.

After Deng Xixian's presentation, Marshal Nie gave a report on political and legal work. He outlined the current state of political and legal work across the country, including developments at the county, district, and township levels. Qian Ying, representing the Ministry of Supervision, then gave a report on supervisory work.

The Guangxi incident that caused a sensation at the Ninth National Congress was brought up again at the National People's Congress.

It became the focus of everyone's discussion.

Several cadres who had already been punished were brought out again at the National People's Congress meeting and had their corpses flogged.

The "Criminal Law Amendment No. 1" submitted by the Legal Affairs Committee was formally passed at this meeting. This was the first amendment to the Criminal Law after the First National People's Congress passed it.

The "Criminal Law Amendment No. 1" officially added two criminal offenses to the original Criminal Law: "malfeasance" and "leaking state secrets." It also amended some existing offenses.

Especially in the "Economic Law", the most revisions were made in terms of violations of criminal law, and a lot of content was added.

The main reason is that China's economic situation has changed so rapidly in recent years, with the proliferation of enterprises of varying ownership structures and the increasing dynamism of economic activity. This has led to many unforeseen issues arising, and also to numerous disputes between companies.

Even some heavy industrial enterprises that have received significant state investment have had disputes with other companies. However, these were not anticipated beforehand, so there is a legal loophole.

The original "Economic Law," "Company Law," and "Contract Law" have all begun to develop loopholes and are no longer able to explain current economic activities. Therefore, this conference has made many amendments to these laws.

Then there's the matter of setting up some new departments.

The main purpose of this time is to establish the Ministry of National Defense.

The Ministry of National Defense was established to facilitate engagement with other countries. Currently, the Central Military Commission (CMC) is the highest leadership body in China's armed forces. Compared to its historical status, the CCP's position in the People's Republic of China is more secure, and therefore, it is not constrained in many areas.

It's like eight ministries.

Historically, the central government was overly cautious, always hesitant to use the term "Party Army" out of concern for its negative impact. Therefore, after the establishment of the eight ministries and commissions, they were all referred to as the PLA's eight ministries and commissions, rather than the CMC's eight ministries and commissions. Even after the establishment of the Ministry of National Defense, the division of responsibilities between the CMC and the Ministry of National Defense was unclear. To put it bluntly, the central government hesitated too much at the time. But now, the central government is straightforward and openly referring to the CMC's eight ministries and commissions.

The Central Military Commission directly leads the People's Liberation Army and openly calls for strengthening the Party's leadership at military meetings.

Therefore, the establishment of the Ministry of National Defense this time is not to add a new Central Military Commission.

The central government's intentions regarding the establishment of the Ministry of National Defense are relatively straightforward. The Central Military Commission directly engages with the militaries of other countries, something other countries often struggle to understand. Therefore, the Ministry of National Defense's mission is to engage with other countries and conduct military diplomacy, not to lead the military. While this hasn't been explicitly stated, the Ministry of National Defense is essentially a department within the Central Military Commission.

Marshal Ye was appointed the first Minister of National Defense. Ten people were appointed as Deputy Ministers of National Defense: Yang Quanwu, Director of the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense; Deng Guo, Chief of the General Staff; Tan Zheng, Director of the General Political Department; Wang Zhi, Minister of the General Personnel Department; Zhang Zhongxun, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff; Liu Yalou, Commander of the Air Force; Xiao Jinguang, Commander of the Navy; Xu Guangda, Commander of the Armored Forces; Wang Xinting, Secretary-General of the Central Military Commission; and Su Yu, Vice President of the Academy of Military Sciences.

The Ministry of National Defense has set up an office directly within the Central Military Commission.

Following these adjustments, the Central Committee is preparing to dismantle the Armed Forces Supervision Department within the CMC. Military supervision will be managed by the General Staff Headquarters, political supervision by the General Political Department, and logistics and financial supervision by the General Logistics Department. This will reduce the CMC's headquarters from eight to six.

The next topic is what the Party Central Committee is most concerned about.

That's the retirement issue.

The commander-in-chief had not appeared in front of everyone for a long time, but he appeared in front of everyone again at this meeting. He made a "retirement report" and was truly admired by everyone.

Because the commander-in-chief can be said to be one of the highest leaders of the party and the country.

The Commander-in-Chief could retire at his age, but no one could force him to do so if he didn't want to. He could have served another term. But the Commander-in-Chief chose to retire without any regrets.

His "retirement report" reviewed his revolutionary career and then expressed high hopes for the future of New China. The whole report reveals the greatness of a true Communist Party member.

After the commander-in-chief retired, a long list of current central leading cadres followed. Except for the cadres on the CCP side, all of them were cadres from democratic parties and non-party cadres.

Li Jisen, Shen Junru, Huang Yanpei, Chen Shutong, Cheng Qian, He Xiangning, Tang Shengzhi, Lu Han, Ma Yinchu, Zhang Zhizhong—a row of names. If it were during the Republican era, each of these people would have been a renowned figure, powerful enough to call the shots in their respective fields.

Even after the founding of the People's Republic of China, their status was very high. Most of their administrative ranks were comparable to the marshals of the Communist Party of China, and several of them even had administrative ranks higher than marshals.

Now they are all retiring due to age.

There was no noise.

After this year, everyone has seen that the Communist Party's ruling foundation in China is very solid, the country's economy is booming, and the people's support for the Party is very high, which cannot be shaken by some public opinion.

Be mentally prepared.

Besides, they also have to maintain their composure and not lose their composure in such meetings.

So I accepted the decision to retire very calmly.

Next is the election of the President of the State, the Chairman of the National People's Congress, the Premier of the State Council, the President of the Supreme People's Court, and the Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

The election of the President of the country will be held first.

The procedure is that Executive Chairman Peng Zhen first announces a list of candidates based on joint nominations from the conference presidium members and the heads and deputy heads of each representative group. He then asks the representatives if they have any alternative nominations. He also explains that if they disagree with the nominees on the list, they can elect someone of their choice or themselves.

There is no suspense about this.

Unless the Chairman indicates that he will withdraw from the election, no one can compete with him.

Comrade Li Desheng was once again elected President of the People's Republic of China with a high vote. This was his third time being elected President of the People's Republic of China. The first time was at the First CPPCC Conference before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the second time was at the First National People's Congress, and this was his third time.

Next is the selection of Vice President of the State.

Song Qingling and Nie Shuai were elected as Vice Presidents of the State.

Then comes the election of the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the National People's Congress.

Comrade Xiuyang was elected Chairman of the National People's Congress, and Guo Moruo, Peng Zhen, Luo Shuai, Lin Shuai, Liu Shuai, Ye Shuai, the Dalai Lama, Saifuding, Panchen Erdeni Qoigyijabu, Lin Feng, Shi Liang, and Liao Chengzhi were elected Vice Chairmen of the National People's Congress.

Peng Zhen serves as the Secretary-General of the National People's Congress and handles the daily work of the National People's Congress.

The changes in this NPC are very obvious.

Previously, the majority of the NPC's vice-chairmen were pro-democracy figures, but this time, the majority are members of the Communist Party of China. With the retirement of a number of core members of the democratic parties, the democratic parties are left with no successors. Those who truly held great influence during the Republican era have largely retired this time.

Then, President Li Desheng nominated Comrade Wu Hao as Premier of the State Council, and he was elected with a high vote. Following the Premier's nomination, Deng Xixian, Li Fuchun, General Chen, Li Xiannian, Bo Shuchun, Li Xuefeng, Zeng Shan, Lin Feng, General He, and Luo Shuai were appointed Vice Premiers.

Ye Jizhuang is the Secretary-General of the State Council.

Ma Xiwu was elected President of the Supreme People's Court, and Zhang Dingcheng was elected Procurator-General of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

With the conclusion of these elections, the Second National People's Congress came to a successful conclusion.

The problems that needed to be solved have basically been solved.

1025 Chinese Delegation

On October 1957, 10, the Second National People's Congress ended.

The central government began to make many adjustments.

After all, with so many people retiring at once, there are still many to fill in. Overall, however, the problem isn't very serious. After the Ninth National Congress, most of the necessary adjustments have already been made.

The National People's Congress meeting is more about confirming these things.

Wei Hongjun has been very busy lately, not because of any cadre adjustments, but because the Secretariat has been issuing various documents related to the Party Committee departments based on the results of the National People's Congress.

Like the "malfeasance" and "leaking state secrets" crimes and so on.

The Political and Legal Affairs Commission and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection both issue documents, but none are as influential or deterrent as those issued by the Secretariat, which represents the Party Central Committee. The Secretariat not only compiles these new legal provisions but also adds its own assessment.

Then it is distributed to local party committees at all levels.

The Central Military Commission is also making adjustments.

The Armed Forces Supervision Department was officially abolished and merged into the General Staff Headquarters, the General Political Department, and the General Logistics Department. Ye Shuai, the head of the Armed Forces Supervision Department, was not affected, as he still held numerous other positions. However, all other cadres were reassigned. Zhou Chunquan, the first deputy head of the Armed Forces Supervision Department, was transferred to the General Political Department as deputy head.

Zhou Chunquan has a long history. He joined the Party in 1926 and participated in the Huangma Uprising.

He was once a giant figure in the Four Fronts Army.

However, as Zhang Guotao's key figure in the anti-counterrevolutionary campaign, Zhou Chunquan's reputation within the Fourth Front Army was not good. Even Marshal Xu's wife was executed by Zhou Chunquan. Therefore, aside from Chen Changhao, Zhou Chunquan was the cadre most influenced by Zhang Guotao within the Fourth Front Army. A prominent figure in the Fourth Front Army, Zhou Chunquan had once held a high position in the Politburo, but his career subsequently declined, ultimately relegated to military logistics.

He himself knew that his historical problems were very serious, so he kept a very low profile during and after the several Red Army meetings.

He went wherever the central government assigned him and never complained.