Rebirth: I am in Jin-Cha-Ji

Working in the Organization Department, Chen Tanqiu has seen many different types of cadres.

We see more cadres like Pan Fusheng. They have the ability, and given enough space to develop, they can do things well. But when asked to push things forward, the work stalls. This kind of cadre is unsuitable for the top position.

"So what are your thoughts? Do you suggest that the Politburo restructure Comrade Pan Fusheng, or do you suggest that some cadres of the Henan Party Committee be restructured?"

Chen Tanqiu had already discerned Wei Hongjun's dissatisfaction with the Henan Party Committee from Wei's report. If the Politburo Standing Committee, responsible for Party affairs at the Central Committee, was dissatisfied with the work of the local provincial Party committee, it would undoubtedly require adjustments to the provincial Party committee's departments.

However, Chen Tanqiu didn’t know whether Wei Hongjun wanted to adjust Pan Fusheng or other personnel of the provincial party committee.

Chen Tanqiu was the head of the Organization Department and was supposed to work with Wei Hongjun on Party affairs. Whenever Wei Hongjun wanted to restructure the cadre ranks, Chen Tanqiu would consider how to do it and come up with a plan.

"The Second Session of the Ninth Central Committee just reshuffled several provincial Party secretaries. It's not appropriate to adjust Comrade Pan Fusheng's position now. I think the main focus should be on organizational and propaganda cadres."

"Speaking of propaganda, Henan Province has even more problems. When Comrade Wu Zhipu was in Henan, he always imposed his will on Henan's propaganda department, causing them to only follow the Party committee and government agencies, without having any ideas of their own."

"While local propaganda departments are supposed to accept the leadership of the Party, this isn't the case in Henan. They need to be more active and serve as a line of defense for supervising Party committees and government agencies, rather than just spouting Party jargon. Henan's propaganda department may appear loud and active, but it's actually stagnant and lacks any independent thinking."

Chen Tanqiu nodded.

As long as the adjustments are not made to cadres at the provincial party secretary level like Pan Fusheng, the Organization Department still has a lot of say in the adjustments of other cadres.

So after thinking for a while, he said, "What do you think of Comrade Pei Hongchang? Let him go to Henan and serve as the deputy secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee, responsible for the party affairs of the Henan Provincial Party Committee."

This is not Chen Tanqiu’s first day working in the Organization Department, so he takes all aspects into consideration when handling matters.

Zhao Wenfu, currently Secretary of the Secretariat of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Minister of the Organization Department, is a local cadre in Henan. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, he was a cadre of the New Fourth Army. During the War of Liberation, he became a cadre of the Central Plains Bureau and later of the Central-South Bureau.

Henan has many former Central Plains Bureau cadres. When Chen Tanqiu restructured Party affairs in Henan, he wouldn't randomly assign any cadre to Henan. It just so happened that Pei Hongchang, the current Deputy Minister of the Central Organization Department, was a cadre from the Shanxi-Hebei-Shandong-Henan region and had served as the Henan Organization Minister during the War of Liberation.

Pei Hongchang also held a high rank, having previously served as Deputy Minister of the Central Organization Department. Chen Tanqiu had already begun considering candidates for the future Henan Provincial Party Secretary. If the central government reshuffled Pan Fusheng's position, Pei Hongchang would be well-placed to take over.

Wei Hongjun thought about it and didn't object. He simply wanted to overhaul Party affairs in Henan, and he hadn't specified who would be sent there. Creating a clique and sending former North China Bureau cadres would be detrimental to Wei Hongjun's current work. It would also make veteran revolutionaries like Chen Tanqiu look down on him.

Pei Hongchang is a perfect fit. He has experience, ability, and is familiar with the new policies of the Secretariat.

"As for the propaganda cadres, we still need to discuss it with the Propaganda Department. Let the Propaganda Department propose a few candidates, and the Secretariat will discuss them."

"it is good."

1047

Wei Hongjun did not immediately discuss the inspection system within the Secretariat because he wanted to give the Organization Department, the Supervisory Commission, and the Political and Legal Affairs Commission some time to discuss it internally and come up with ideas that suited their departments.

Of course, Wei Hongjun also exchanged his ideas on the inspection system with other secretaries and alternate secretaries of the Secretariat.

Everyone should be aware of this. This way, when the Secretariat formally discusses the inspection system, everyone can fully express their opinions. This can also prevent unexpected events from occurring during the meeting.

Furthermore, the inspection system was no small matter; it couldn't be discussed within the small circle of the Secretariat. So, upon returning to Beijing, Wei Hongjun reported to the Chairman and sought his advice.

At the same time, we should also inform Comrade Xiuyang, the Premier, Marshal Nie and others of this idea.

If the Secretariat approves the proposal without discussing it with the Chairman, then if the Chairman or other Politburo Standing Committee members have other ideas, but the Secretariat has already approved the proposal, it is equivalent to putting pressure on the Chairman and the other Politburo Standing Committee members to approve it.

After all, under the current circumstances, some of the things approved by the Secretariat under the leadership of Wei Hongjun are difficult for even the Chairman to directly oppose, not to mention the other Politburo Standing Committee members. This is to protect the prestige of Wei Hongjun and the Secretariat.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun needs to keep in touch with the Chairman and others on some important issues and listen more to their opinions.

After hearing Wei Hongjun's report, the Chairman didn't immediately express his opinion. At the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee, the Chairman had already considered integrating the inspection system with intra-Party oversight, rather than the special envoy system. However, there was a subtle push within the Party and the military to reject the special envoy system, so the content of the Sixth Plenary Session was not further developed. Now that Wei Hongjun wanted to restructure the inspection system, the Chairman wanted to see the specifics.

The Chairman has always attached great importance to investigation and research, and the inspection system that Wei Hongjun is now outlining has a strong investigation and research system.

While the Chairman didn't directly support the initiative, he did not oppose it. As long as the inspection system is not the previous system of special envoys, but can improve intra-Party oversight and increase channels for dialogue with grassroots people, the Chairman supports it.

In addition to the inspection system, Wei Hongjun focused his report on the situation in Henan. Henan is a key province in the Second Five-Year Plan. Several key industrial projects are expected to be completed in Henan. Zhengzhou was a key industrial investment city during the First Five-Year Plan, and again became a key industrial development city during the Second Five-Year Plan. Numerous industrial projects are being established in several cities in Henan. Furthermore, Henan is focusing on water conservancy projects and fertile farmland development to ensure an increase in grain production. By the end of the Second Five-Year Plan, Henan's grain production target is approximately 400 billion jin.

However, if we want to achieve these goals, it is easy for some deviations to occur given the current situation of the Henan Provincial Party Committee, which has no guiding spirit at all.

The Chairman listened to Wei Hongjun's report and agreed with his ideas. He had visited Henan several times during his inspection tours in recent years and had consistently criticized the work of the Henan Provincial Party Committee. The current Henan Provincial Party Committee lacked a clear direction. While Wu Zhipu was disorganized, he had his own ideas. Therefore, the Chairman agreed to restructure some of the Henan Provincial Party Committee's cadres. He asked the Secretariat to deliberate on the matter and then submit a report.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun would focus on Henan's affairs. He discussed several times with Deng He, secretary of the Cultural and Educational Work Committee, and Duan Chengwei, acting head of the Propaganda Department, about sending a strong cadre to overhaul Henan's propaganda work.

First, we must truly publicize the major projects being undertaken by Henan cadres and the public. In recent years, Henan cadres and the public have done a lot to improve Henan's harsh natural environment, but the publicity has been mediocre. Henan newspapers are overloaded with official-style articles, filled with Party jargon, and lacking any publicity. Wei Hongjun needs Henan's propaganda department to report truthfully while also boosting morale and raising the enthusiasm of Henan cadres and the public for production. In this regard, Henan's propaganda agencies are woefully inadequate.

Second, we must be bold in criticizing certain issues. Don't think that criticizing or uncovering certain issues is detrimental to socialist development. On the contrary, covering up these issues is what truly harms socialist development. As long as it's for the sake of building a better socialism, criticizing and offering suggestions on certain issues is essential to socialist propaganda.

After discussing the matter, Deng He and Duan Chengwei recommended Li Zhenjun, director of the Propaganda Department's Propaganda Division, to Wei Hongjun. The Propaganda Division, a merger of the former Political Education Division, Current Affairs Division, and Mass Propaganda Division, oversaw important propaganda work within the department and held a high position.

Wei Hongjun is quite familiar with Li Zhenjun, a 38-year-old cadre rescued from the Northeast coal mines by the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. He was a member of the Third Anti-Japanese Regiment. Historically, Li Zhenjun was promoted to colonel in 1955 and senior colonel in 1960. He served as the Secretary of the Hunan Provincial Party Committee in the s and married General He's eldest daughter for the second time.

Li Zhenjun escaped on his own, so he was interrogated and delayed for over a year. In the end, it was Li Zhenjun's former leader, Long Daoquan, who testified for him and spoke up for him, which finally ended the investigation. However, even after passing the investigation, he still didn't become a regimental political commissar until the Liberation War. But in this time and space, after being rescued, Li Zhenjun directly served as the political commissar of the 7th Special Agent Regiment in the Hebei-Rehe-Chahar Military Region.

The starting point was already much higher than in history. Furthermore, Li Zhenjun's organizational and propaganda abilities were truly first-rate. Just like the historical summary and publicity of Dong Cunrui's heroic deeds, Li Zhenjun's ability to uncover these heroic deeds, promote them, and enhance the troops' fighting spirit was astonishing.

As a result, he was very popular in the army. When the People's Republic of China was founded, he was already in charge of propaganda work in the Corps Political Department, and his rank reached the rank of full general. Moreover, his organizational and propaganda skills were so outstanding that even local people knew his name.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Central Propaganda Department continued to expand. At its peak, it comprised sixteen departments and three offices, with a staff of over four hundred. However, there weren't enough cadres at the time, so the Propaganda Department drew cadres from local areas and the military. Li Zhenjun happened to be well-known, so the Propaganda Department transferred him from the military to serve as Director of the Political Education Department. Soon, the Political Education Department, the Current Affairs Propaganda Department, and the Mass Propaganda Department were merged into the Propaganda Department, with Li Zhenjun serving as Director. This department was essentially a department-level unit within each ministry, and it was the core department within the Propaganda Department. Based on Li Zhenjun's rank and his performance over the years within the Propaganda Department, the Propaganda Department was ready to recommend him for the position of Deputy Director.

Wei Hongjun agreed with the Propaganda Department's opinion. Li Zhenjun was indeed an exceptional cadre. Although a military veteran, his writing was no less impressive than those of the literati; in fact, it was more vivid and resonant. Furthermore, as a military officer at the rank of corps commander, his organizational skills were unmatched by the average cadre. He had also spent seven or eight years in the Central Propaganda Department and was well-versed in central policy. However, Wei Hongjun still asked the Propaganda Department to select several more candidates and submit them to the Secretariat.

While Wei Hongjun and other comrades were discussing the Henan issue, the Henan Provincial Party Committee also reported to the Secretariat on the results of the handling of the Xinyang issue.

After much discussion, the Henan Provincial Party Committee and the Henan Provincial Government decided to immediately disband the supply and marketing cooperatives established at the city and county levels in Xinyang, and all staff members of these cooperatives were dismissed. Following the directives of the Ministry of Rural Affairs, agricultural and sideline product markets were established in Xinyang and various county towns, allowing rural cooperatives to enter urban markets.

Xinyang Prefectural Party Committee Secretary Lu Xianwen and Xinyang Commissioner Zhang Shufan, two key cadres in Xinyang, defied central government policies, engaged in rampant localism, and disregarded Party discipline. The Provincial Party Committee showed no leniency for their unorganized and undisciplined behavior and expelled them from the Party and removed them from their posts. In Xinyang and Luoshan counties, where the most serious cases were reported, Xu Guoliang, First Secretary of the Xinyang County Party Committee, and Xu Wenbo, First Secretary of the Luoshan County Party Committee, were directly responsible and were also expelled from the Party and removed from their posts by the Provincial Party Committee. A long list of individuals follows, some expelled from the Party, others placed on probation.

Wei Hongjun looked at the Henan Provincial Party Committee's report and was at a loss as to how to comment on it. What was the Henan Provincial Party Committee trying to do?

The Xinyang incident is indeed serious, and the cadres there need to be severely punished and given a good warning. However, their problems do not warrant expulsion from the Party. Expelling them from the Party simply for problems will only make it difficult for lower-level cadres to function in the future. This matter must be addressed, but we cannot impose arbitrary penalties simply because central leadership is watching and public opinion is influencing them. Even if the provincial Party committee wants to punish cadres, it cannot do so arbitrarily. If cadres are dealt with so arbitrarily, then what is the point of the Organization Department, the Party Constitution, and the Party's disciplinary regulations?

Wei Hongjun is now dissatisfied not only with Pan Fusheng, the provincial party secretary, but also with Wen Minsheng, the governor of Henan Province. After Wen Minsheng was transferred to Henan, he played no role.

Punishment should be based on the facts, not simply expelling someone from the Party. What else is there to defy the Central Committee's orders? Although the Xinyang cadres violated the policies of the Rural Work Department, they did not go so far as to defy the Central Committee's orders.

Therefore, Wei Hongjun did not comment on the Henan Provincial Party Committee's report and directly returned it to the Henan Provincial Party Committee. Wei Hongjun directly called Pan Fusheng to express his disagreement with the Henan Provincial Party Committee's arbitrary punishment.

After several days of deliberation, the Secretariat formally approved the proposal and transferred Zhao Wenfu, formerly Secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee Secretariat and Head of the Organization Department, to serve as Deputy Director of the Second Office of the Secretariat.

The Secretariat has seven offices, each assigned to one of the seven secretaries. The Secretariat's First Office, which overlaps with a section of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, houses a team of secretaries working for Wei Hongjun. Zhao Han serves as Wei Hongjun's personal political secretary, deputy director and section chief of the Political Secretary's Office of the CPC Central Committee, and director of the Secretariat's First Office.

The Second Office is responsible for the work of the Organization Department and serves as the secretariat for Chen Tanqiu to handle matters.

These offices wield considerable power and high rank. When the People's Republic of China was first established, the directors of these secretariat offices were officials at or above the fifth administrative level, and upon their release, they held the rank of ministerial-level officials within the Central Government.

Later, the Secretariat's status declined, but those currently appointed as Office Directors are usually at the vice-ministerial level. Zhao Wenfu's work in Henan was questionable, but he was, after all, a veteran cadre who had participated in the revolution for many years. Chen Tanqiu initially assigned him to the Secretariat's Second Office to assess his performance before assigning him another position.

Pei Hongchang, Deputy Minister of Organization, was appointed as Deputy Secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Minister of Organization, in charge of party affairs. The first thing Pei Hongchang did after arriving in Henan was to re-deal with the Xinyang issue.

Wei Hongjun's point was that adjustments needed to be made to the cadres of the Henan Provincial Party Committee and the provincial government. Some cadres in Henan Province were showing a serious case of factionalism, and it would be best to get them out of their old nests.

Wei Hongjun mentioned the work in Anyang and Lin Xiao, Deputy Secretary of the Anyang Prefectural Party Committee and Commissioner of the Anyang Public Security Bureau. Anyang has experienced remarkable development in recent years, all independently, without any state investment. Anyang officials, from top to bottom, share a strong belief in self-reliance and fearlessness of hardship.

These places with positive work styles can be used to transfer some cadres to serve in other prefectural party committees and offices.

Song Yuxi, the former head of Henan's Propaganda Department, was transferred to serve as the head of the Henan Provincial Party Committee's United Front Work Department and vice chairman of the Henan CPPCC. Song Yuxi, a former cadre from Pingyuan Province, was subsequently appointed as the head of Henan's Propaganda Department after Pingyuan Province was merged into Henan Province. Instead of supporting the work of Provincial Party Secretary Pan Fusheng, he actively sided with Wu Zhipu and criticized Pan Fusheng. Despite this grudge, Song Yuxi remained firmly in his position as head of the Propaganda Department after Wu Zhipu left Henan.

The Secretariat transferred Li Zhenjun, director of the Propaganda Department of the Propaganda Department, to Henan to serve as a member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Minister of the Provincial Party Committee Propaganda Department.

After the Secretariat approved the proposal, Wei Hongjun submitted the Secretariat's decision to the Politburo, which quickly approved it.

"What I'm most optimistic about during my trip south this time is rear-wheeled motorcycles. The market potential is enormous. If they can be mass-produced, annual sales of hundreds of millions will be easy. Our light industry must have this capability, gain market recognition, quickly accumulate funds, and feed back to our heavy industry."

Wei Hongjun not only handles the work of the Secretariat, but also does not forget to handle the work of the Scientific Work Committee.

Wei Hongjun talked with Bo Shuchun, Zhang Jingfu, Wang Zheng and other officials from the State Science and Technology Commission. Wei Hongjun introduced to them some of the things he saw during his trip south.

Three-wheeled motorcycles were particularly popular because Wei Hongjun knew that after a decade of development, many factories, some units, and grassroots handicraft cooperatives and rural cooperatives across the country had accumulated a certain amount of wealth.

This can be determined from the current data from banks across the country, especially deposits in credit unions, as well as the People's Bank of China's monetary reports.

The emergence of this rear-wheeled motorcycle will surely attract many units and cooperatives to purchase it because of its low price and wide range of uses.

Light industry is accumulating rapidly. If Hunan and Jiangxi can truly seize this opportunity, they will surely receive a windfall in their finances. This money can also be used to support the development of heavy industry.

Of course, Wei Hongjun mentioned this not to make the cadres of the State Science and Technology Commission envious, but because he believed it was a good way out, not only for rear three-wheeled motorcycles, but also for other fields.

So he continued, "I'm also using a transistor radio made in Shanghai, and it works great in every way, but we can't be satisfied with that. I wonder if you've been following the development of transistor radios in Japan?"

"some."

Bo Shuchun nodded.

"Ever since we decided to develop transistors, we've been collecting information on transistor developments around the world. We've also been keeping an eye on transistor radios. Sony radios from Japan have become popular in Hong Kong, and they're all transistor radios. A small number of these Sony radios have entered my country through Hong Kong."

Transistors, semiconductors, and computers are currently the focus of the National Science and Technology Commission.

Furthermore, with Wei Hongjun's statement, the National Science and Technology Commission is actively monitoring global semiconductor developments. Therefore, Bo Shuchun is certainly aware of the currently popular Sony radios.

"Yes, that's it."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

The rise of Japan's Sony Corporation is undoubtedly related to transistor radios. Sony was the first to launch transistor radios on a large scale, and later the first to miniaturize them, which quickly made the Sony brand known around the world.

He said, "Sony's transistor radios are even pocket-sized, suitable for fitting in a trouser pocket. Even better, they're very affordable. The kind you can carry around on the street cost less than $50, roughly the same as our Panda tube radios. I read in some foreign newspapers that Sony sold 1957 million radios in 150. Just imagine the profit potential, perhaps millions of dollars. A small radio can generate such sales and profits."

"Comrades, have you seen this? Japan's transistor radios are already ahead of us. Transistor research requires money, and transistor development also requires money. Where does this money come from? If we rely solely on government funding, our transistors will always be confined to the laboratory. So in addition to government funding, we also need to raise money ourselves. We must learn from Japan and develop transistor products."

"Only by using transistors in products on a large scale can we understand their shortcomings during use. We can improve them when problems arise, and this will promote the large-scale development of transistors in my country."

"That's why I mentioned the transistor radios in Shanghai. We need to support them, allowing them to continuously improve their technology and develop our own transistor radios. Then, we can put them on the market, both to test their quality and to generate profits. As long as the products are good, we can sell them to countries in the socialist camp and to Southeast Asia through the network of Chinese businessmen. Once we make money, we can manufacture even better products and raise funds for the development of transistors and semiconductors in my country."

"Will our transistor products be able to enter the international market and compete with Japanese products in the future to see whose products are better? This requires us to start from now on, not only focusing on the development of transistors in the laboratory, but also on the development of transistor products."

Zhang Jingfu heard Wei Hongjun's words and said, "Secretary Wei, if we want to combine laboratory and factory products, then the National Science and Technology Commission must set up its own factory. If we don't have our own factory, we will need to negotiate with other ministries and local governments every time, which will be very troublesome."

"It should be so."

Wei Hongjun nodded.

He said, "Look, your National Science and Technology Commission should write a report and I'll sign it. Then you can discuss this matter with other ministries and commissions. Shanghai has many factories and research institutes, and the foundation is very good. Comrade Ke Qingshi has been promoting Shanghai to become a leading city in my country's industrial technology, which is very consistent with our ideas. You should negotiate with the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government to develop transistor products in Shanghai. Radios are just one of them, and we want to produce more transistor products."

1048 Steel Standards Discussion

"The demand for steel is growing across the country, and the steel market is once again in short supply. Many places have reported that steel shortages are affecting production."

In September 1958, Chen Yun chaired a meeting on financial and economic affairs to discuss and resolve issues arising from the Second Five-Year Plan. State Council officials from various sectors, including industry, agriculture, and commerce, gathered. Wei Hongjun, as First Secretary of the Secretariat, also attended the meeting.

While this financial work conference addressed issues arising from the Second Five-Year Plan, its primary concern was the lack of resources needed for the country's rapid development. After more than a decade of development, China's industry, and therefore its economy, is poised for a major economic boom. Consequently, demand for various resources is skyrocketing, but heavy industry development is unable to provide sufficient resources for China's current economic growth.

Wei Hongjun's journey south revealed that the steel shortage wasn't a problem unique to Guangdong, Hunan, Jiangxi, or other places, but a nationwide problem. Steel shortages were now widespread across the country. Reports of insufficient steel supply were being made to the central government, impacting production.

Therefore, this meeting focused on the issue of steel supply.

"In recent years, our steel production has grown rapidly. The shortage of steel supply is mainly due to two problems."

Deng Xixian was the first to speak.

He is the First Deputy Secretary of the Financial and Economic Work Committee, the First Deputy Secretary of the State Council Party Leadership Group, and Vice Premier of the State Council. Therefore, he has a good understanding of these situations.