The Central Office of the Communist Party of China recently issued a document requiring the entire party to carry out investigations and research. The wording in the document is reminiscent of what Mao Zedong said in his speech at the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China a year before he launched the rectification movement.
According to a report by Xinhua News Agency on March 19, the document issued by the Central Office of the Communist Party of China is titled “A Work Plan for Prospering Investigation and Research in the Whole Party,” which states that investigation and research are the heirlooms of the Chinese Communist Party. The Party Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core attaches great importance to investigation and research work. Without investigation, there is no decision-making power; correct decision-making is inseparable from investigation and research, and the investigation and research in the whole party must adhere to the mass line, come from the masses, and go to the masses go. The full text mentions “investigation and research” 35 times and “the masses” 16 times.
Every time Mao Zedong launched a political campaign, he liked to use the guise of “investigation and research” and “taking the mass line”. When he seized power through the Yan’an rectification movement in 1941, he proposed to promote the style of investigation and research. In 1961, after detonating the Great Famine and falling into inner-party struggles, he brought up Daxing investigation and research again. In addition, at the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1956, Mao Zedong said that he would follow the mass line. In the second year, he launched a rectification movement to let the masses put forward criticisms and suggestions to the party. , The rectification movement within the party evolved into an anti-rightist movement that persecuted the intellectual class.
After more than 60 years, the wording of the Mao era has reappeared. Hubei netizen Sun Shuli told Radio Free Asia, “I feel like I want to consolidate the party, the second is loyalty, and the third is to engage in sports, just these six words.”
Mr. Song, a current affairs commentator, said, “Just like Mao Zedong led the snake out of the hole in 1957, let those with different voices speak through normal channels, so that they can know who is dissatisfied with the current policy or has misunderstood. Because recently various leaders, Including Wang Huning’s speech at the CPPCC meeting, they all emphasized the need for struggle.”
Zhao Renyi, a scholar on China issues, believes that the document of the Central Office of the Communist Party of China has two points in the final analysis. One is “the so-called follow the mass line, engage in policies close to the people, and do a little more superficial work. They are going to investigate and study. Who can do it now?” Tell the truth? Isn’t the real thing on the surface, and it still needs investigation and research, it’s not necessary at all”, and the other is “It should be like it was in 1957, that’s when we need to start a movement”.
The background of Mao Zedong’s rectification movement in 1957 was that there were changes in the international community. After Stalin’s death, the Communist International had a power gap. Although it ended in failure, the status of the Soviet Union was shaken. Mao Zedong wanted to compete with Moscow for leadership in the international arena, and at the same time worried that the social movements in Hungary and other countries would repeat themselves in China. At the same time, around the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Liu Shaoqi’s prestige rose, which aroused Mao Zedong’s vigilance. Later, at the Eighth National Congress, Liu Shaoqi even canceled Mao Zedong Thought in his political report. Therefore, in order to consolidate the CCP regime and his own power, Mao Zedong launched a rectification movement in 1957. Mao Zedong launched a rectification movement in the whole party. In September of the same year, China fell into a shortage of daily necessities, strikes, strikes, and demonstrations in many places.
The current situation of Xi Jinping and the CCP is very similar to that of Mao Zedong.