Speech at the Conference of Provincial and Municipal Committee Secretaries

Abstract

It is hardly surprising that during a high tide some people will have doubts about certain matters, since doubts are always possible. There are two groups of people: one group comprises those with good, considerate hearts; the other comprises a hostile element, including men such as Lo Lungji, landlords, rich peasants, counter-revolutionaries and bad elements. We must make a distinction between the two. We must not consider it wrong if other people have doubts or say malicious things. Instead, we must pay attention and analyse the situation. There will always be a few shortcomings, and therefore it is hardly surprising that some people have doubts. Moreover, it is advantageous.

Mao Zedong, ‘Speech at the Conference of Provincial and Municipal Committee Secretaries’, 2 February 1959; published in Mao Zedong Sixiang Wansui (Long Live Mao Zedong’s Thought) (Taipei: International Relations Publishing House, no date), pp. 271–9.