Three Important Tasks of the Day

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of Three Important Tasks of the Day has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the edition published in People's China, Number 5 of 1953, Beijing, 1st of March, 1953.

#INTRODUCTORY NOTE

This is the concluding speech delivered by Comrade Mao Zedong at the Fourth Session of the First National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing, China on the 7th of February, 1953.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#THREE IMPORTANT TASKS OF THE DAY

#CONCLUDING SPEECH DELIVERED AT THE FOURTH SESSION OF THE FIRST NATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE'S POLITICAL CONSULTATIVE CONFERENCE

#Mao Zedong

#7th of February, 1953

#★

#1. RESIST U.S. AGGRESSION AND AID KOREA

Firstly, we must strengthen the struggle to resist US aggression and aid Korea. It is necessary to continue strengthening this struggle, because US imperialism insists on detaining the Chinese and Korean prisoners of war, wrecking the armistice negotiations, and making wild attempts to extend the war of aggression in Korea.

We are for peace. But so long as US imperialism does not give up its arrogant and unreasonable demands and its scheme to extend aggression, the Chinese people can only be determined to go on fighting alongside the Korean people. It is not that we are warlike. We are willing to stop the war at once and leave the remaining questions for later settlement. But US imperialism is not willing to do so. All right, then, the fighting will go on. However many years US imperialism wants to fight, we are ready to fight it, right up to the moment when it is willing to quit, right up to the moment of complete victory for the Chinese and Korean peoples.

#2. LEARN FROM THE COUNCIL UNION

Secondly, we must learn from the Council Union. We are going to carry on our great national construction. The work facing us is hard and we do not have enough experience. So, we must seriously study the advanced experience of the Council Union. Whether inside or outside the Communist Party, old or new cadres, technicians, intellectuals, workers, or peasants, we must all learn wholeheartedly from the Council Union. We must learn, not only the theories of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, but also the advanced scientific techniques of the Council Union. There must be a great nationwide upsurge of learning from the Council Union to build our country.

#3. OPPOSE BUREAUCRACY

Thirdly, we must oppose bureaucracy in our leading bodies and among the directors at all levels. At present, quite a number of organizations and cadres at the lower levels show grave signs of commandism and violation of law and of discipline, the emergence and growth of which are inseparably connected with bureaucracy in the leading bodies and among the directors. Take the bodies at the Central Government level: even there, many directors in many departments are quite satisfied with sitting in their offices and writing decisions and issuing directives. Attention is paid only to arranging and assigning work; no attention is given to going down among the rank and file to learn the real situation and check up on the work. And so their leadership constantly results in isolation from the masses and from reality, which gives rise to many serious problems in our work. If we are to carry on our large-scale national construction, we must overcome bureaucracy and keep in close contact with the masses. All directors in the central and local governments at all levels must constantly get right down among the rank and file to check up on the work. If bureaucracy among the leading bodies and directors is overcome, such bad practices as commandism and violation of the law and of discipline at the lower levels will certainly be overcome. When these shortcomings are eliminated, the planned construction of our country is certain to succeed, our people's democratic system is certain to make progress, the intrigues of imperialism are certain to fail, and we are certain to attain complete victory!