“On The Ten Major Relationships”
Speech given by Mao Tse-tung on April 25,1956, at the meeting of the Poltiical Bureau of Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
1. The Ten Major Relationships is a list of the issues and concerns that have come about from instituting socialism in china. He boils down complex issues into a list of ten relationships dealing with mobilizing all positive forces, internal and external, to serve the cause of socialism and analyzing soviet policy.
a. The document begins with Mao calling for China to focus on developing agriculture and light industries instead of focusing on the heavy industry like the Soviets. By doing this he says that there would be a fast increase in capital and will build a strong foundation as the people will have their needs met, which will allow for a more successful development of the heavy industry.
b. Mao also says that China should focus on developing coastal industries as they will provide the most capital the fastest, which can be used to develop interior industries, which are much easier to defend if, attacked.
c. In regards to defense Mao calls for a reduction of military and administrative expenditures and move the main focus to developing economic construction that will fund future defense programs.
d. The government needs to be mindful of the relationship between the state and production. He says that as productivity rises then so should workers welfare, and should adjust agriculture exchange as needed, which will promote a stronger economy and state. He also mentions that the state should strengthen the communication between the central government and local authorities, and give local authorities more power and independence. The central authority should provide oversight and leadership and the local authorities should put practices into operation and push the idea of unity.
e. Mao discusses the relationship between the Han and the minorities, by stating the Han while being the majority of the population were actually the minority when it came to land ownership, but the Han promoted the idea of racial division and their superiority. He emphasizes that it was all the minorities who made China’s history and that in order to reverse this thinking the cadres and masses must be educated in party policies.
f. Mao address the issue between Party and non-party by stating that by having several parties within China promotes coexistence and mutual suppression and that unlike the Soviets the party has allowed the democrats to remain. He also notes that he doesn’t want the democratic parties to be removed but that they should be convinced of socialism. He also says that it is a public necessity that counter-revolutionist should be executed or imprisoned and re-educated through labor. However when it comes to counter-revolutionaries found in the party they should not be executed or arrested as they are needed to be informants and would make the party look bad domestically and internationally.
g. Mao felt that people who made mistakes should not be barred from the revolution ad that they should be able to learn from their mistakes and be shown the correct path, as the