Communist Party Central Committee Notice on Implementing Support for Egypt in Its Fight against Aggression

Communist Party Central Committee Notice on Implementing Support for Egypt in Its Fight against Aggression

(November 15, 1956)

1.  In order to further advance our support for Egypt in its fight against aggression, all democratic parties and all popular organizations in our country have already established a Chinese People’s Committee’s to Support Egypt’s Resistance to Aggression.  The statement which the Committee issued on the ninth of this month and the relevant editorials most recently published in People’s Daily should form the basis for current propaganda relating to current support for Egypt in its resistance against aggression.  We hope you will, based on these documents, and together with the Hungarian issue (according to the People’s Daily editorials), seriously carry out a session of current affairs propaganda among cadres and the masses.  This is, like the [campaign to] Resist America and Aid Korea, the most practical and lively class [struggle] education, and this propaganda should be carried out as widely and deeply as possible, making use fullest use of the different kinds of propaganda power within and outside of the [Communist] Party, along with making use of all types of propaganda (for example, report meetings, discussion meetings, debate meetings and so on).  For the purpose of raising the political consciousness of the masses and supporting Egypt, you must ensure that the content of this propaganda is substantive and not in form only.  Publications, wire services, and broadcasting stations should fully report these propaganda activities and the masses response, to create a robust and enthusiastic atmosphere.

2.  People in various places, including military personnel, medical staff, engineering and technical personnel, energy transportation personnel, and the masses in all other sectors, have all expressed willingness to join the Egyptian people in the struggle against aggression.  However, while their enthusiasm is invaluable, the struggle to support Egypt is complex work involving many aspects of our country’s domestic and foreign [affairs] and must be carried out in a unified manner and under leadership.  In the future, if some of the masses voluntarily make a request to participate in the above work, you may first ask them to register with the [appropriate] people’s organizations, democratic parties or other organizations to which they belong.  (For example, workers and staff may register with their unit’s trade union, students can register in their own schools, women may register with the Women’s Federation, residents may register with their lane committee, members of the democratic parties may register with the offices of their party, and so on).  At the same time, it should be explained to these people seeking registrations that their request has been registered and will be handled uniformly by the aid committee as necessary. They should await the aid committee’s notifications before taking further actions, and for now carry on as usual without distraction at their original place of work or study. Newspapers and Xinhua News Agency do not need to report on actions of the masses volunteering to participate in support of Egypt, so as to avoid turning this into a de facto call to action.

3.  Regarding the activities of the masses all over the country voluntarily offering to donate materials to support Egypt, the Central Committee has already stipulated in its November 7 Notice that the masses should be dissuaded from making donations, as the state will select a unified and effective method to support the Egyptian people in their struggle. We hope that all localities will act in accordance with the stipulations in the original notification.