(7) Guarantee That the Party Members' Rights Are Not Encroached Upon

Party organizations at all levels must effectively safeguard the rights of Party members. Encroachment on Party members' rights is a serious violation of Party discipline.

Party members have the right to take part, at Party meetings and in Party journals, in discussions on formulating and implementing Party policies; and also the right to criticize any Party organization or individual at Party meetings. Party members can put forward at Party meetings their differing views on the Party's principles, policies and resolutions and can submit verbal or written reports on these to Party organizations at all levels up to the Party Central Committee. The Party organization should welcome criticism and proposals from Party members and encourage them to put forth their creative ideas and views on promoting the cause of socialism.

Party members have the right to propose removing or replacing cadres who have committed serious mistakes and refuse to correct them or who are incompetent.

With regard to the handling of cases concerning themselves or others by the Party organization, Party members have the right to put forward their statements, appeals, accusations and defence at Party meetings or to Party organizations at higher levels right up to the Party Central Committee. Both accuser and accused are forbidden to bring false charges against one another. Whoever does this must be dealt with seriously according to Party discipline and state law.

Any decision made by a Party organization on the appraisal, verdict and punishment of a Party member must be made known to the member concerned. When a decision on punishment is to be adopted, the Party member concerned, except in special circumstances, should be asked to attend the meeting. The Party organization should listen carefully to and consider the opinions of the Party member. If the Party member concerned has dissenting opinions, the decision of the Party organization and the opinions of the Party member should be reported to the Party organization at a higher level for examination and approval.

(8) Give Full Expression to the Voters' Wishes in an Election

A competent leading body enjoying prestige among Party members and the masses can be established only through genuine democratic elections within the Party.

Party organizations at all levels should, in accordance with the Party Constitution, call regular general membership meetings and congresses. Party committees at all levels should be re-elected at a specified time. There should be replacements of a definite number of congress and committee members at each session. Full scope should be given to democracy in an election so as to give genuine expression to the voters' will. The lists of candidates should be drawn up by Party members or their representatives in the course of full consultations and discussions. In the election, the number of candidates should be greater than the number elected; or the candidates may be first chosen in a preliminary election in the same way and then enter the formal election. Basic information about the candidates should be made known to the voters. Secret ballots should be adopted in all elections.

It is impermissible to stipulate that a certain person must be or must not be elected.

When the Party congresses at all levels are in recess, the Party committee at a higher level can appoint, remove or transfer responsible members on the Party committee at a lower level according to the needs of the work:

(9) Fight Against Erroneous Tendencies, Evildoers and Evil Deeds

Party organizations at all levels should give full play to their role as a combat bastion, lead the rank and file and the masses to resolutely expose and crack down on counter-revolutionaries, grafters and embezzlers, criminals and serious law-breakers.

It is necessary to seriously criticize and. fight against such erroneous tendencies as factionalism, anarchism, extreme individualism, bureaucracy and privilege-seeking.

It is essential to criticize and struggle against malpractices, erroneous ideas and reactionary trends of thought.

Party members, especially leading cadres at all levels, in their struggle against erroneous tendencies, evildoers and evil deeds, should display a dauntless revolutionary spirit and dare to step forward, unafraid of offending others, of hurting their feelings or of being attacked and persecuted.

(10) Adopt a Correct Attitude Towards Comrades Who Have Made Mistakes

In inner-Party struggle, it is necessary to adopt the principles of "learning from past mistakes to avoid future ones, curing the sickness to save the patient" and of "unity-criticism-unity" in dealing with comrades who have made mistakes so as to achieve the aim of clarifying ideas and uniting the comrades. This is our Party's fine tradition. As for those comrades who have made mistakes, it is necessary to appraise their merits and demerits from an historical and overall point of view, and not to totally negate a person as soon as he makes a mistake. One must not get tangled up in problems which arose in the past but have been clarified or haggle over mistakes that were made in the past but have been corrected. Having clarified the facts, one must make a concrete analysis of the nature and seriousness of their mistakes and, with an enthusiastic and comradely attitude, help them understand the causes for their mistakes, point out the way to correct these mistakes and encourage them to make necessary self-criticism. One should have faith that the majority of erring comrades can correct their mistakes and one should create necessary conditions for them to correct their mistakes and continue to work for the Party.

In analysing the mistakes committed by a comrade, it is necessary first of all to make a strict distinction between the two types of contradictions which are different in nature. One must not describe an ordinary mistake in work or a mistake in understanding as a political mistake; nor must one describe an ordinary political mistake as a mistake in political line; or mix up a mistake in political line which is still in the nature of inner-Party struggle with a question of a counter-revolutionary nature involving attempts to subvert the Party and the socialist state. As to conspirators, careerists and counter-revolutionary double-dealers who attempt to subvert the Party and the socialist state, their contradiction with the Party and the people is one between ourselves and the enemy. But such people are very few in number.

It is necessary to distinguish between those who follow their higher-ups or principal leading members in committing a mistake of political line and those who engage in subversive activities aimed at usurping Party and state leadership.

In inner-Party struggle, it is impermissible to wage ruthless struggle and deal merciless blows. Within the Party, it is impermissible to transcend Party discipline and violate state law in dealing with Party members. It is absolutely forbidden to solve inner-Party problems by resorting to feudal-fascist means such as those used by Lin Biao and the gang of four. It is strictly forbidden to use the so-called method of "ferreting out and struggling" against people, to resort to personal insult and personal persecution or to obtain confessions by inducement and compulsion.

It is necessary to be very prudent in handling a person's case. If, for the time being, it cannot be determined whether a contradiction is one between ourselves and the enemy or one among the people, the case should be handled as one among the people. Prudence is all the more necessary in handling a case which involves deciding that the contradiction is one between ourselves and the enemy, expelling the person concerned from the Party and relegating the case to the judicial department for disposition. Under no circumstances is it permissible to implicate innocent family members or relatives of the person involved.

Those comrades who have erred should sincerely accept criticism and education from the Party organization and comrades and disciplinary actions taken against them. They should learn from their mistakes, conscientiously correct them and improve their service to the Party. Those who commit serious mistakes but refuse to admit them and persist wilfully in making trouble should be punished more heavily.