Page 15 - SELECTED WORKS OF ZHOU ENLAI Volume II

FINANCIAL AND ECONOMIC SITUATION 13

plan good for several years. Even this one-year plan can be only rough
and approximate; to be accurate it will have to be revised continuously
in the process of implementation. It is not realistic to try to formulate
an accurate plan all at once. We can only draw up a rough plan like
this one, which is scientific and feasible given the present stage in
China. Naturally, your own operational plans at this stage must
likewise be provisional.
What was the thinking behind the state financial and economic
plans, and for what purposes were they drawn up? I shall explain
with four points.
1. Sharing the burden. In order to achieve nationwide victory,
our people are called upon to bear a necessary burden. I call it the
burden of victory. Basically, we have been victorious in the War of
Liberation, and only the area around Chengdu, Tibet, Taiwan, Hainan
Island and a few other places are yet to be liberated. But our victory
will be complete only when these areas are liberated. We therefore
have to make military preparations and maintain not only the army
but also the navy and air force. So military expenditure still takes up
quite a large proportion of the budget. Moreover, the armed forces,
now numbering 4,700,000 men, will expand, because they will absorb
captured or reorganized Kuomintang troops. It is estimated that at
its peak next year our army will reach 5,500,000 men. As you know,
since last year, and especially during this year, we have incorporated
most of the captured or reorganized Kuomintang troops. After Beijing
was liberated we sent several hundred Kuomintang officers back to
their hometowns. However, when Suiyuan was liberated, our troops
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came upon those same officers again. Now we no longer have any
place to send Kuomintang officers and men. If we turn them away,
public order will be disturbed. So we have to provide for them, both
the military and civil staff. Furthermore, some time ago in Shanghai,
in an effort to streamline administration, the staff was reduced. This
caused much anxiety both in Shanghai and in Nanjing, and the matter
came to the attention of the Central Government. It is important to
provide food for all. To remedy the situation, five persons are now
sharing the food for three, so that everybody is provided for. But as
a result, the national total of personnel in government and education
will increase from the present 2 million to 3.5 million. Together, the
additional civil and military personnel will come to 9 million.
Such a big increase in the number of persons dependent on the
government will have to be supported by our people. This is a major