Chapter 97 The Grand Emperor’s Small Cabinet 1950

Journalist: “You have your own‘ small cabinet of the emperor?’”

Mao: “I have no confidence in the information provided by the Party Central Committee Secretariat, the General Office of the Central Committee, the State Council, etc. I set up a special agency: ‘Mao Zedongism Office’ (Mao Office). There were ten departments: political secretary, military secretary, foreign secretary, industrial secretary, agricultural secretary, financial secretary, cultural and educational secretary, security secretary, confidential secretary, living secretary, etc. Under each big secretary, there were a number of small secretaries, and I sent these secretaries to attend the meetings of the Politburo, the meetings of the Secretariat, and the meetings of the Premier’s Office of the State Council, forming an overriding party central committee and the State Council. The ‘Grand Emperor’s small cabinet,’ the real core of power, the super secret service system. I will also send these secretaries from time to time to go around the investigation, with a variety of “first-hand materials”.

Journalist: “You are a night owl? The Standing Committee with you as the red night mouse?
Mao: My work schedule, generally 3-4 p.m. to get up, eat breakfast, swimming activities, talk to people to listen to the report, 8:00 dinner, 9:00 dance, to 12:00 to eat a midnight snack, 1:00 a.m. to start work, read materials, approve documents, talk to people, convene a meeting of the Standing Committee, 3-4-5 a.m., take sleeping pills to bed. Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, etc. also had to make the ‘red night mouse,’ with my clockwork.