The "Two Whatevers" () refers to the statement that "We will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave" ().
This statement was contained in a joint editorial, entitled "Study the Documents Well and Grasp the Key Link", printed on 7 February 1977 in People's Daily, the journal Red Flag and the PLA Daily.
History
The policy was advocated by the Chinese Communist Party chairman Hua Guofeng, Mao's successor, who had earlier ended the Cultural Revolution and arrested the Gang of Four. On a 7 February 1977 editorial titled "Study the Documents Well and Grasp the Key Link" which appeared in People's Daily, Red Flag, and People's Liberation Army Daily, Hua articulated the "Two Whatevers" slogan: "We will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave". The slogan was underscoring Mao's testament that designated Hua as his successor.
It proved a trigger for Deng's manoeuvre in 1978 to implement economic reform policy in China, and eventually led to Hua being demoted from the party leadership in 1980. Even before he was fully rehabilitated, Deng described the "Two Whatevers" as being contrary to the essence of Marxism. also lost its power after Deng's political manoeuvre: Wang Dongxing, Ji Dengkui, Wu De, and Chen Xilian, the so-called "Little Gang of Four", were relieved of all their Party and state posts during the 5th Plenum of the 11th Central Committee of the CCP, 23–29 February 1980.
See also
- 1978 Truth Criterion Controversy