On this day 66 years ago, on April 18, 1959 (March 11, 1959 in the lunar calendar), Liu Shaoqi was elected President of the State. On April 18, 1959, the first meeting of the Second National People's Congress was held in Beijing. The Congress elected Liu Shaoqi as President of the People's Republic of China, Song Qingling and Dong Biwu as Vice-Chairpeople, Zhu De as Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and decided that Zhou Enlai would continue to serve as Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China. The Congress deliberated and approved the 1959 National Economic Plan proposed by the State Council in accordance with the suggestions of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The plan stipulated that the steel output was 18 million tons and the grain output was 1.05 trillion catties. The meeting also passed the "Resolution on the Xizang Issue" and the "Resolution on Abolishing the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Supervision". At the same time, the first plenary meeting of the Third National Committee The meeting elected Mao Zedong as the honorary chairperson of the Third National Committee of the Political Consultative Conference, and Zhou Enlai as the chairperson. Mao Zedong and Liu Shaoqi stepped out of the meeting Next page: Liu Shaoqi's proposal to be elected president of the People's Republic of China was made at the Seventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in early April 1959, but the brewing process can be traced back to 5 years ago. In September 1954, at the first National People's Congress, Mao Zedong was elected as the first president of the People's Republic of China. However, shortly after this, Mao Zedong proposed on different occasions: no longer serve as the next president of the state. After being elected president of the state, as a head of state, it is inevitable that he will often participate in state affairs and attend various diplomatic ceremonies. This deeply distressed Mao Zedong. He hoped to get rid of the distractions of these distractions and think more about some major domestic and international issues. Mao Zedong's idea has been said many times among senior party leaders, and Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De and others fully understand Mao Zedong's difficulties. However, can this idea be understood in the wider party? How do people outside the party and the people of the whole country view this matter? In this regard, Mao Zedong has no doubts. The opportunity has finally come. The matter was caused by a letter from Chen Shutong and Huang Yanpei. In the spring of 1957, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided to implement the Open Door Rectification Movement, welcoming people from all walks of life to criticize the Communist Party. On April 30, Mao Zedong held the 12th Supreme State Conference on this theme. At the meeting, Mao Zedong sincerely invited people outside the party to help the Communist Party rectify. Towards the end of the meeting, Mao Zedong changed the topic, talking about his unwillingness to serve as the next president of the state, and entrusted everyone present to disclose the news within their own scope, blowing a little wind. Mao Zedong's words caused some shock and unease among the non-party people who attended the meeting. Sure enough, after the meeting ended, Chen Shutong and Huang Yanpei, who attended the meeting, wrote a letter to Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai overnight. Chen Shutong, then vice chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and chairperson of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce; Huang Yanpei, then vice chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the China Democratic National Congress. Chen Shutong and Huang Yanpei's letter dated May 1 is sincere and sincere: Yesterday, Chairperson Mao finally mentioned at the meeting that the chairperson of the next election would not mention Mao Zedong's name, and told us to disclose the news. The two of us have an opinion: not to say empty words of support, but to consider the reality of our country. Our country's transition from democratic revolution to socialist revolution is a great change. As far as seven years are concerned, development should be considered smooth. But it cannot be seen that development has exceeded consolidation, that is, it cannot be said that the country has been consolidated, and Taiwan has not been liberated, and the two camps of the international community are still struggling violently. During this period, it is better for the top leader not to move. It is true that we need to emphasize collective leadership, but in the short term, the people of the whole country still do not understand clearly that highlighting individual prestige in collective leadership is still an important part of maintaining the people of the whole country. It seems that it should be re-elected, and adding the sentence "shall not be re-elected for two terms" under the second item of Article 39 of the Constitution "four years term" will be able to act in accordance with the law in the future, which can relieve all kinds of confusion among the people of the whole country. Otherwise, due to the shock of domestic people's hearts, it may give the international community an opportunity to spread rumors. We hope that it will not be possible. As for acting on behalf of the powers, the constitution can also stipulate that there are two or three vice-chairpeople. The chairperson has already acted on behalf of the powers and received foreign envoys the year before last, and it should have been amended in the constitution. This matter is of great importance, and the party and the government should first consider it carefully and The letter from Chen Shutong and Huang Yanpei was read by Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai, and then passed to Mao Zedong. On May 5, Mao Zedong carefully read the letter from Chen and Huang, and made many comments in the letter. In the letter, referring to the fact that Taiwan has not yet been liberated and the fierce struggle between the two camps in the world, Mao Zedong wrote: "The above two reasons, because the period is too long, the problem of re-election for 4 years still exists, so it is not appropriate to discuss. The fundamental consolidation of the country has now been achieved, and the country can no longer be pushed forward. When it comes to the complete consolidation of the country, according to the experience of the Soviet Union, it may take 15 to 20 years, and the time between Taiwan's liberation and the confrontation between the two camps may be even longer. "; in the letter, Mao Zedong wrote that personal prestige is still an important link in maintaining the people of the whole country, Mao Zedong wrote:" I still exist, and the personal prestige that maintains people's hearts will not be diminished by not being re-elected. "; in the letter, referring to the various doubts that the people of the whole country may cause, Mao Zedong wrote:" Discussing among the people beforehand and explaining the reasons can reduce the panic. At that time I will publicly state the reasons. "In the letter, on the issue of international rumors, Mao Zedong wrote:" Create a rumor, the truth is self-evident, and the rumor will be put to rest. " After writing the remarks, Mao Zedong wrote a long criticism at the end of the letter. In addition to endorsing the letter's proposal to amend the constitution, the criticism reaffirmed his reasons for not serving as the next president of the state. On May 8, Liu Shaoqi presided over a meeting of the Politburo members in Beijing, which was dedicated to discussing the criticism of Chen, Huang Laixin and Mao Zedong. The meeting reached a consensus on the issue of Mao Zedong not being a candidate for the next president of the state. Mao Zedong's non-appointment as president was thus determined. According to the usual practice, it is completely logical that Mao Zedong will not be re-elected, and Zhu De, the respected vice president of the previous state, will succeed him. This consideration can be confirmed by a list of candidates for the Standing Committee of the Second National People's Congress drafted by the Organization Department of the Central Committee and the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee. The list did not mention candidates for the presidency, but only listed candidates for the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. Among them, Liu Shaoqi was still included as a candidate for the chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. This revealed a clear message: Liu Shaoqi stayed as chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, and the candidate for state president was obviously Zhu De. After reading the list sent by the Central Secretariat, Zhu De also understood the central government's considerations. However, Zhu De did not agree with the central government's arrangement. On December 29, Zhu De wrote an earnest letter to Deng Xiaoping, general secretary of the Central Secretariat. Zhu De believes that the presidency of the state is not only an honorary position, but also a heavy job, and considering Liu Shaoqi's age, physical condition and leadership ability, he is more suitable for the presidency than himself. In a few words, Zhu De's broad-minded mind and admiration for Liu Shaoqi came to life on paper. The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and Mao Zedong accepted Zhu De's proposal. At the Seventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held in early April 1959, after much deliberation, it was agreed that Liu Shaoqi would be the candidate proposed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to the Second National People's Congress. Liu Shaoqi made several sincere remarks about the appointment of the president in his speech at the meeting, but the Plenum ultimately approved the proposal to recommend Liu Shaoqi as the candidate for the presidency. At the 16th Supreme State Conference held immediately after the Seventh Plenary Session of the Eighth Central Committee, Mao Zedong personally explained to the outside party, and Liu Shaoqi's plan as a candidate for the presidency was thus determined and passed at the Second National People's Congress.