On this day, 58 years ago, on February 11, 1967 (January 3, 1967, the "Huairentang Meeting" was characterized as "February countercurrent". The Conference to Criticize Vice Premier Tan Zhenlin of the State Council From February 11 to 16, 1967, Zhou Enlai presided over a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. It was held in Huairentang, Zhongnanhai, also known as the "Huairentang Meeting". At this meeting and a meeting of the Central Military Commission held earlier, Vice Chairmen of the Central Military Commission and Vice Premiers of the State Council Tan Zhenlin, Chen Yi, Ye Jianying, Li Fuchun, Li Xiannian, Xu Xiangqian, Nie Rongzhen, etc. expressed strong dissatisfaction with the erroneous practices of the "Cultural Revolution" and carried out face-to-face struggles with righteousness and tit-for-tat against Jiang Qing, Chen Boda, Kang Sheng, and Zhang Chunqiao who attended the meeting for their criminal activities of falsely accusing and persecuting veteran cadres, disrupting the party and the army. This struggle was falsely called the "February Countercurrent". This struggle involves three principles: First, whether the Party's leadership is required to carry out the "Cultural Revolution". Ye Jianying questioned Zhang Chunqiao: "Shanghai seized power and changed its name to the Shanghai Commune. Such a big issue involves the country's system. What do you want to do without discussing the Politburo?" He mocked Chen Boda and said,"We don't read books, newspapers, and we don't understand what the Paris Commune principles are. Please explain what are the principles of the Paris Commune? Can revolution be without the leadership of the party? Can we not use the army? Tan Zhenlin proposed to ask Zhang Chunqiao to protect Chen Pixian, and Zhang said to go back and discuss it with the masses. Tan Zhenlin angrily scolded: "It's always the masses and the party's leadership! All day long, the masses always liberate themselves without the leadership of the party... This is metaphysics! Your purpose is to eliminate the veteran cadres, and you will eliminate the veteran cadres one by one... Forty years of revolution resulted in the destruction of the family, the loss of his wife and children... Kuai Dafu, what is he? It's just a counter-revolutionary! Made a hundred ugly pictures. These guys are trying to overthrow all veteran cadres. This time is the cruelest struggle in the history of the party. More than ever in history." Tan Zhenlin took the documents, put on his clothes, and was about to leave the venue. He said,"Let you people do it, I quit! Cut off your head, go to prison, expel you from the party, and fight to the end!" Chen Yi said: "Don't leave, fight against them! Second, should the "Cultural Revolution" overthrow all veteran cadres? Ye Jianying said: "Veteran cadres are the precious wealth of the party and the country. For cadres who have made mistakes, our party has always learned from past mistakes to avoid future ones, and cured diseases and saved people. How can there be any reason to overthrow them casually? In this way, if you can't guarantee your personal life, how can you do your work?" Li Xiannian said: "If we do this now, do we still need to unite the two 95%? Veterans have been overthrown, what does revolution rely on? Now there is a nationwide major confession letter." Tan Zhenlin said: "I am not doing it for myself, but for the entire veteran cadres! It's for the whole party!" Third, should we maintain the stability of the military in order to carry out the "Cultural Revolution"? At the meeting on the afternoon of February 14, Ye Jianying stood up and asked Kang Sheng, Chen Boda, Zhang Chunqiao and the others: You have messed up the party, the government, and the factories and the countryside! You don't think it's enough, but you must mess up the army! What do you want to do with this? Xu Xiangqian said angrily: "The army is the pillar of the dictatorship of the proletariat. If the army continues to be in such chaos, will it still need pillars? Are we not good enough? Do you want people like Kuai Dafu to command the army?" On February 17, Tan Zhenlin wrote a letter to Lin Biao. The letter scolded Jiang Qing for "even if there is a real competition, the sky will still be fierce" and said that they have "ruthless methods that have never been seen in the party.""They are interested in beating up veteran cadres. As long as you make any mistake, they will not let go and will kill you." He said,"I have made up this opposition, made up my mind, prepared to sacrifice, fight, fight. Due to the distorted reports made by Jiang Qing and others, on the evening of February 18, Mao Zedong convened a meeting of some members of the Political Bureau and severely criticized the veteran comrades who put forward opinions at the Huairentang meeting, accusing them of restoring and reversing the verdict. From February 26 to March 18, seven "Political Life Meetings" were held in Huairentang to criticize these comrades. Jiang Qing, Kang Sheng, Chen Boda, Xie Fuzhi and others condemned them for "February countercurrent". The country has set off a vicious wave of "countering the current of restoration", cracking down on a larger scale and persecuting leading cadres at all levels of the party and the country. After that, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee ceased its activities and the Central Cultural Revolution Group completely replaced the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee. In December 1978, the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Working Conference announced that all comrades who were wronged due to the "February Countercurrent" case would be restored to their reputations, and all comrades who were implicated and punished would be rehabilitated. Students at Beijing Normal University are writing big-character posters and the entire army is setting off a wave of criticism of Liu Shaoqi, Peng Dehuai, and Luo Ruiqing. Leaflets and tabloid Jiang Qing delivered an inflammatory speech at the Red Guard Congress of Universities in the Capital.