The Two Whatevers refers to the statement that "We will resolutely uphold whatever policy decisions Chairman Mao

Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...

 made, and unswervingly follow whatever instructions Chairman Mao gave" (凡是毛主席作出的决策，我们都坚决维护；凡是毛主席的指示，我们都始终不渝地遵循).

This statement was contained in a joint editorial, entitled "Study the Documents Well and Grasp the Key Link", printed on February 7, 1977 in People's Daily

People's Daily

The People's Daily is a daily newspaper in the People's Republic of China. The paper is an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , published worldwide with a circulation of 3 to 4 million. In addition to its main Chinese-language edition, it has editions in English,...

, the journal Hongqi (Red Flag) and Jiefangjun Bao (Liberation Army Daily)

PLA Daily

PLA Daily is China-based media outlet for the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China.It covers news stories relating to the PLA and other military affairs...

.

Content

This was a policy of then Communist Party of China

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

 chairman Hua Guofeng

Hua Guofeng

Su Zhu, better known by the nom de guerre Hua Guofeng , was Mao Zedong's designated successor as the Paramount Leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in 1976, he succeeded Zhou as the second Premier of the People's Republic of China...

, Mao's successor, who had earlier ended the Cultural Revolution

Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...

 and arrested the Gang of Four

Gang of Four

The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...

. However, this policy proved unpopular with Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...

 and other party leaders advocating market reform.

This proved a trigger for Deng's

Deng Xiaoping

Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...

 manoeuvre in 1978 to gain control of economic policy in China

People's Republic of China

China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

, and led eventually to Hua

Hua Guofeng

Su Zhu, better known by the nom de guerre Hua Guofeng , was Mao Zedong's designated successor as the Paramount Leader of the Communist Party of China and the People's Republic of China. Upon Zhou Enlai's death in 1976, he succeeded Zhou as the second Premier of the People's Republic of China...

 being demoted from the party leadership in 1980.

The coalition of Hua's political supporters, bearing the name of "the whatever faction", also lost its power after the Deng's political maneuver: Wang Dongxing

Wang Dongxing

Wang Dongxing was Mao Zedong's principal bodyguard during the Cultural Revolution....

, Ji Dengkui, Wu De, and Chen Xilian, the so-called "Little Gang of Four", were relieved of all the Party and state posts during the 5th Plenum of the CC CCP, 23-39 February 1980.

The 'whatever' element was fashioned as a derogatory comment.