In August 1967, Peng was taken to a "struggle meeting," which was held in a stadium attended by 40,000 PLA soldiers. At the meeting, Peng was led in chains to a stage, where he was forced to kneel for several hours while he listened to soldiers repeatedly denouncing him for his "crimes." At the end of the meeting, Lin Biao personally appeared to the soldiers, where he addressed the assembled soldiers and Peng, who was still kneeling. Lin gave a speech in which he denounced Peng as a villainous element who must be purged and that it was "in the interest of the whole Party, the whole army, and the whole people of the whole country" to persecute him so severely. Lin then addressed Peng directly: "If you reform yourself, all right, if not, it is all right too. But of course we hope you reform yourself." It is not known whether Peng eventually broke down and "confessed" at the rally.