Resolution on the Party Newspapers

(January 16, 1926)

The most important point recognized by the Second National Congress of the Chinese Kuomintang is the propagation of the Party’s revolutionary principles—the entire Three Principles of the People—so that the Three Principles of the People may be fully realized with the success of the National Revolution. If only one or two of the Three Principles of the People are realized but not all of them, the National Revolution still cannot be called a success. However, this Congress deeply understands that the principles of democracy and people’s livelihood must wait until the principle of nationalism is truly completed and firmly established before they can be realized. This is the bequest of our Premier, which this Congress is determined to accept.

During the period from the closing of the Second Congress to the opening of the Third Congress, the Party should rouse and assemble all revolutionary forces, and within the shortest time possible, bring about the realization of the principle of nationalism. This is the Party’s most urgent task, to which the Kuomintang newspapers should first devote their efforts.

The First Congress pointed out that the meaning of nationalism is to free China from the condition of a sub-colony and to move forward to stand on an equal footing with the other nations of the world. The Premier said that a sub-colony is a people ruled by many imperialisms. Therefore, the condition of a sub-colony is even more severe than that of a colony ruled under a single imperialism. The Premier also said that nationalism means uniting China and placing it under the rule of a central government governed by a Five-Power Constitution.

The Second Congress demands that the Party newspapers constantly instruct the people on the two key points within the principle of nationalism: first, to break away from the oppression of imperialism and achieve independence; second, to realize a government of domestic unity based on the Five-Power Constitution. To achieve a government of domestic unity, imperialism must first be overthrown.

The Party’s official organs should point out that before China has freed itself from the condition of a sub-colony, any attempt to achieve unity based on the Party’s Five-Power Constitution or other laws is a dream fraught with danger. The past failures of the Party can all serve as lessons.

The Party newspapers should further point out that under the shackles of unequal treaties, it is impossible to pursue economic progress that meets China’s demands. The more apparent the economic development of the nation’s commercial ports becomes, the stronger becomes the power of foreign capitalists to control the nation’s finances; as a result, the interior regions of China become increasingly impoverished, and domestic industries and banking enterprises gradually turn into appendages of foreign economies. This is something the Party newspapers must consistently call attention to and point out. Party members serving in schools at all levels, engaged in socio-economic investigations, and in full agreement with the First Congress’s interpretation of nationalism, should participate in the editorial work of Party newspapers, dedicating their knowledge and expressive abilities to proving that the Party’s views on industrial development are correct and beyond doubt.

The Party newspapers should further, according to a systematic plan, demonstrate to students, workers, peasants, and merchants how they can meet their own demands after the abolition of the unequal treaties. After the peasant masses receive benefits, the market for domestic goods will certainly expand; the expansion of the market for domestic goods will lead to increased demand for labor, resulting in higher wages and improved living conditions; the economic improvement of the working and peasant classes will also broaden the scope of services rendered by the intellectual class (teachers, engineers, managers). During this period, commerce will naturally undergo substantial progress. The Party newspapers should indicate that all such improvements and progress can only be attained after the unequal treaties are abrogated, the authority to administer maritime customs is recovered, and China is unified. Therefore, students, workers, peasants, and merchants throughout the country must participate in the National Revolutionary movement led by the Chinese Kuomintang.

Schemes for national salvation abound throughout China. Yet among these schemes, for any that do not include the abrogation of unequal treaties and the recovery of concessions and customs administration authority, the Party newspapers should make it clear that these represent dangerous propaganda and are obstacles to China’s unification and liberation. On this point, Party members shall particularly maintain a firm attitude. The commentaries in the Party newspapers must be constructive, not merely destructive; they must be easily understood by the masses, and not written solely for the perusal of a minority.

The Second Congress further instructs the Party newspapers to propagate the following slogans and policies:

(1) Guangdong is the base area of the Chinese National Revolution.

(2) Because Guangdong is under the rule of the Kuomintang, which is loyal to the Premier’s bequeathed teachings and the guidance of the First National Congress, it has made immense progress in administration, military affairs, and finance and economy. The people of Guangdong have come to have a deep and gradual faith in the Kuomintang’s principles and actions.

(3) Whoever opposes the National Government, or schemes to topple the political power of the National Government, undermines the reputation of the National Government, or otherwise forms small cliques to act against the interests of the National Government, is entirely a counter-revolutionary, or is one who, consciously or unconsciously, aids counter-revolutionaries.

(4) In Guangdong, the Kuomintang is undertaking the mission of unifying the politics of the whole nation. The success of the Kuomintang in Guangdong will hasten the realization of the National Revolution. All obstacles that might hinder Guangdong’s success must be swept away without regard to personal feelings and without fearing danger.

(5) Each and every Party member must regard the interests of the National Revolution as weightier not only than their own personal interests; the interests of Party members’ families, relatives, or other groups also cannot be compared with the interests of the National Revolution.

(6) The Kuomintang is not a mutual aid society; it is a revolutionary party that struggles for China’s freedom and unity. Anyone unable to engage in the work of the National Revolution, or who forgets this great responsibility, has gone against the hopes of the Premier and the nation. In the Kuomintang, absolutely no such fact can be allowed to exist.

(7) Our Party discipline is the weapon with which we overthrow imperialism and warlords to unify China. Anyone who violates our Party discipline is like a soldier who deserts the battlefield.

(8) Paying mere lip service to revolution, failing to obey the directions of superior organs, or being unable to carry out orders once given—all are acts of violating discipline. Only through publicizing revolutionary discourse and doing more revolutionary work can the National Revolution be advanced.

(9) Because Party members sacrifice themselves and show fraternal love to their own race, severe measures against a minority of elements are sometimes unavoidable. The four hundred million compatriots cannot be unified through peaceful means alone; violence is also necessary. The meaning of violence here is organization and discipline. Individual Party members are elements governed by the Party; the interests of individual Party members are subsumed within the interests of the Party. Therefore, the interests of Party members should be sacrificed for the interests of the Party.

(10) Only a well-organized and strictly-disciplined Kuomintang can, after annihilating internal and external enemies, establish a National Government. The late Premier struggled for China and sacrificed himself for the revolution, steadfast for forty years as if they were a single day; we who survive him should take him as our model.

(11) The Party need only ask its members: Can you devote yourselves to the movement for abolishing unequal treaties? Can you strive hard to overthrow the warlords? Can you strive hard to establish a Kuomintang National Government to unify the whole nation? If you can, then you are a member of the Kuomintang.

The failure of our Party newspapers to disclose and interpret many domestic events is indeed a great error. The training of Party members and the cultivation of leaders within the Party cannot be derived from abstract principles alone. Existing facts must be utilized to explain clearly to Party members and to analyze their political significance, thereby enabling Party members to increase their revolutionary experience and encourage their revolutionary courage. This Party takes current events as the object of its study and constantly struggles for the people of the whole nation. The Party newspapers serve as the guide for all Party members. When the Party newspapers interpret current events, they should point out their causes and their impact on the National Revolution. For example, an incident in which a coolie is beaten and insulted by imperialists is of immense significance; the Party newspapers should immediately publish this in an important column and, on that basis, expound upon the necessity of the National Revolution. The bitter conditions of workers in factories and mines should be described in detail. The cause of the workers’ impoverished lives is the backwardness of Chinese industry, and the reason why industry is backward lies in the shackles of unequal treaties. Warlords often stir people’s attention with the slogan of fighting for the country and the people; the Party newspapers should use facts to attack the contradiction between their words and deeds. When newspapers and books in China disseminate the civilization of imperialism and promote their verbal professions of friendship toward China, the Party newspapers must denounce these, without letting the opportunity slip by easily. The Party newspapers should not only point out the political and economic aggression of the imperialists, but should moreover point out their cultural aggression, which is sufficient to destroy the thinking of the National Revolution, split the ranks of intellectuals, and drug the mentality of the general revolutionary masses. The Party newspapers should take special precautions against this danger. On this point, the Party newspapers should propagate the following slogans:

(1) China’s freedom and unity can only be realized by relying upon ideas born from within the Chinese environment, especially the knowledge generated under the conditions in which the masses struggle for existence. Imperialist scholarship cannot save China.

(2) Scholarly thought and scholarly research are worthless dregs unless they seek socio-economic liberation for the masses and seek the survival of the masses.

(3) The slogan for intellectuals should be: “Go among the masses!” China’s liberation can only be found among the masses.

(4) Any element who separates himself from the masses loses his grounding in society. All his activities are ineffectual.

(5) The imperialists spend millions upon millions to conquer our thought; we should courageously triumph over their cunning schemes.

(6) The imperialists spend millions upon millions to propagate Christianity; this is a very formidable tool of theirs for destroying our nationalism.

On all the above points, the Party newspapers should carry out special propaganda and instruct intellectuals that they must strive to introduce nationalism to the people of the entire nation. They must never willingly serve as tools for spreading the civilization of imperialism.

The Second Congress attaches the utmost importance to the work of Party newspapers; it therefore instructs the Central Executive Committee and the provincial executive committees to steadfastly uphold the Party’s propaganda policy in daily newspapers and weekly periodicals, allowing no hesitation. The editors of daily newspapers and weekly periodicals shall be appointed by the Central Executive Committee and the provincial executive committees, who shall also supervise their discourse. Since the Central and provincial committees bear full responsibility for Party policy, they may, as circumstances warrant, replace editors or close down the propaganda organ in question.

The Central Party Headquarters shall establish investigators to supply reports and material for editorials and commentary to the various Party newspapers. The Propaganda Department of the Central Executive Committee shall, in accordance with the Party’s resolutions on specific current issues, periodically issue circulars to the Party’s various official organs.