The joint conference adopted a revolutionary land law, opposing any delay in distributing land. It stipulated that wherever an uprising has driven out the local tyrants, land must be immediately confiscated and distributed to the peasants. The criteria for confiscation are not limited to tyrannical landlords; as long as there is a genuine demand from the masses, land belonging to such individuals may be seized. Regarding land distribution, the conference emphasized that the immediate objective of the land revolution is to dismantle the feudal foundations and win over the broad masses. Therefore, all fields, forests, ponds, and houses should be distributed as widely as possible to those in need. Only land that is impractical to divide—such as high mountains or large ponds—should be placed under Soviet management for public use by the people. The joint conference noted that superficially leftist theories advocating collective production and consumption at this stage actually help the powerful maintain feudal dominance, thereby undermining the task of thoroughly smashing the feudal base. At the same time, while both labor-based distribution and equal shares for men, women, young, and old are possible, the latter should be adopted as an essential strategy for winning over the broad masses of poor peasants. Developing production is not the primary strategic goal at present; gaining the support of the masses is.

To guide the extensive armed struggle, to deepen the land revolution within this context, to establish revolutionary power, and to expand armed organizations, there is an urgent need for a centralized, highest-level guiding body. The former committees previously appointed by the Central Committee to lead the Fourth Army and to oversee local work wherever the army went should have their responsibilities expanded, their structure reorganized, and be entrusted with this great mission. Meanwhile, the Fourth Army shall establish its own military commission to provide guidance. The list of members of the former committee is as follows:
Mao Zedong, Tan Zheng, Zeng Xian, Wang Hui, Fang Zhixian, Zhu De, Pan Xingyuan, Huang Gongshen, Liu Shiqi, Yuan Dezhi, Tan Zhenlin, Chen Zhuang, Gan Zixing, Ge Ziwei, Chao Guoping, Li Wenlin, Zhan Daiyuan. Mao, Zeng, Liu, Zhu, and Pan were designated as standing committee members, with Huang and Yuan serving as alternate standing committee members, and Mao was appointed secretary. In order to achieve unified leadership in Southwest China, the joint conference decided to merge the two existing special committees in western and southern Sichuan, appoint a new roster, and establish the Southwest Special Committee. It also approved the list of members of the Fourth Army’s military commission and resolved to convene the Southwest Regional Party Congress and the Jiangxi Provincial Workers’, Peasants’, and Soldiers’ Congress.

Under the tasks outlined by the joint conference, the former committee has already begun its work. This is hereby announced to the Red Army, to party organizations at all levels in the region, and to all comrades.

Former Committee
Reference Materials on the History of the CPC (Volume III), People’s Publishing House, 1979. Selected Documents from the Central Revolutionary Base Area (Part II), Jiangxi People’s Publishing House, 1982. Conclusions of the Fifth Joint Conference and Announcement of the Establishment of the Former Committee.

--- Notes

1. The slogan of the province; 2. Deepening the land revolution; 3. Expanding the worker-peasant armed forces. Through the realization of these three tasks, the reactionary forces in the southern provinces will be defeated under the red flag, as concluded by the joint conference, and the former committee will be established. The broad masses will rally around the red flag, becoming a major driving force for the national revolution. The joint conference also informed comrades and all struggling masses that achieving these three tasks will not be easy; it can only be accomplished through fierce and arduous struggle.
Great and unprecedented hardships will arise as revolutionary forces advance, for our adversaries are not only China’s ruling classes—the bourgeoisie and the landlord class—but also the world’s ruling powers—imperialism. Nevertheless, the future of this arduous struggle is certain: the nationwide revolution will support and assist the revolutionary forces in the south, while the southern revolutionary forces will unite with revolutionary forces across the country to completely overthrow the ruling class.
The joint conference pointed out that there is a serious crisis within the Party in Southwestern China: landlords and rich peasants have infiltrated the Party’s local leadership organs at all levels, and the Party’s policies have become thoroughly opportunist. Unless this situation is thoroughly rectified, not only will the Party be unable to carry out its major political tasks, but the revolution itself will inevitably fail.
The joint conference called upon revolutionary comrades within the Party to rise up, overthrow the opportunist political leadership, expel landlords and rich peasants from the Party, and swiftly Bolshevikize the Party.