All the people of China are witnessing the inhumane bombing and massacre being carried out by Japanese aircraft and bombs within Rehe Province. Eight divisions of Japanese imperial forces, supported by hundreds of aircraft, are simultaneously advancing toward Chengde along three separate routes. Meanwhile, the Nationalist generals persist in their shameless policy of non-resistance, steadily retreating and abandoning cities such as Kailu and Chaoyang, leaving millions of peaceful residents and soldiers actively resisting Japanese aggression at the mercy of the imperial army’s iron boots, which trample, ravage, and slaughter indiscriminately.

People of all China! The entire province of Rehe has now fallen into the hands of the Japanese imperialists, and northern China as a whole stands at a critical juncture of life and death. The tragic fate of colonized peoples directly threatens the working masses throughout China!

Fellow citizens of China! The imperialist war of aggression and enslavement against our country is raging with unprecedented ferocity. Before us lies only one path to survival: to arm ourselves and launch a revolutionary national liberation war! Only the broad, massive armed forces of the people can defeat the aggressive, predatory war waged by Japan and all other imperialist powers to invade and carve up China, thereby securing our nation’s independence, liberation, and territorial integrity.

The Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic has repeatedly called upon the people of China to rise up alongside the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and the hardworking masses of the Soviet zones to wage a victorious national revolutionary war. Most recently, in a public declaration addressed to the entire nation, it explicitly stated that the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army is willing, under the simplest and most essential conditions, to conclude combat agreements with any genuine anti-Japanese force. In stark contrast, the Nationalist warlord-politicians have shamelessly bowed before imperialism, betrayed the country, and adopted policies of non-resistance and surrender. (Omitted section) Precisely because the Soviet government has been calling for and organizing a nationwide anti-imperialist, anti-Japanese movement, the traitorous Nationalist government has responded with even greater brutality, intensifying its campaigns of burning, killing, looting, reckless military adventurism, and economic blockades—all aimed at stifling the development of the Soviet movement and annihilating its mainstay in the anti-imperialist struggle. The Nationalist warlords and politicians have attempted to portray the Soviet government’s offer to enter into combat agreements with anti-Japanese forces as evidence of weakness on the part of the Soviets and the Red Army. Yet this interpretation merely reveals their own stupidity and ignorance. The recent two-month conflict has already provided these treacherous warlords with a harsh lesson: the Nationalist Army’s 51st and 59th Divisions were completely disarmed, both division commanders and their staff captured, and the Fifth Army utterly routed. The Soviet movement enjoys the unwavering support of millions of people, while the Nationalist warlords’ reckless military adventures and economic blockades have only further inflamed the resistance of the working masses nationwide.

The Chinese Soviet government and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army are preparing to engage the Japanese imperial forces in direct combat and drive them out of China. Therefore, it is imperative to disarm all reactionary forces that stand in the way of our fight against Japan. The Soviet government and the Red Army hereby reiterate their willingness to conclude combat agreements with any genuine anti-Japanese force. To all troops and armed groups invading the Soviet zones: we call upon you, fellow soldiers of the White Army, to rebel against your traitorous leaders, turn your weapons against them, and join forces with the Red Army to resist the Japanese imperialist aggressors and expel them from Chinese territory.

Citizens of all China! Soldiers of the White Army! The Provisional Central Soviet Government calls upon you to rise up and launch an armed national revolutionary war—to oppose Japanese imperialism, the traitorous Nationalist regime, and the attacks on the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army and the Soviet zones! Support our joint call for a national revolutionary war, defy your treacherous superiors, join forces with the Red Army, resist the predatory aggression of Japanese imperialism, and refuse to participate in any operation that sends even a single soldier, a single weapon, or a single bullet into the Soviet zones. Demand that your entire force be deployed to northern China to confront the Japanese imperialist offensive, initiate a national revolutionary war against Japan and all other imperialist powers, and overthrow the Nationalist Party—the puppets of imperialism!

Chairman Mao Zedong, Vice Chairmen Xiang Ying and Zhang Guotao. March 4, 1933, Ruijin, Jiangxi Province.