OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF THE WHOLE COUNTRY ON 'DIRECT NEGOTIATIONS
BETWEEN CHINA AND JAPAN'

11 November 1933

[Text] People of the whole country!

Ever since the Kuomintang Nanking Government concluded an agreement with
Japanese imperialism (calling for the sale of Manchuria and Mongolia to Japan
and a truce in North China and the holding of the Hotiren Conference in which
China, Japan and "Manchukuo" gathered for "social"), the Kuomintang Nanking
government not only has sold off Manchuria and Mongolia and the so-called
"neutral region" of Lo-tung, but has also directly mobilized its armed
strength to force, in coordination with troops of Japanese imperialism and
"Manchukuo," anti-Japanese Manchurian soldiers to withdraw from Mongolia.
It also has, under the name of "suppression of bandits," massacred thousands
of troops of the Northeast Anti-Japanese volunteer armies and revolutionary
soldiers. All over China, Chiang Kai-shek, the ringleader of the Kuomintang,
issued a blatant proclamation to the effect that "people who talk wildly of
resisting Japan will be summarily executed without leniency" and that "to
extirpate the bandits it is necessary to stop resisting Japan." Then he
proceeded to suppress all anti-Japanese revolutionary movements with the
most ruthless White terror, withdraw his North China garrisons according to
plan and concentrate all his military might to launch a new, fifth "encirclement and suppression" campaign against the anti-Japanese and anti-imperialist
Main Force--the Chinese Soviet Government and the Chinese Workers and Peasants'
Red Army--to demonstrate his loyalty to imperialism and realize his predetermined plan of holding "direct negotiations between China and Japan."

Since key figures of the Kuomintang held their third Lu-shan conference in
September, direct negotiations between China and Japan have been carried
out at an accelerating pace. The scope of the negotiations obviously is not
limited to the public acknowledgement of the Kuomintang government that
Manchuria and Mongolia are colonies of Japanese imperialism. In addition,
it is certain that the Nanking government will be further submissive to Japan
in its betrayal of the nation. It will recognize North China as within the

sphere of influence of Japan in exchange for the latter's aid in money
and arms to extend the reactionary influence of the Kuomintang government
and carry out its fifth "encirclement and suppression" campaign. What is
described as Japan's willingness to relinquish its "extraterritoriality in
China" is, of course, nothing but a trick to hoodwink the Chinese people.

People of the whole country! The Kuomintang Nanking Government has sold
off the Northeast Provinces and Inner Mongolia. Now it soon will sell off
all of North China. At the same time, the Kuomintang Nanking Government and
the Kuomintang governments of various other sections have sold off Tibet,
Sikang and the greater portions of Szechwan to British imperialism and nine
islands in the South China Sea and Yunnan and Kweichow to French imperialism.
They also have sold off to British imperialism a multitude of political and
economic privileges. The big lump sum of several hundred million yuan and large
quantities of murderous weapons that the Kuomintang Government has obtained
from various imperialist countries in Europe and America were the price
paid to it for selling out China.

Its sell-out of the whole country, capitulation to imperialism and its
serving as a scavenger of the imperialists in their partition of China have
been the standard foreign policy of the Kuomintang government. Precisely
because of this, it is opposing all anti-Japanese and anti-imperialist revolutionary movements and carrying out its frenzied, desperate fifth "encirclement and suppression" campaign against the only anti-Japanese, anti-imperialist, people's own Soviet Government and Workers and Peasants' Red Army. Pre-cisely because of this, it is helping the imperialists to intensify the
exploitation of the Chinese people and create the total breakdown of China's
national economy so as to cause floods, drought and famine to spread wildly
over China, workers to lose their jobs, peasants to lose their land, students
to lose their opportunity to attend school and the overwhelming majority of
Chinese people to live in grievous and deplorable hell and eventually die
of cold and hunger!

People of the whole country! The road that the Kuomintang wants us to take
is one that will lead to the conversion of China into a colony, one that
will lead to the complete destruction of the Chinese nation!

The only way ahead for the revolutionary masses of the whole people is to
unite as one, arm themselves, unfold a national revolutionary war against
the invasion of Japanese imperialism and all other imperialist countries,
overthrow all Kuomintang warlords who betray the country and bring shame
on the nation, rid of all the principal cat's paws of the imperialist--
the Nanking Kuomintang government, headed by Chiang Kai-shek--and fight for
the Chinese nation and the ultimate liberation of the Chinese people!

The Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic once more
proclaims to the people of the whole country that for the sake of striking
down Japan and all imperialists, overthrowing all traitorous Kuomintang

warlords and maintaining the independence, unity and territorial integrity
of China, it stands ready at all times to shed the last drop of blood. In
order to maintain the independence, unity and territorial integrity of China,
the Soviet Central Government is in the process of concentrating all its
strength and preparing to make all sacrifices to smash the fifth "encirclement and suppression" campaign of the imperialist Kuomintang. The struggle
to smash the fifth "encirclement and suppression" campaign is a struggle to
prevent China from taking the road of colonialism and struggle for a free
and independent Soviet new China!

In order to concentrate all the strength of the people of the whole country
to engage in a decisive battle against China's most vicious enemy, the Pro-visional Central Government and Revolutionary Military Affairs Committee of
the Chinese Soviet Republic once again propose hereby to all armed units taking
part in attacks against soviet areas throughout the country the conclusion of
a combat agreement on the current anti-Japanese and anti-Chiang fighting under
the following three conditions: (1) Cease all attacks against the soviet
areas immediately; (2) guarantee immediately the democratic rights of the
people (freedom of assembly, of association, of speech, of the press and of
strike); and (3) arm the people and create armed volunteers immediately to
defend China and fight for its independence, unity and territorial integrity.

The Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic firmly believes that this proposal can win the sympathy and active support of the
laboring masses of the whole country and all other Chinese people with even
a slight amount of patriotic blood running in their veins. Such sympathy and
support will guarantee the total victory of the soviet road in the decisive
battles between the two roads of colonialism and sovietism and enable the
Chinese nation and people of the whole country to win ultimate liberation
from the iron heels of imperialism!

Down with Japan and all other imperialists!

Down with the traitorous Kuomintang, the Nanking government and all other
Kuomintang governments!

Struggle for an independent and free soviet new China!

Mao Tse-tung, Chairman of the Central
Executive Committee of the Soviet Republic
of China

Chu Teh, Chairman of the Revolutionary
Military Affairs Committee

11 November

o "Red China," No 126, 17 November 1933