DECLARATION ON THE FUKIEN INCIDENT

11 February 1934

[Text] Masses of all China!

The so-called People's Revolutionary Government of Fukien, due to the armed
intervention of Chiang Kai-shek and the surrender and sellout by the leaders
of the People's Revolutionary Government, is finally defeated.

The leaders of the Fukien People's Revolutionary Government were severely
attacked last year at Lien-ch'eng and Min-pei by our Workers and Peasants
Red Army and Eastern Army. They now know that temporary concessions of the
soviet and Red Army are the necessary condition for maintaining their
available forces and rule. At the same time, the bankruptcy of the
traitorous and oppressive Kuomintang rule, the growing anger and resistance
of the tens of millions of worker-peasant masses to the imperialist Kuomintang
and their sympathy and support for the anti-imperialist, anti-Kuomintang
soviet road also gave the bureaucrats, politicians and militarists of the
Fukien Kuomintang Provincial Government and 19th Route Army at that time no
choice but to seek modes of rule besides those of the Kuomintang. They came
to preserve the entire rule of the landlord and bourgeois class.

At that time, the bureaucrats, politicians and militarists of the Fukien
Provincial Government and 19th Route Army first sent a special envoy,
Han Ming-hui [1776 0682 7703], to the soviet Central Government, where he
indicated he was willing to accept the three provisions of the soviet Central
Government and Revolutionary Military Committee, that is, 1) immediate halt
to attacks on soviet areas; 2) immediate guarantee of freedom and rights
of the masses to speak, assemble, form associations and strike; and
3) immediate establishment of a volunteer army of the armed masses to safeguard China and to strive for the independence, unification and territorial
integrity of China.

The soviet Government completely understood this scheme of the bureaucrats,
politicians and militarists of the Fukien Kuomintang Provincial Government
and 19th Route Army of that time. All the empty words absolutely could not
fool the leaders of the soviet Government. On the other hand, according to

its own declaration, the soviet Government was willing to provide real impetus
and support to all anti-imperialist and anti-Chiang plans. The soviet government and Worker-Peasants Red Army of that time, with the representatives of
the Fukien Provincial Government and 19th Route Army permitted to accept all
of our demands and conditions, and according to our own basic revolutionary
position, drew up a preliminary agreement with them. From the very beginning,
the leaders of the soviet government told the representatives of the Fukien
Provincial Government and 19th Route Army that only if they resolutely wage
and back the anti-Japanese, anti-imperialist, anti-Chiang revolutionary
struggle of the broad masses, arm them and give them all the democratic
freedoms and rights, can they save the Chinese nation from perishing. Any
reformist deception propaganda can only serve as an additional tool for the
imperialist Kuomintang.

After the representatives of the Fukien Provincial Government and 19th Route
Army drew up the preliminary agreement with the soviet Government and Worker-
Peasant Red Army, they stated that they would separate from the Kuomintang,
announced some "left" reformist political programs and openly published
declarations opposing Chiang Kai-shek of the Nanking Kuomintang Government.
This was just lip service. In reality, they still colluded with the Japanese
and American imperialists as before and kowtowed to them. They kept silent
and did not make a sound about the provocations of the Japanese ronin in
Foochow. In respect to allowing democratic rights for the masses and arming
the masses, on the pretext that it was wartime, they did not make good on
any of their promises. As for the workers, peasants and all soldiers, not
only did they not have any concrete methods to improve their life but on
the contrary, they made every effort to prohibit the workers' struggle to
strike and the peasants' struggle to resign the landlord and return land.
Militarily, they completely took the defeatist line. Faced with Chiang Kaishek's relentless attacks, first of all they offered some concrete military
deployments, wherefore, and then they surrendered and sold out again and
again, from the direct mutiny of Sau-t'u Pei [0674 4778 7236] and
T'an Ch'i-hsieh [6223 0796 14423] to Shen Kuang-han [3098 0342 3352],
Pan Wei-chou [3382 4850 1108], Ou Shou-nien [1057 1108 1628] and
Chang Yen [1728 3508]. The militarists of the 19th Route Army, the likes
of Chiang Kuang-nai [5592 0342 7844] and Ts'ai T'ing-chieh [5591 1694
6946], retreated without a fight and surrendered the Kwangtung militarists
to save themselves. Many other bureaucrats and politicians, the likes of
Ch'en Ming-shu [7115 6900 2873], Yu Yen-tsen [7183 0605 3788] and Huang
Ch'i-hsiang [7806 3825 5046], spent all day in empty talk and deceiving
the masses. As soon as they heard a shot they flew away as chickens
scattered as dust and fled for their lives to imperialists legations and
warships. Although our Red Army already taken positive action in
Min-pei and occupied Sha-hsien to Yu-ch'i in order to coordinate their
anti-Chiang struggle, it was still of no help to those packs of jackals.

The soviet government and the Worker and Peasant Red Army had already warned
the People's Revolutionary Government again according to the preliminary
agreement that only by realizing every provision of the agreement and

launching the revolutionary struggle of the broad masses could they defeat
the armed attacks of Chiang Kai-shek and go right on to oppose the Japanese
imperialists. The warning of the soviet government and Worker-Peasant Red
Army could not get the attention of the bureaucrats, politicians and
militarists in the People's Revolutionary Government. They looked on the
masses as enemies and they did not have the slightest difference from other
Kuomintang bureaucrats, politicians and militarists. As a result, just as
we said, the People's Revolutionary Government, faced with Chiang Kai-shek,
concluded its sad fate of over 30 days.

Masses of all China! You can see fully from the preliminary agreement drawn
up by the soviet Government and the People's Revolutionary Government and
from the soviet government's telegram how the soviet government and the
Worker-Peasant Red Army are unwavering in the struggle to oppose Japanese
imperialism and the lackey Chiang Kai-shek and for the thorough liberation
of the Chinese nation. All the facts prove that only the soviet government
and the Worker-Peasant Red Army are the anti-imperialist vanguard that can
liberate China from the iron heel of the imperialist Kuomintang. All the
reformist factions, from the Productive Masses Party, Social Democratic
Party and Third Party, right down to the Trotskite Ch'en Tu-hsiu [7115
3747 4423] liquidationists were all nothing but yes-men to the imperialist
Kuomintang and accomplices with the imperialist Kuomintang in opposing the
Chinese revolutionary masses!

The soviet Central Government and the Revolutionary Military Committee declare
once more to the masses of all China, revolutionary soldiers and all armed
ranks, that just because of the defeat of the Fukien People's Revolutionary
Government or the breaking of the agreement by the bureaucrats, politicians
and militarists in the People's Revolutionary Government, the soviet government absolutely will not forsake [two characters deleted] the proposals
of the battle agreement drawn up and fought for under the three conditions
of the past. On the contrary, through the Fukien incident, every worker,
every peasant, every soldier, every intellectual and anti-Japanese Chinese
can see even more clearly that the soviet government, not in lip service
but in actual deed, is willing to unite with all the armed forces which can
truly resist Japan and oppose Chiang and strive for the independence, freedom
and liberation of the Chinese nation. All those who can truly resist Japan
and oppose Chiang as well as all anti-imperialist and anti-Kuomintang forces
can obtain thorough guidance and support from the soviet government and
Worker-Peasant Red Army but the soviet government and the Worker-Peasant
Red Army will continue to attack and expose mercilessly all counterrevolutionary reformist factions which attempt to preserve imperialism and the
Chinese landlord and bourgeois rule with empty promises and deceptive
propaganda.

Masses of all China! The disastrous history of the Fukien People's Revolutionary Government pointed out again that only with your own brave,
resolute struggle can you finally overthrow the rule of the imperialist
Kuomintang and assure China's independence, freedom and territorial
integrity. The victorious and successful experience of tens of millions
of masses in the vast soviet areas of China tells you that only the soviet
road can attain the national and social liberation of the masses nationwide!
If you oppose the attacks of the imperialist Kuomintang against the soviet
areas and safeguard the Chinese soviet, you are safeguarding the Chinese
revolution and assuring your own victory!

Anti-Japanese and anti-imperialist forces of all China unite!

Smash the five "encirclement and suppression" of the imperialist Kuomintang!

Down with Japanese and all imperialism!

Down with the traitorous Nanking Kuomintang Government and all Kuomintang
governments!

Long live anti-imperialist soviet China!

11 February 1934

*   "Red China," No 149, 14 February 1934

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

Chu Teh, Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Committee.