DECLARATION OF THE CHINESE WORKER-PEASANT RED ARMY ON ITS INTENTION TO
MARCH NORTH TO COMBAT JAPANESE AGGRESSION

15 July 1934

[Text] Workers, peasants, soldiers and all revolutionary people in the country!

The devilish Japanese imperialists have swallowed up our three eastern provinces (Heilungkiang, Kirin and Liaoning), invaded and occupied Jehol and Inner Mongolia. Now they have again seized our entire North China. In South China, Japanese imperialism is planning the direct occupation of Fukien Province with the use of big naval guns and their army, navy and air forces. It intends to transform all China into a colony and turn the people of China into colonial slaves, to forever suffer the butchery of Japanese bandits and to be raped, exploited and ravaged by them!

The warlords of the Kuomintang, Chiang Kai-shek and Chang Hsueh-liang and others, have always adopted an attitude of surrender and betrayal in dealing with Japanese imperialist aggression. They sold out the three eastern provinces, Jehol, and Inner Mongolia. Now they are directly trafficking with "Manchukuo," recognizing that entity and selling out all of North China and Fukien Province. They are helping Japanese imperialists to suppress the Chinese anti-Japanese movement, the boycott of Japanese goods and the guerrilla warfare waged by the anti-Japanese Volunteer Army. Under the pretext of the strength "to oppose Japan," they amassed over a million soldiers from all over China, expended 100 million silver yuan and used all the planes and artillery they have to launch endless "encirclements" against the only anti-Japanese, anti-imperialist Soviet government of the workers and peasants and the Worker-Peasant Red Army. All these testify that the Kuomintang warlords are the loyalists of the running dogs of Japanese imperialism. The Kuomintang warlords are the biggest traitors and national betrayers in the history of China.

In dealing with the non-stop aggression of Japanese imperialism, the Chinese Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army have repeatedly called on

the people of China to arm and oppose Japanese imperialist aggression with national revolutionary warfare. They openly declared war and issued emergency mobilization orders for war against Japan to mobilize the people in the entire Soviet area and prepare them to directly fight against Japanese imperialism. The Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army have repeatedly proclaimed to the people of China that under the three conditions off:

1) Cease all attacks against Soviet areas and the Red Army;

2) Cede to the people the initial powers toward democratic rights--the freedom of speech, publication, assembly and association and the freedom to strike and demonstrate; and

3) Immediately arm the people and create a people's anti-Japanese volunteer army to defend China," they are willing to conclude a fighting agreement with an armed unit. The Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army have repeatedly opposed the Tangku agreement, direct negotiations between China and Japan, recognition of the Japanese puppet government of "Manchukuo" and the Kuomintang betrayal of North China.

They have repeatedly called for open aid to the anti-Japanese volunteer army in North China and all revolutionary movements in China opposing Japan and imperialism and opposition against all suppressions and slaughter perpetrated by imperialism and the Kuomintang against the anti-Japanese, anti-imperialism movement.

The broad masses of workers, peasants, soldiers and revolutionary people throughout China are against the Kuomintang's betrayal of Jehol, the three eastern provinces (Heilungkiang, Liaoning and Kirin), Inner Mongolia, North China, Fukien Province and all of China, and support the proposal of the Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army to oppose Japan with their anti-Japan activities. This has compelled the Kuomintang to blockade us even more frantically and attack us, thereby preventing our Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army from uniting directly with the people of China, from carrying out unified action with the anti-Japanese Volunteer Army in North China to launch a national revolution against the Japanese imperialists and drive the bandits of Japanese imperialism from China. Not only have the Kuomintang warlords completely ignored the proposal to unite with the Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army and together oppose Japan, but they have even more shamelessly betrayed China and stepped up the fifth "encirclement and suppression" of the Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army to help Japanese imperialism swallow up China.

In order to mobilize all their forces to fight directly against Japanese imperialism, the Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army have been forced to first engage in bloody combat with the over 2-million-man bandit army of the Kuomintang which have been attacking us so as to preserve

the free, Soviet territories, which have already shaken off the fetters of imperialism and prevent them from ever again being trampled upon and betrayed by the Kuomintang, the running dogs of imperialism.

We absolutely will not abandon the anti-imperialist revolutionary base of China formed through countless bloody battles with the bandit army of the Kuomintang. The Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army absolutely cannot idly watch the enslavement of the Chinese nation by Japanese imperialism, absolutely will not permit the traitors and national betrayers in the Kuomintang to completely auction off all of China.

They absolutely will not allow Japanese imperialism to ravage and perpetrate mass butchery of the broad masses of the hard-working people of China, nor can it allow the solitary struggle of the Northwest Volunteer Army to go on (without support). The Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army, at the crucial moment of the decisive, decisive battle against the superior force of the Kuomintang bandit army, have, with the greatest of determination and disregarding all difficulties, dispatched an anti-Japanese vanguard force to march north to fight the Japanese.

If only the armed units that are attacking us can accept the three conditions we have set forth, the main strength of our Worker-Peasant Red Army can then march north in full force, following the vanguard unit to unite with all armed forces in China and fight the Japanese together.

People of all China! The vanguard unit of the Chinese Worker-Peasant Red Army marching north to fight the Japanese is willing to unite with the people of China and all armed forces to fight together against the Japanese, launch a people's national revolutionary war and overthrow Japanese imperialism. All the people opposing Japan should help the vanguard unit of our Worker-Peasant Red Army now marching north to fight against Japan, unite and rally around this vanguard force, join its column, arm and fight directly against the bandits of Japanese imperialism attacking China. All people opposing Japan are our compatriots and all armed units fighting against Japan are fellow travellers. We should all unite. All individuals, groups or armed units who prohibit or oppress our opposition against Japan are traitors and betrayers of the nation. We should all arise and wipe them out!

We hold that only a national revolution waged by the armed units of the people of all China can overthrow Japan and all imperialism and secure the independence and liberation of the Chinese nation and preserve the territorial integrity of China.

For attaining victory in the national revolution the Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army make these concrete proposals.

1. Resolutely oppose the selling out of the three eastern provinces, Jehol, Inner Mongolia, North China, Fukien Province and all China by the

Kuomintang Government, oppose direct negotiations between China and Japan to sell out and take over the nation, oppose the recognition of the puppet "Manchukuo," and discard the dream of getting help from the League of Nations, the bandit clique of imperialism and from U.S. imperialism.

2. Immediately proclaim the severing of relations with Japan and the abrogation of the Tangku agreement and all secret Sino-Japanese treaties. Mobilize the entire Chinese Army, Navy and Air Force to fight against Japan. Immediately cease the attacks on the Soviet areas and stop blockading them so that the Worker-Peasant Red Army can be fully utilized in direct battle with Japanese imperialism.

3. Call on the people throughout the country to arm themselves with all of the weapons in the Kuomintang arsenals and in the Central Ordinance Factory, and the armaments being imported, organize anti-Japanese people's voluntary armies and guerrilla warfare and vanguard force of the Chinese Worker-Peasant Red Army marching north to fight the Japanese.

4. Confiscate all business enterprises and assets of Japanese imperialists traitors and national betrayers, stop all payments of principal and interest on all debts owed by China to Japan, establish a progressive tax system and seize the entire military budget of the Kuomintang to use as combat funds against the Japanese (to finance the war against Japan).

5. Organize anti-Japanese people's groups on a general scale (such as anti-Japanese associations, committees for boycotting Japanese goods, committees for the solicitation of funds in support of the volunteer army and the Red Army, as well as all kinds of anti-Japanese control units, sabotage units, communication units, propaganda units and transportation units. Absorb the broad masses into the anti-Japanese groups without regard to age, sex, creed or political faction and urge strikes, boycotts of classes, absenteeism and closing of shops to oppose the aggression of Japanese imperialism and the national betrayal and capitulation of the Kuomintang Government.

The Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army will struggle for this program without regard to any and all sacrifices. The Soviet Government and the Worker-Peasant Red Army ask the people of all China to support this program and, together with us, struggle to the end for the implementation of this program.

Let the Kuomintang, the running dog of imperialism and the traitors and national betrayers in the Kuomintang clamor that "China has no strength to oppose Japan!"

The anti-Japanese general mobilization of the people of China, the anti-Japanese armed forces countrywide, the anti-Japanese people's group throughout the nation have all the power to overthrow Japan and all imperialism and to overthrow the Kuomintang, this clique of traitors and national betrayers!

Mao Tse-tung, chairman of the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic

Hsiang Ying, vice chairman

Chang Kuo-t'ao, vice chairman

Chou En-lai, vice chairman

Wang Chia-ch'iang [3769 4471 5638]

Chu Teh, chairman of the Revolutionary Military Affairs Committee of the Worker-Peasant Red Army

15 July 1934

° "Red China," Vol 221, 1 August 1934.

* Soldiers Daily Curriculum, Vol 1, July 1934.

* Reference Materials on the History of the Chinese Revolution, Vol 3, People's University of China, 1956.