September 3, 1935 To the White Army soldiers of Guangdong and Fujian: The Kuomintang, the Nanjing Government—the chief culprits who have betrayed China—have already concluded a secret pact with Japan. Not only have they surrendered Manchuria, Rehe, and Chahar, but they are now initiating peace negotiations on the condition that all armed forces be withdrawn from Beiping and Tianjin. The entire North China region is now under the iron heel of Japanese imperialism. The indignation of the Chinese people throughout the country against the Kuomintang’s Nanjing Government has reached its peak.  The Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Revolutionary Military Commission have repeatedly proposed to the armed forces attacking the Soviet areas across China that they enter into a combat agreement under the following three conditions to resist Japanese imperialist aggression: (1) immediately cease the offensive against the Soviet areas; (2) immediately guarantee the democratic rights of the people—freedom of assembly, association, speech, publication, and strike; and (3) immediately arm the people’s volunteer armies to defend China and strive for its independence, unity, and territorial integrity. Although this appeal by the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Revolutionary Military Commission has won the support of the Chinese people nationwide, the Kuomintang warlords have not only refused to abandon their plan to attack the Soviet areas and join forces to oppose Japanese imperialism, but have instead gone even further in capitulating to Japanese imperialism, betraying all of North China in order to intensify their assault on the Soviet regions.

In response to this offensive, our victorious and valiant Red Army, together with the working-class and peasant masses, has dealt the main forces of the traitorous ringleader Chiang Kai-shek the most crushing blow, completely annihilating Chiang’s First Column and routing all of his principal troops. In order to enable the heroic Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army to march north to fight the Japanese aggressors and destroy every Japanese imperialist unit occupying North China, the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Revolutionary Military Commission deem it imperative to eliminate the main Kuomintang forces led by the traitor Chiang Kai-shek, who has concluded a secret pact with Japan and sold out all of North China, so as to clear the way for the northern advance to resist Japan. At this critical juncture, when the very existence of the Chinese nation hangs in the balance, the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Revolutionary Military Commission once again propose to all armed units in Guangdong and Fujian that, upon their recognition of the above three conditions, they enter into a combat agreement with us to oppose Japanese imperialism and to overthrow the Nanjing Government headed by the Kuomintang ringleader Chiang Kai-shek, who has betrayed North China.

The Chinese Soviet Government and the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army are the anti-imperialist government and the anti-imperialist armed forces of the Chinese people. Within our Soviet areas, imperialist influence has been completely eradicated; all anti-imperialist forces are our allies. As for any Kuomintang warlord in Fujian or Guangdong who seeks to invade the revolutionary base areas of China under the deceptive propaganda of “resisting Japan while suppressing the Communists,” thereby serving as a lackey for imperialism in its partition of China, we shall meet them head-on with armed force and engage them in decisive battle until they are utterly destroyed, so that Soviet power may be established throughout the whole of China.

Brothers, soldiers of the White Army in Guangdong and Fujian: Rise up! Join hands with the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army to fight Japanese imperialism and to overthrow all Kuomintang warlords who have betrayed China!

Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic Zhu De, Chairman of the Revolutionary Military Commission and Supreme Commander of the All-China Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army