RESOLUTION ON CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION AND PARTY TASKS
Passed by the Chinese Communist Party Central Politburo
25 December 1935
[Text] I. Nature of the Current Situation
A fundamental change has occurred in the current political situation,
demarcating a new era in China's revolutionary history. The manifestations are the attempt of Japanese imperialism to turn China into a
colony, the pending expansion of China's revolution into a great nationwide revolution, and the imminence of the world revolution and war.

After annexing the four Northeast provinces, Japanese imperialism has
now occupied all of North China and is preparing to swallow all of
China, in order to turn China from the semi-colony of the various
imperialists into Japan's colony. This is the basic characteristic of
the current situation.

As the open and armed occupation of the four Northeast provinces aroused
the anti-Japanese anger of the whole of China, Japanese imperialism has
adopted a more subtle approach. It utilizes the Kuomintang Nanking
government to issue orders and appoint certain Chinese traitor warlords
and politicians as its agents in North China, with the intention of
eventual direct armed occupation. Though the means is more cunning and
vicious than that of "18 September," it is merely a transition stage to
direct armed occupation and the establishment of a nation of North China
and its puppet government. A second puppet Manchukuo government will be
the inevitable outcome. The many warlords and politicians, rich gentry,
compradors, and capitalists, constituting the major components of China's
traitor clique, especially the pro-Japan factions among them, will serve
as the constituents and supporters of the puppet government. Without
this large group of spies and traitors, Japanese imperialism will not
find it so easy to turn China into its colony.

By its act of annexing North China and preparing to swallow the entire
China, Japanese imperialism brings the great calamity of the loss of the
nation and the destruction of the race to the 400 million Chinese people.
This calamity forces all the Chinese who are unwilling to lose their
country or to serve as spies and traitors to the only path available to
them; they have to launch a sacred national war against Japanese
imperialism and its running dogs, the spies and traitors. To defend
their own nation, all patriotic Chinese people will fight the bloody war
to the final end. This is the inevitable response to the venture of
Japanese imperialism to destroy the nation and race of another country.
After swallowing the four northeast provinces, a relatively small bomb,
Japanese imperialism begins to swallow China proper, a gigantic bomb.

The act of Japanese imperialism to swallow China singlehandedly has
aggravated the internal conflicts of imperialism to an unprecedented
extent. For its own goal, imperialism absolutely cannot tolerate Japan.
A Pacific war is inevitable. Meanwhile, Great Britain wishes to acquire
certain concessions and compromises from Japan so that it can devote its
main force to its major enemies, the Soviet Union, America, and Italy.

The act of Japanese imperialism to swallow China has promoted the weakening and collapse of China's counterrevolutionary regime, first of all the
regime of Chiang Kai-shek, the chief traitor. Chiang Kai-shek's consistent traitorous policy has not only caused him to lose certain social
and mass bases, but also reduced his territory. His long struggle against
the soviet, especially the five "encirclements" and his pursuit of the
Central Red Army, has consumed, exhausted, and dispersed his forces. The
dream of a fascist unification of China has declared final bankruptcy.
The Fifth Kuomintang National Congress was actually a loot dividing
conference unfavorable to Chiang Kai-shek. He can only rely more on
betraying China to maintain his dying control, while such betrayal further hastens the destruction of his rule.

This situation aggravates further the contradictions and conflicts
between the Chiang faction warlords and other warlords and increases the
possibility of a war against Chiang on a new status of a new nature.

The act of Japanese imperialism to swallow China occurs precisely at the
time when China's soviet movement is shifting to a new situation. Since
the Central Red Army withdrew from the central soviet area and certain
soviet areas along the lower Yangtze suffered partial losses, with the
new victories won by the Red Army on all fronts, the creation of new
bases, the shift of the guerrilla war in the old soviet areas into
counteroffensive, and the vigorous development of the new guerrilla warfare, the difficult time has passed. After a long march of 25,000 li
stretching over 12 months, the Central Red Army defeated Chiang Kai-shek's
pursuit, declared the bankruptcy of the encirclement, pursuit, blockade,
and interception of imperialism and its running dog Chiang Kai-shek,
broke the long march record of history, pointed out, by means of the

propaganda teams, the way to relieve misery and save the nation to more
than 200 million people in the 11 provinces traversed by it, and, like a
seeder, scattered the seed of revolution. The smashing of the third
enemy "encirclement" in the Shensi and Kansu soviet areas after the
Central Red Army effected a junction with the 25th, 26th, and 27th
Armies, demonstrated even more clearly the arrival of the new period of
the soviet movement. In combination with the current new general revolutionary situation, it becomes an important component of the new situation of China's revolution. It points out that the ironclad strength
of the Soviet Red Army exists in the great strengths of the Chinese people to resist Japanese imperialism and save China from the calamity of
losing the nation and the race.

The act of Japanese imperialism to swallow China has again awakened the
Chinese people, made them realize the critical situation of the pending
calamity, and stirred up a national revolutionary high tide. This high
tide has been created after innumerable temperings in China's revolutionary history (mainly the great revolution of 1925-1927); it has been
created when China already has its soviet revolutionary bases and the
existence of a revolutionary situation; it has been created under the
pending new cycle of a world revolution and war; it has been created
when the Soviet Union already has the strength to overcome all the
aggressive nations and aid the oppressed people. Therefore, it is
extremely widespread and firm, and produces an interaction with the
world revolution by mutually influencing and mutually aiding each other.

Undoubtedly, the new anti-Japanese national revolutionary high tide has
not only awakened the more backward strata of the workers and peasants
in the nation and caused them to participate actively in the revolutionary
struggle, but also attracted the broad petty bourgeois masses and the
intellectuals to the revolution. The total collapse of China's national
economy, the millions who have lost their jobs or land, and the millions
of disaster victims and refugees have closely linked the new antiJapanese national revolutionary high tide with the daily struggles of
the masses for salvation and survival and greatly expanded the stronghold of the national revolution and its mass foundation. The revolutionary wrath of the broad masses is fermenting in all areas of China,
and begins to manifest itself again in the anti-Japanese demonstrations
of the students in the large cities. In the counterrevolutionary
stronghold, there are new vacillations, splits, and conflicts. A part
of the national bourgeoisie, many rural rich peasants and small landlords, and even some of the warlords have become sympathetically neutral
toward the budding new national movement, with the possibility of participation. The national revolutionary front has expanded.

Today's world is on the eve of a great revolution and a great war. The
economic crisis of all the imperialist nations and the resulting revolutionary crisis make it impossible for imperialism to find another way to
save the situation except war. Doubtlessly the danger of a second

imperialist world war exists in Japanese imperialism's large-scale attack
of China and Italian imperialism's aggression of Abyssinia. Meanwhile,
the national revolutionary wars waged by China and Abyssinia and the
maturing of the revolutionary crisis in the imperialist nations and their
colonies will doubtlessly lead to a world revolution. Currently, on the
eve of revolution and war, we can clearly see the weakening of the world
counterrevolutionary strengths and the rise of the world revolutionary
strengths. In the future, the world war and world revolution will put an
end to all the counterrevolutions in the world. Under such a situation,
China's revolution is no longer isolated as in the past. The world revolution is an effective aid to China's revolution, while the latter has
become a great factor in the world revolution. In the future, China will
aid the world revolution with the noble position of the entire nation.

The same principle applies to the relationship between Japan and China.
Under the leadership of the powerful Japanese Communist Party, Japan's
workers and peasants and the oppressed nations (Korea and Taiwan) are
preparing to struggle for the overthrow of Japanese imperialism and the
building of a soviet Japan. Thus, China's revolution and Japan's revolution are joined under the common goal of "knocking down Japanese imperialism." Japan's revolutionary people are the effective helpers of China's
revolutionary people.

The situation is the same with the Soviet Union. Today's Soviet Union
has the strength to overcome the imperialists which have the audacity to
provoke it (the Second Five-Year Plan nearing completion; the power of the
Red Army). When all the peaceful means toward Japanese imperialism are
ineffective (several proposals to form a mutual nonaggression pact) and
Japan actively provokes the Soviet Union, the latter is ready to hit the
aggressor. Thus, China's revolution, Japan's revolution, and the Soviet
Union's struggle against the aggressor are joined on the foundation of a
common goal--knocking down Japanese imperialism, and the Soviet Union
becomes the most effective aid to China's revolution.

China's revolution has a favorable environment and a brilliant future.
Nevertheless, its main enemy, imperialism, especially the ferocious and
arrogant Japanese imperialism at present, is prepared to confront it with
determination and strength. In regard to China's counterrevolutionary
group, as its ruling force is weakened more than ever before, it has no
choice but to render greater service to the vicious tiger, rely on the
wicked Japanese imperialism, and launch a desperate attack on the revolutionary people. When we consider the unbalanced development between this
situation and China's revolution currently still in existence, we know
that China's revolution has endurance. It points out to China's revolutionary people and their leader, the Communist Party, that they must be
prepared for a long-term war against the enemy and to be ready for hard
work! Without tens of thousands and hundreds of thousands of revolutionary soldiers, it will not be possible to bring about the final
liquidation of the enemy. All strategies and all effort must be directed

toward organizing millions of people into the great national revolutionary
battlefield. To prepare a great force is to prepare for the victory of
the final battle.

II. The Party's Strategy and Line

The current situation tells us that the act of Japanese imperialism to
swallow China has shaken the entire nation and the whole world. The
relations among the political parties of all classes and strata in China's
political life and the armed forces have again changed, or are in the
process of changing. The national revolutionary front and the national
counterrevolutionary front are in the process of yet another reorganization. Therefore, the party's strategy and line are to activate, rally,
and organize all the revolutionary strengths of the entire nation to
resist Japanese imperialism, the major enemy at the present time, and
traitor Chiang Kai-shek. Regardless of who they are, what factions, what
armed units, or what classes, as long as they oppose Japanese imperialism
and traitor Chiang Kai-shek, they must all be rallied together to launch
a sacred national revolutionary war, expel Japanese imperialism out of
China, knock down the control of the Japanese imperialist running dogs,
gain the thorough liberation of the Chinese nation, and preserve its
independence and territorial integrity. Only the most extensive antiJapanese national united front (the lower and the upper strata) will
overcome Japanese imperialism and its running dog Chiang Kai-shek.

Naturally, the different individuals, different organizations, different
social classes and strata, and different armed units will have their
different motives and standpoints in the anti-Japanese national revolution. Some wish to maintain their existing position, others wish to gain
the leadership power of the movement and limit the movement within the
realm permissible by them, and still others truly strive for the thorough
liberation of the nation of China. Precisely because of such different
motives and standpoints, some of them will vacillate or rebel right at
the beginning of the struggle, others may become negative halfway and
withdraw from the front, and there are those who wish to struggle to the
bitter end. Nevertheless, our task is to rally not only all possible
anti-Japanese basic strengths, but all possible anti-Japanese allies; it
is to ask the people of the entire nation to contribute their strength,
money, guns, and knowledge, so that not one patriotic Chinese is left
out of the anti-Japanese front. It is the party's most extensive national
united front, and the general line of its strategy. Only by this line
will we mobilize the strengths of the people of the entire nation against
the common enemy of all the people, Japanese imperialism, and traitor
chief Chiang Kai-shek.

China's worker class and the peasants remain the fundamental motive power
of its revolution. The broad petty bourgeois masses and the revolutionary
intellectuals are the reliable allies in the national revolution. A firm
alliance between the workers and peasants and the petty bourgeoisie

constitutes the basic strength to overcome Japanese imperialism and the
spies and traitors. In regard to a part of the national bourgeoisie and
warlords, no matter how much they disagree with the land revolution and
the soviet system, if they are sympathetic with or adopt a friendly
neutrality toward the struggle against Japan and the spies and traitors,
or if they directly participate in the struggle, it is favorable to the
deployment of the anti-Japanese front, because it serves to weaken the
total counterrevolutionary strength and increase the total revolutionary
strength. To attain this goal, the party must adopt all kinds of suitable methods or patterns to win them over to the resist-Japan front. Not
only thus, but even in the stronghold of the landlord and comprador
classes, they are not all unanimous. As a result of the competitions
among many imperialists in China in the past, various traitor groups
have emerged, with conflicts and contradictions among them. The party
must also resort to many means so that certain counterrevolutionary
forces will temporarily take the position of not actively opposing the
anti-Japanese front. The same strategy must apply to imperialists other
than Japan.

When activating, rallying, and organizing the strengths of the people of
the entire China in order to resist their common enemies, the party must
firmly and steadfastly struggle against all tendencies of vacillation,
compromise, surrender, and rebellion within the united anti-Japanese
front. All those sabotaging the anti-Japanese movement of the Chinese
people are spies and traitors, and we must all rise and attack them.
The Communist Party must, by its own positive, thorough, and correct
anti-Japanese, anti-spy, and anti-traitor words and deeds, gain the
leadership power of the anti-Japanese front. And only under the leadership of the Communist Party will the anti-Japanese movement achieve
thorough victory. In regard to the broad masses on the anti-Japanese
front, their demands involving their basic interest must be satisfied
(the demand of the peasants for land; the demand of the workers, poor
people, soldiers, and intellectuals for improvement of their life).
Only when their demands are met can the broad masses be mobilized to the
anti-Japanese battlefield, the anti-Japanese movement acquire endurance,
and the movement march toward total victory. Only thus can the party
gain leadership power in the anti-Japanese movement.

III. The National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied Army

The most extensive and the supreme form of the national united front
against Japan and the traitors consists of the National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied Army. In view of the existence of
sentiments unfavorable to the soviet system and the land revolution but
favorable to the movement against Japan and the traitors, the situation
of local Balkanization resulting from political and economic imbalance,
the partial territorial success of the Chinese soviet political power at
the present time, and the gravity of the acts of the spies and traitors,
the national counterrevolutionaries, in their roles as accomplices to

Japanese imperialism, the organization of the National Defense Government and Resist-Japan Allied Army is not only feasible, but necessary.

The Chinese people adopt many different patterns to resist Japan and the
traitors, and the degree of awareness of those participating in the antiJapanese movement is not the same. The Communist Party members must
seize all opportunities to activate, organize, and lead the struggles
of all patterns and all degrees and channel them to the stage of the
National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied Army. All antiJapanese and anti-traitor elements, regardless of which class, which
political faction, which social organization, or which armed unit they
represent, may join the National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan
Allied Army. The National Defense Government is the political power
organization of the united front of all the anti-Japanese and antitraitor strength throughout China and the united leadership organ of the
anti-Japanese and anti-traitor national revolutionary war. In the class
sense, it is an alliance of all classes under the common goal to resist
Japan and the traitors.

To organize the National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied
Army promptly, and to give this government and army a broader mass foundation and greater armed strengths, the strategy of the Communist Party
is not to wait for the spontaneous emergence of the anti-Japanese people's organizations and anti-Japanese armed strength before organizing
them, but to direct its own members to activate all the patriotic elements and all the organizational, class, stratum, factional, production
and mercantile, cultural and educational, student and teacher, modern
and old fashioned, social and political, worker-peasant and petty
bourgeois, national bourgeois, urban, rural, and armed strengths,
initiate all kinds and types of anti-Japanese and anti-spy and traitor
organizations (resist-Japan association, anti-Japanese federation, etc.),
organize all kinds and types of anti-Japanese and anti-traitor troops
(resist-Japan volunteer army, the New 19th Route Army of the People's
Revolutionary Army, etc.), and form political power structures (resistJapan governments of the counties, districts, and cities, the people's
revolutionary government, etc.). When such organizations, troops, and
political power structures are assembled, and the strengths of the
soviet and the Red Army added to them, we will have the organizations
of the National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied Army.
After the formation of the National Defense Government and the ResistJapan Allied Army, we must, every day, activate new organizations, new
local governments, and new troops, continuously eliminate the vacillating
and renegade elements, and continuously absorb new strengths, so that the
National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied Army will become
a government and an army which, instead of decadent, are vigorous and,
instead of weak, possess a tremendous combat strength. As for some areas
where resist-Japan governments and resist-Japan allied forces have sprung
up freely without undergoing the party's activation and guidance due to
the weakness of the party's strength in such areas, or without the

participation of the soviet and the Red Army due to their distance, the
party organizations in such areas must actively aid, support, and participate in them. This is the concrete work line of the Communist Party
to realize the National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied
Army.

As the National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied Army are
the most extensive and the supreme form of the organization of the
national united front against Japan and the traitors, they must possess
the most extensive action outline. The outline is as follows:

1. Resist Japan and save the nation; recover lost territory.

2. Confiscate all the assets of Japanese imperialism in China for resistJapan expenses.

3. Confiscate the land and assets of all the traitors and spies and
divide them among the workers, peasants and disaster victims and
refugees.

4. Relieve disasters and control flood; settle the people's living.

5. Abolish all harsh levies and vexatious taxes; develop industry and
commerce.

6. Raise wages and rations; improve the living standards of workers,
soldiers, and teachers.

7. Develop education; relieve students unable to attend school.

8. Realize democratic rights; release all political prisoners.

9. Develop production technology; relieve jobless intellectuals.

10. Rally the workers, peasants, and all oppressed masses of Korea,
Taiwan, and Japan to form a firm alliance. Establish close friendly
relations with nations or states expressing sympathy for China's national
movement or maintaining a friendly neutrality.

The Communist Party must, in the process of the resist-Japan struggle,
seek the realization of these outlines and, through these outlines, the
realization of the party's 10 great outlines.

IV. The Soviet People's Republic

The most extensive united front against Japan and the traitors has its
special significance today; it is the success of the soviet in many
areas in China, which is fundamentally different from the period of the
great revolution of 1925-1927. The success of the soviet movement led

by the Communist Party in many areas in China in the past 9 years has
supplied a fundamental strength to the new anti-imperialist high tide,
given hope to the people of all the nation, furnished live examples of
seizing freedom, liberation, and independence from the hands of imperialism and traitors, laid the firmest foundation and base for the most
extensive national united front, guaranteed the endurance and eventual
thorough victory of the new great revolution, and provided the central
support to the National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied
Army.

To gain a broad and powerful foundation for the national united front,
the Soviet Worker-Peasant Republic and its Central Government declare
that its name is hereby changed to the Soviet People's Republic and that
many parts of its policies, which are the policies of the Soviet WorkerPeasant Republic, are revised for better adaptation to the situation of
resisting Japanese imperialism in its attempt to turn China into a colony.

Such revisions primarily manifest more fully that the soviet represents
not only the workers and peasants, but the nation of China. The fundamental interest of the nation of China is the freedom, independence, and
unity of China, and only under the firm policy of the soviet will such
fundamental interest be gained and safeguarded and the enemies to such
interest, imperialism and traitors, thoroughly overcome.

The Soviet People's Republic declares that it is willing to rally the
broad petty bourgeois masses around itself and that it is willing to
grant the rights to vote and to be elected to all the revolutionary
petty bourgeois elements. The soviet will protect, as far as possible
by its policies and powers, all the urban and rural small industry and
commerce hit by imperialism and China's counterrevolution. The soviet
has long abolished all the harsh levies and vexatious taxes imposed by
the Kuomintang warlords and promulgated the unified graduated tax favorable to the small producers.

The Soviet People's Republic declares that all intellectuals sympathetic
to the anti-Japanese and anti-traitor movement, whether they were
Kuomintang members or worked for the Kuomintang government in the past,
will enjoy favorable treatment from the soviet government. The soviet
will give them work, relieve their unemployment, and furnish them the
opportunity to develop their talent in culture, education, art, science,
and technology. The soviet will grant refuge to all the intellectuals,
writers, artists, scientists, technical personnel, and newspaper reporters who have been expelled, scorned, or mistreated by Japanese imperialism
or the traitorous Kuomintang government. (All of them may come to the
soviet areas.) The soviet will grant the rights to vote and to be elected
to all the revolutionary intellectuals, writers, artists, scientists,
technical personnel, and newspaper reporters (regardless of whether they
are of landlord, rich peasant, or capitalist background).

The Soviet People's Republic declares that all White army officers
(regardless of rank) and soldiers who are willing to resist Japan and
the traitors will have the right to receive favorable treatment from the
soviet, and that the Soviet Red Army is willing to give work to all the
unemployed soldiers rejected or disarmed by the traitorous Kuomintang
government. Even those who once fought against the Red Army, once they
lay down their arms, be they officers or soldiers, will receive favorable
treatment. All the injured will receive medical attention. The soviet
will grant the rights to vote and to be elected to all those White army
officers and soldiers who wish to serve in the Red Army and are loyal to
the cause against Japanese imperialism and its running dogs the traitors.

The Soviet People's Republic and its Red Army propose to all the individuals, organizations, political factions, and armed units in the entire
nation which wish to participate in the cause against Japanese imperialism and its running dogs the traitors to organize together the National
Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied Army. Regardless of what
kind of armed units, the soviet and the Red Army are willing to form an
agreement with them to resist Japan and punish the traitors, similar to
the resist-Japan anti-Chiang agreement formed between the Soviet Red
Army and the 19th Route Army in the past. However, in the past, the Red
Army was unable to render direct substantial aid promptly to the 19th
Route Army (nor did the 19th Route Army make a positive request) to
repel Chiang Kai-shek's attack of Fukien, which was wrong. Hereafter,
substantial aid must be rendered, as much as possible, to all the
friendly units resisting Japan and punishing the traitors until the
stage of direct combat coordination. To reach the goal of resisting the
common enemies, the Soviet Red Army needs the victory and development
not only of itself, but also of its friendly allied units.

The Soviet People's Republic revises its policy on the rich peasants.
The assets of the rich peasants will not be confiscated. Except that
part used for feudal exploitation, their land, whether farmed by themselves or by hired help, will not be confiscated. When all the land in
a village is equally divided, the rich peasants have the right to the
same shares as the poor and middle peasants.

The Soviet People's Republic adopts a policy more lenient than before
toward the national industrial and commercial capitalists. Where it is
beneficial to both sides, it welcomes them to invest in the territory
of the Soviet People's Republic and establish plants and stores, and it
will protect their property and reduce the taxes as much as possible,
in order to develop China's economy. In areas occupied by the Red Army,
all industry and commerce beneficial to the anti-Japanese and antitraitor movement will be protected so that the people of the entire
nation will understand that the Soviet People's Republic not only safeguards political freedom but is the best place to develop China's industry and commerce.

The Soviet People's Republic declares to the overseas Chinese that it
commends them for their patriotic activities in aid of China's revolution
and that, though those like Chiang Kai-shek have long deserted the revolution, the Soviet People's Republic and the patriotic people of the
entire nation have continued the courageous cause since the Taiping
Rebellion and are determined to save China from destruction and turn it
into a powerful and prosperous nation. The day of the national victory
of the Soviet People's Republic is the time of the liberation of the
overseas Chinese. All the policies whereby the Kuomintang government
led the overseas Chinese to slavery must be thoroughly eradicated, and
replaced with policies of active protection of the overseas Chinese.
The soviet grants the privilege of refuge to all the overseas Chinese
compatriots currently rejected or expelled by Japanese imperialism and
other imperialist nations, and it welcomes overseas Chinese capitalists
to develop industry and commerce in the soviet areas.

All the policy revisions are for one fundamental goal: Overcome Japanese
imperialism and its running dogs the traitors, seek the freedom, liberation, and independence of the nation of China, and strive for the
national victory of the revolution.

To implement the policies successfully, to fight Japanese imperialism
promptly, and to safeguard the leadership power of the national united
front, the party and the soviet have a policy which has always been consistent but which requires a greater effort to make it more adapted to
the needs of the national united front. It is to expand the Resist-Japan
Red Army, to expand the resist-Japan guerrilla, to expand the territory
of the Soviet People's Republic serving as the resist-Japan base, to
smash the offensive of the traitor troops, to cleanse the resist-Japan
path, to consolidate the resist-Japan rear, to thoroughly solve the land
issue, to recruit the majority of the workers and peasants, to win over
the traitor troops and Japanese imperialist soldiers, to propose to the
minorities the formation of an alliance for common struggle, and to
implement a flexible foreign policy.

The Red Army is the resist-Japan vanguard. Only the expansion, consolidation, and proper employment of this vanguard will assure the success of
the anti-Japanese war. Today, the slogan to "struggle for the expansion
of a 1-million-strong Red Army" must be closely linked to the urgent
anti-Japanese war to avert destruction. To overcome Japanese imperialism
and its running dogs China's traitors, the Red Army must be expanded to
several million. But first it must be expanded to 1 million. The positive effort toward this goal of not only every Red director, soldier,
local cadre, and soviet personnel, but also the revolutionary people of
the entire nation, is most important. The elevation of the technical
conditions of the Red Army, the improvement of technical and tactical
education, the intensification and popularization of political work, the
centralization of the leadership of the Revolutionary Military Affairs
Commission, the assurance of material supply, and especially the

conformity of the strategy and battle direction with the correct principles (opposing adventurism when on the offensive; opposing conservatism when on the defensive; opposing escape-ism when shifting) are all
indispensable conditions for victory.

Guerrilla warfare must be developed in the entire country, while stressing
the areas occupied by Japanese imperialism and their vicinities, areas
under traitor Chiang Kai-shek, and the resist-Japan bases (soviet areas)
of the Red Army and their vicinities. All guerrilla troops must emerge
as a part of the national war and closely link themselves with the land
revolution of the peasant masses. Guerrilla warfare must be made to
produce a great strategic effect in the anti-Japanese anti-traitor struggle. The party must make the guerrilla units the creators of resistJapan bases (soviet areas); it must make all areas where the guerrilla
troops are present establish resist-Japan people's revolutionary political
power (county, district, and township resist-Japan governments, revolutionary committees, and even soviets) severed from Japanese imperialism
and the traitorous control; it must make the guerrilla expand rapidly
and become a resist-Japan revolutionary army; it must make the young
students and revolutionary soldiers engulfed in the anti-Japanese tidal
wave join guerrilla warfare in large numbers; it must unite all the guerrilla units, whether currently under the party's leadership or not, on a
common foundation.

It will not be possible to succeed in overcoming Japanese imperialism and
its running dogs China's traitors without expanding the territory of the
Soviet People's Republic, i.e., the Red Army bases. Only when large sections of land controlled by the traitors are turned into soviet territory will the Red Army have a backing and the resist-Japan war its rear.
We must strive for perfection in the many tasks within the soviet territory, enforce the correct policies, make the soviet territory impregnable
and an area admired, cherished, and emulated by the people of the entire
nation.

All attempts of the traitor troops to attack the resist-Japan bases and
model areas of the people's political power must be ruthlessly repelled,
smashed, and destroyed. To repel such counterrevolutionary attacks is
the responsibility of not only the Resist-Japan Red Army and the antiJapanese people of the soviet areas, but also the anti-Japanese people
of the entire nation. The party must appeal to all the anti-Japanese
people of all of China and of all the soviet areas to struggle in defense
of their own bases, to resist the traitors' sabotage of the rear of the
resist-Japan war, and to oppose the blocking of the Red Army by the
traitors. Linking the civil war of China with the national war is a
fundamental principle of the party's guidance of the revolutionary war.

It will be impossible to succeed in overcoming Japanese imperialism and
its running dogs the traitors without the participation of the majority

of the millions of workers, peasants, soldiers, poor people, and revolutionary masses under the control of Japan and the traitors. The antiJapanese anti-traitor national united front of the party and the Soviet
Red Army must be expanded to all areas where the masses are found, and
all the mass struggles must be raised from the low level to the high
level, from the local to the national, and from the ordinary to the stage
of resisting Japan and the traitors' political regime by force. Only
when the struggles inside and outside the territory of the Soviet People's Republic are joined will Japanese imperialism and its running dogs
the traitors be overcome.

It will be impossible to succeed in overcoming Japanese imperialism and
its running dogs the traitors without recruiting the great majority of
the worker class. We must build firm strongholds in the major enterprises of key cities, organize broad mass organizations by utilizing all
open and semi-open possibilities, start from the concept of striving for
victorious results (even very small victories) by assessing the concrete
environment, activate, organize, and lead the worker masses in economic
and political struggles, and give attention to the protection and education of cadres in the enterprises. We must accumulate the great strengths
of the worker masses in preparation for a decisive battle. Striving for
the leadership power of the worker class in China's revolution is the
party's fundamental principle in the worker movement.

It will be impossible to succeed in overcoming Japanese imperialism and
its running dogs the traitors without the participation of the peasants,
constituting 80 percent of China's population, in the struggle front.
The Communist Party and the soviet must satisfy the peasants' demand for
land and struggle for the thorough solution of the land issue and the
elimination of the rural feudal oppression. Only thus will we be able
to mobilize millions of the peasant masses to take up arms and march to
the battlefield against Japan and the traitors, to furnish an inexhaustible source of reinforcement to the national revolutionary war, and to
turn the main objective of plunder by Japanese imperialism and China's
national counterrevolution, the peasants, into China's national revolutionary army resisting such plunder. In areas occupied by Japan and
their vicinities, we must first confiscate the land and assets of spies
and traitors and distribute them to the peasants. Thereafter, in the
struggle process, according to the people's own experiences, we will
intensify the struggle and undertake the thorough solution of the land
issue. The party's fundamental principle is to link the land revolution
and the national revolution.

Nor will it be possible to overcome Japanese imperialism and the several
million troops of China's traitors without the aid of the soldiers. We
must, on a broad mass foundation, undertake the work on the soldiers.
The party must appeal to the people of all soviet and White areas, Red
Army soldiers, and guerrilla fighters to strive for the disintegration
of the traitors' troops. When the tens and hundreds of millions of

people unwilling to become stateless slaves persuade the millions of
officers and soldiers unwilling to become stateless slaves by sincere
advices, by communicating with their relatives and friends, by letters
of reproach, and by agitating slogans, it cannot help but influence them.
Our slogans are: Chinese will not fight Chinese! Unite, workers, peasants, merchants, and students, and defend China by force; unite the Red
Army and the White army, and knock down Japanese imperialism and the
traitors! Travel expenses to those who wish to return home; land to
those who wish to farm; those wishing to resist Japan join the Red Army
and the volunteer army!

By its own example and sincere slogans, the Soviet People's Republic
tells the oppressed Mongolians and Moslems: Organize your own state!
Japanese imperialism and the traitors are our common enemies. Unite
and knock down the enemies!

On the foundation of not overlooking any possibility for victory over
Japanese imperialism and China's traitors, the foreign policy of the
Soviet People's Republic is to negotiate with all nations, factions,
and even individuals opposed to Japanese imperialism and its running
dogs the traitors for the necessary understandings, compromises, diplomatic ties, and treaties of alliance. The Soviet People's Republic and
its government do not shoot off arrows without selection of target. The
Soviet People's Republic is willing to establish friendly relations with
all those struggling in their own interest which is beneficial to the
Soviet People's Republic's effort to resist Japan and punish the traitors.
All policies and all effort are for victory over Japan and the traitors.
Anything against this goal will be rejected. This is the strategic line
of the Communist Party and the soviet.

V. Closed-doorism, the Party's Major Danger
To overcome Japanese imperialism and its running dogs the traitors, the
common enemies of the Chinese people, the Communist Party members must
penetrate the masses, and participate in and lead all mass, national,
and class struggles. Here, the key is the application of an extensive
united front. Such a united front will, on the one hand, concentrate
the maximum strengths against the major enemies and on the other hand,
enable the broad masses, according to their own political experiences,
to understand the accuracy of the party's ideas and rally them under the
party's banner. The issue of the revolutionary leadership power must be
more profoundly understood. To gain the leadership power in China's
revolution, the Communist Party cannot rely only on the party's propaganda and agitation; it must make all the party members demonstrate
leadership in their practical actions and daily struggles. It is not
enough for them to perform work among the lower level masses (which is
the main thing), but they must know how to conduct negotiations, discussions, compromises, and concessions with the upper level leaders of

other parties and factions who are connected with the lower level masses,
in order to win those among them with whom continued cooperation is possible, expose finally the wavering, deceitful, and renegade elements
before the masses, and expel them by the strength of the masses.  For
the party to gain leadership power, relying only on activities in the
worker class (which is important) is not enough; the Communist Party
members must perform their activities in the rural villages and among
the poor people, soldiers, petty bourgeois, intellectuals, and even the
revolutionary allies, struggle for their intimate interests, and convince
them that the Communist Party is the representative of the interests of
the majority of the people of China as well as the worker class and that
it represents the entire nation.  In all areas where the masses are
found, regardless of how reactionary the leaders of such areas are, the
Communist Party members must go there and perform revolutionary work.
Only when the Communist Party members demonstrate that they are the most
energetic and vigorous vanguard of China's revolution which nothing can
stop, and not "holy disciples" conducting abstract discussions of communist principles, will the Communist Party gain the leadership power of
China's revolution.

To make a bolder application of the extensive united front for the party
to gain leadership power, the party must wage a firm struggle against the
"leftwing" closed-doorism in the party.  Under the present situation,
closed-doorism is the party's major danger.  The sources of closeddoorism are as follows: First is the lack of understanding of the current new political situation, which leads to the lack of understanding
of the necessity to change the strategy to suit the new situation.
Second is the inability to link the party's basic slogans and fundamental
policy outlines with the current action slogans and political action outlines in practical actions.  Third is the inability to flexibly apply
Marxism, Leninism, and Stalinism to China's unique concrete environment,
but turning them into rigid dogmas.  Such closed-doorism tendency is
manifested, in essence, in the fear of the enemies, the fear of the
masses, and the lack of confidence in our own strengths, resulting in the
fear to apply the strategy of an extensive united front.  Actually, it is
identical with rightwing opportunism.  Its continuation will cause the
party to become severed from the masses and relinquish its task of
striving for the leadership power of China's revolution.  Therefore, the
party must firmly oppose "leftwing" closed-doorism, boldly apply the
extensive united front, penetrate the millions of masses, have no fear of
certain possible errors, and learn the technique of leading the masses
in struggle.  Naturally, in the struggle against "leftwing" closeddoorism, there must be no relaxation of the struggle against rightwing
opportunism.  Rightwing opportunism suppresses the struggle of the masses
for their intimate interests, sacrifices the demand of the peasants for
land and that of the workers, poor people, and soldiers for better treatment for the interests of the national bourgeoisie and the rich peasants
and the partial interests of its allies, is afraid to use the weapon of
criticism against the allies, and has no courage to lead the masses and

force the allies to proceed to a higher stage of the revolution. It may
accept the influence of the national bourgeoisie, the upper level petty
bourgeoisie, and the rural rich peasants and turn itself into their tail.
There is no doubt that it is possible for the Ch'en Tu-hsiu-ism of 1927
to revive among some of the party units and party members in the new
great revolution. The party must wage a firm struggle against such
rightwing opportunism. Nevertheless, currently, "leftwing" closeddoorism is the party's major danger. The current opposition to the
rightwing tendency is precisely for the purpose of successfully overcoming the "leftwing" tendency and thoroughly breaking down closeddoorism, so that the strategy of an extensive united front is correctly
and boldly applied in all tasks. Then, the party will not be lagging
behind the mass struggles, and the masses, beginning with the struggles
for their daily intimate interests, will be elevated to the position of
participating in the national revolutionary war to resist Japanese
imperialism and its running dogs the traitors, the common enemies of the
Chinese people.

VI. Expansion and Consolidation of the Communist Party

To accomplish the sacred mission shouldered by the Chinese Communist
Party in the great historical era, the party must be expanded and consolidated organizationally. In the new great revolution, the Communist
Party needs hundreds of thousands and millions of fighting members
before it can lead China's revolution to thorough victory.

As the vanguard of China's proletariat, the Chinese Communist Party must
absorb large numbers of workers and tenant peasants into the party and
form a workers' backbone in the party. Meanwhile, as it is also the
vanguard of the entire nation, all those willing to struggle for its
principles, regardless of their background, may join the party. All
the courageous fighters in the national land revolution must be absorbed
into the party to perform the party's work in all aspects. Since China
is an economically backward semi-colony and colony, peasants and intellectuals of petty bourgeois background often constitute a majority in
the party. However, this does not lower in the slightest the Bolshevik
position of the Chinese Communist Party. As proven by the facts, a party
of such components can complete the glorious mission bestowed by the
Comintern, the vanguard of the world proletariat; it can struggle arduously and persevere courageously. Among the communist parties in all
the nations in the world, except the party of the Soviet Union, the
Chinese Communist Party occupies a glorious advanced position.

We must struggle against the closed-doorism tendency in the party when
developing the organization. Whether an individual can struggle firmly
for the principles proposed by the party is the major criterion of
membership. While attention must be given to the social composition,
it is not the major criterion. The party must act as a smelting furnace
of communism and temper the many new members willing to struggle for its

principles into Bolshevik warriors with the highest class awareness. The
struggle between the two fronts in the party and communist education constitute one of the means to attain this goal. The party's ideological
unanimity in Bolshevism is the concrete manifestation of its firm leadership of the proletariat. Closed-doorism on the issue of organization,
which, instead of starting from the positive fighting needs, starts from
the concept of fear, must be thoroughly destroyed. Innumerable active
elements and mass leaders have emerged, or are emerging, in the great
struggles of the national revolution and the land revolution. The party
organization must, with warm welcome, open the door to them. The party
does not fear the infiltration of certain opportunists. It assures the
stability of its organization with the Bolshevik political line and iron
discipline. It does not fear the uneven political levels of the nonproletarian party members; it will elevate them to the position of vanguard by means of the communist education.

Large numbers of cadres must be trained. The party needs thousands and
tens of thousands of new cadres so that they can be sent group by group
to all fronts. It is not necessary to teach them every item of leadership skills before assigning work to them, but what is necessary is to
enable them to learn in struggle. We do not use the cadres and party
members as we do machines. Instead, we cherish and trust them, assign
them suitable work, and fully develop their talent and initiative. We
do not treat them with the bureaucraticist attitude. Instead, by means
of persuasive explanation of the tasks and concrete instructions of the
work, we vividly and vigorously link them with the party's leading organs.
In regard to the errors of the cadres and party members in ideology or
work, we do not discourage them lightly, call them opportunists, or even
punish them. Instead, we conduct patient and repeated persuasive education. Errors in ideology and work are inevitable, but they can be corrected. The spirit of studying in Leninism and the tempering of experience in struggle are precisely the excellent means to correct errors.
The firepower of struggle in the party must be directed toward those
comrades who persist in their erroneous viewpoints and refuse to study,
undergo tempering, or accept education. Organizational conclusions of a
certain extent are only necessary for those comrades who have committed
serious errors and cannot be convinced by persuasion. Nevertheless,
all inner-party struggles and organizational conclusions must still contain the essence of party education toward the party concerned. Only
when it comes to those opportunists who have consistently followed the
wrong line, the party must not, because of their temporary expression of
remorse, assign them important work.

In this great era of struggle, the rallying of party cadres firmly around
the party's leading organs possesses a determining significance. As the
party must unite the entire party and lead the broadest masses to the
war of national revolution and land revolution, it cannot succeed without
many capable cadres serving as the links. The correct organizational
line and cadre policy constitute the premise of this task.

The Chinese Communist Party Central appeals to the entire party and
cadres to struggle for the firm implementation of the party's strategies
and lines, spread the united front to the entire nation, build the
National Defense Government and the Resist-Japan Allied Army, make the
Soviet People's Republic the state of the entire people, make the Red
Army the troops of the entire nation, make the party a great people's
party, link the land revolution and the national revolution, and link
the civil war with the national war. Long live the sacred national war!

Long live China's independence, freedom, and unity!

Long live the Soviet New China!

° "An Analysis of the Current Situation," Theory and Practice Press,

* "Selections of Current Event Discussions" (December Resolution),
Chih-hsin Printing Press, 1 May 1937

"Reference Material of China's Revolutionary History," Vol 3, Chinese
People's University, 1957

▲ "Documents on the Cooperation Between Kuomintang and the Communist
Party to Resist Japan"