To Mr. Kong Yongzhi, Mr. Sun Zhesheng, Mr. Feng Huanzhang, Mr. Chen Lifu, and other gentlemen of the Nationalist Government in Nanjing; to Mr. Zhang Hanqing, Mr. Yang Hucheng, Mr. Wang Dingfang, Mr. Sun Weiru, and the other members of the Northwest Provisional Military Committee of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces in Xi’an:

Since the presentation of the anti-Japanese platform in Xi’an, the entire nation has been profoundly stirred. The Nanjing regime’s policy of “pacify the interior before repelling the foreign aggressor” can no longer be sustained.

To speak impartially, the patriots of Xi’an stand foremost in their fervent devotion to the country; their principal demand is the immediate launch of a nationwide resistance against Japan. By contrast, the authorities in Nanjing have adopted a more gradual approach. Nevertheless, save for a small coterie of pro-Japanese elements, there are certainly men of patriotic spirit among them as well; it is hardly their true wish to plunge the country into civil war.

Given the present situation, survival is possible only through united resistance to Japan, and national salvation can be achieved only by national unity. To persist in civil strife would merely hasten the nation’s doom.

At this critical juncture, when the very existence of the state hangs in the balance, our Party and our Government respectfully submit the following proposals to both sides:

(1) The respective armies shall temporarily take Tongguan as the demarcation line. The Nanjing forces shall refrain from advancing beyond Tongguan, while the Xi’an anti-Japanese forces shall likewise halt within Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, pending resolution through a peace conference.

(2) Nanjing should immediately convene a peace conference, inviting not only representatives from the Nanjing and Xi’an factions but also notifying all political parties, social groups, and military units throughout the country to nominate their own delegates. Our Party and our Government are prepared to send our own representatives.

(3) Prior to the convening of the peace conference, all parties, groups, sectors, and military commands should first draft proposals for a program of national salvation through resistance to Japan and should also deliberate on the question of how to deal with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. However, the fundamental principle must be to unite the entire nation, reject all forms of civil war, and mount a unified front against Japanese aggression.

(4) The venue for the conference shall, for the time being, be set in Nanjing.

These proposals represent a rational and effective means of resolving the current emergency. We earnestly urge the authorities in Nanjing to promptly determine a national policy, lest, amid this national chaos, the Japanese invaders seize the opportunity to invade. We further appeal to all citizens, all political parties, and all social organizations across the country to press the authorities without delay to convene a peace conference, adopt a definitive national policy, and join together in meeting the nation’s peril.