United Front Liaison Work and the Work of the Shanghai Party Organization[1]

(July 26, 1936)

The work in Shanghai has made progress. The emphasis of the directives to them should be on establishing a broader united front, but it is necessary to distinguish clearly who are enemies and who are friends. The door should be opened wide to all those who may possibly sympathize with us, but it should be closed to genuine fascist elements. Attention should also be paid to contradictions within cultural circles, and efforts should be made to properly persuade them. The directive letters to them should not be too simplistic. A letter should also be sent to the North China side. The work in North China has achieved further development, but their weaknesses should likewise be pointed out.

[1] This is part of Mao Zedong's speech on united front liaison work and the work of the Shanghai Party organization at a meeting of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.