Expose the Joint Plot of the Japanese and
the He Yingqin' Faction to Murder Chiang
(December 21, 1936, 8:00 P.M.)
Comrade [Pan] Hannian:
Make the following requests immediately of Mr. Chen Lifu and the others, and
obtain their consent.
At present the biggest crisis is that Japan is forming a coalition with pro-Japanese
factions in Nanjing and various places, and under the banner of support for
Chiang Kaishek they are creating domestic turmoil, in order to enslave China. All
leftists in Nanjing and elsewhere should quickly take action to remedy this dangerous situation. The Communist Party is willing to support the left and resolutely
advocates the establishment of domestic peace and union to deal with Japan and
the pro-Japanese forces, on the basis of the following conditions:


1. Admit some leading personalities of the anti-Japanese movement into the
Nanjing government, and eliminate the pro-Japanese faction.


2. Stop all military operations, and recognize the status of Xi'an.


3. Abandon the policy of suppressing the Communists, and unite with the
Red Army to resist Japan.


4. Guarantee democratic rights, and establish cooperative relations with all
countries that are sympathetic to the anti-Japanese movement in China.


5. When all these conditions are fully guaranteed, persuade the people in
Xi'an to free Mr. Chiang Kaishek and support him in uniting the whole country
to fight Japan together. Whatever the result, please reply quickly by telegram.
Mao


Zhou [Enlai]:
Send someone to meet with Dong Zhao,² Fan Songfu, Wang Yaowu,³ and Hu
Zongnan, to tell them that He Yingqin, He Chengjun, and others in the pro-Japanese faction are actually plotting to kill Chiang, and that we are willing to
negotiate with them about conditions for Chiang Kaishek's release. The
Huangpu group should not be fooled by the pro-Japanese faction and other
intriguers. Leaflets may also be handed out exposing the plot to murder Chiang
by Japan and the He Yingqin faction.
Mao


201-2.


We have translated this document from the 1985 annual compendium of Wenxian he
yanjiu, p. 202.


Our source for this document is the 1985 annual compendium of Wenxian he yanjiu, pp.



--- Notes



1. He Yingqin (1890-1987), zi Jingzhi, was a native of Guizhou and received a
military education in Japan. As chief instructor in tactics at the Huangpu Academy, he
became closely associated with Chiang Kaishek. Beginning in 1930, he was minister of
war in the Nanjing government. In 1931 he commanded the Guomindang forces in the
unsuccessful First "Encirclement and Suppression" against the Communists. He played a
major role in negotiating the Tanggu Truce of 1933 with Japan and gave his name to the
He-Umezu Agreement of 1935, becoming known as a partisan of accommodation with
Japan at any price. Regarding his role at the time of the Xi'an Incident, see above, the
Introduction to this volume.



2. Dong Zhao (1902-1977), a native of Shaanxi, was a student in the first class to
enter the Huangpu Military Academy in 1924. At this time, he was the commander of the
Twenty-eighth Division of the National Army.



3. For a biography of Wang Yaowu, see below the relevant note to the text dated
January 3, 1937.



4. He Chengjun (1882-1961) was a native of Hebei. In 1935 he had been promoted to
full general, and on December 1, 1936, he had been appointed chairman of the special
military commission in charge of the Wuhan Field Headquarters.