Comrade Han Nian: Immediately put forward the following demands to Mr. Chen Lifu [2] and others, seeking their consent.


At present, the greatest crisis lies in Japan’s formation of an alliance with the Nanjing government and local pro-Japanese factions, which, under the banner of supporting Chiang Kai-shek, is sowing internal chaos and reducing China to a state of subjugation.


The left-wing forces in Nanjing and throughout the country should act swiftly to avert this peril. The Communist Party stands ready to support the left and firmly advocates the establishment of domestic peace on the following conditions, so as to unite all in confronting Japan and the pro-Japanese elements.


(A) Several leading figures of the anti-Japanese movement are to be incorporated into the Nanjing government, while the pro-Japanese faction is to be excluded.


(B) Military hostilities are to be halted, and Xi’an’s status is to be recognized.


(C) The policy of “encircling and suppressing” the Communists is to be abandoned, and the Red Army is to be brought into a united front for resistance against Japan.


(D) Democratic rights are to be guaranteed, and cooperative relations are to be established with nations sympathetic to China’s anti-Japanese movement.


(E) Once adequate guarantees are provided for the above conditions, Xi’an is to be urged to restore Comrade Chiang Kai-shek’s freedom and to support his efforts to unite the nation in a common front against Japan.


Please reply by telegram without delay regarding the outcome.


Printed on the 21st day by Mao, based on a copy preserved in the Central Archives.


Notes [1] This is a telegram sent by Mao Zedong, seeking a peaceful resolution to the Xi’an Incident, to Pan Hannian, who at that time was acting as the Chinese Communist Party’s representative in negotiations with the Nationalist authorities in Nanjing.


[2] Chen Lifu, born in 1900, was from Wuxing, Zhejiang. He had been designated by Chiang Kai-shek to be responsible for maintaining contact and conducting negotiations with the Chinese Communist Party.