To all newspapers, organizations, political parties, social sectors, armed forces, and the entire Chinese people under the Nationalist Government of Nanjing:  The preliminary skirmishes in the Japanese-puppet bandit army’s offensive against Shanxi and Suiyuan have already begun, and a large-scale war of aggression is about to break out. At this life-or-death juncture for the Chinese nation, it will be impossible to defeat the Japanese aggressors unless we mobilize the country’s military, human, and financial resources for all-out resistance. Therefore, we demand that the Nanjing Government immediately implement the following measures:  (1) Concentrate a major force to reinforce the Shanxi–Suiyuan front, and mobilize China’s entire navy, army, and air force to prepare for a nationwide war of resistance.  (2) Halt the attack on the Red Army and cease the civil war, uniting all forces in a common front against Japan.  (3) Open up the people’s anti-Japanese salvation movement, guarantee democratic rights of speech, assembly, and association, and immediately release political prisoners as well as all patriotic leaders in Shanghai.  (4) Convene a National Congress for National Salvation or a National Defense Conference, comprising representatives from all parties, groups, sectors, and military units, to deliberate on grand strategies for saving the nation.

We once again urge the Nanjing Government to immediately abandon its policy of compromise with Japan, to terminate Sino-Japanese negotiations, and to fulfill the above urgent demands. Should it continue to procrastinate and allow General Fu Zuoyi and others to carry on their localized resistance without assistance, while persisting in suppressing the people’s anti-Japanese salvation movement and attacking the anti-Japanese Red Army, the consequences will not only inflict irreparable damage upon the nation but also sever the Nanjing authorities’ ties with the Chinese people.

In order to realize a nation-wide war of resistance, we further call upon all Chinese people—regardless of party affiliation, class, or occupation—to unite more closely, to press the Nanjing Government to implement our proposals, to overcome all difficulties, and to spontaneously organize various national salvation organizations and armed forces, such as salvation committees, support associations, volunteer armies, propaganda teams, medical aid units, comfort squads, and fundraising drives. Let us strive to broaden the united front for national salvation, strengthen the anti-Japanese forces, and assist the brave soldiers who are now resolutely fighting in Suiyuan.

The struggle for national salvation against Japan is the sacred duty of every Chinese citizen. Only through the immense strength of the Chinese people can we compel the Nanjing Government to resolve to wage war and deliver a fatal blow to the Japanese aggressors.

For the past year, the People’s Red Army under the leadership of the Communist Party of China has fought arduously, advancing eastward into Shanxi and westward into Ningxia, solely in search of a path to resist Japan and safeguard China’s territorial integrity and sovereign rights. Yet the Nanjing authorities have consistently refused to understand and repeatedly obstructed the Red Army’s efforts to join the national resistance. At this critical moment in Shanxi and Suiyuan, when the entire nation stands ready to lay down its lives on the battlefield in the struggle for the survival of the nation, the Nanjing authorities have instead dispatched large forces to attack the anti-Japanese Red Army—a move utterly baffling.

The recent annihilation of a portion of Hu Zongnan’s troops by the Red Army at Shanchengbao was purely an act of self-defense, intended as a mild warning to those who pursue external compromise while indulging in internal militarism. We hold that continuing the civil war today constitutes a heinous crime against the nation; in effect, it amounts to carrying out the imperialist mission of Japan and bequeathing endless calamities to the Chinese people.

We hereby declare to all Chinese people: The main forces of the First, Second, and Fourth Front Armies of the Chinese Red Army have now completed their concentration. Given a clear route to join the anti-Japanese front, we stand ready to advance immediately to the Shanxi–Suiyuan front, assume designated defensive positions, and submit ourselves to the supreme command of the unified anti-Japanese military leadership, in order to repel the attacks of the Japanese-puppet bandit forces and fight to the bitter end to defend Shanxi and Suiyuan, North China, and all of China.

We hope that the Nanjing Government will promptly recognize our demands and that the people throughout the country will support and champion them. We have full confidence in the ultimate victory of the Chinese people!

Central Committee of the Communist Party of China  Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic  February 1, 1936

Hongse Zhonghua, Issue 314, December 1936  Compiled from Reference Materials on the History of the CPC (Volume VI), Archives of the History of the CPC, Renmin University of China, 1980  Expanding the United Front for National Salvation and Strengthening Anti-Japanese Forces  31