--- Notes

• Utterly Urgent! To All Newspapers, Organizations, Armed Forces, the Kuomintang, the National Government, the Military Commission, and to Our Fellow Countrymen Nationwide: Reports from Various Sources Have Confirmed That the Hebei–Chahar Authorities Under Song Zheyuan Have Accepted the Following Three Conditions Proposed by the Japanese Side: (1) The Hebei–Chahar Authorities Are to Apologize to the Japanese Army; (2) The 29th Army Is to Withdraw East of the Lugou Bridge and the Yongding River, Beyond Peiping and Tientsin; (3) The Mass Anti-Japanese Salvation Movement Is to Be Suppressed, and Sino–Japanese Joint Anti-Communism Is to Be Implemented. These Conditions Have Already Begun to Be Put into Effect. Whether Any Secret Agreements Exist Remains Unknown.

Fellow Countrymen Nationwide! These Shameful, Nation-Degrading Terms Stand in Direct Contradiction Both to the Whole Chinese People and to the Chinese Communist Party’s Demand to Defend Peiping and Tientsin, to Safeguard North China, and to Prevent the Japanese Imperialists from Occupying a Single Inch of Chinese Territory—and to Mr. Chiang Kai-shek’s Four Minimum Points Stated on July 17 Regarding the Lugou Bridge Incident: “(1) Any Settlement Must Not Infringe upon China’s Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity; (2) There Shall Be No Illegal Changes to the Administrative Structure of Hebei–Chahar; (3) Locally Appointed Officials Designated by the Central Government, Such as Song Zheyuan, Chairman of the Hebei–Chahar Political Affairs Committee, May Not Be Removed at Will; (4) The Present Positions of the 29th Army Shall Remain Unencumbered.” Our Government and People Must Absolutely Refuse to Accept Such a Surrendering, Humiliating Treaty! We Firmly Oppose the Hebei–Chahar Authorities Under Song Zheyuan for Having Accepted This Kind of National-Annihilating Pact! We Demand That We Fight to the Bitter End to Defend Every Inch of Land in Peiping, Tientsin, and Hebei–Chahar!

Fellow Countrymen Nationwide! The Situation Is Extremely Critical! Large Numbers of Japanese Naval, Ground, and Air Forces Are Advancing Toward China. The Very Survival of Peiping, Tientsin, and Hebei–Chahar Hangs in the Balance. We Should Declare to the Entire World That We Can Make No Further Concessions or Compromises in the Face of Japanese Imperialist Aggression! As Mr. Chiang Kai-shek Has Said: “If Today’s Peiping Were to Become Like Old Shenyang, then Today’s Hebei–Chahar Would Also Become Like the Former Four Provinces of Northeast China. If Peiping Can Be Turned into Shenyang, Why Shouldn’t Nanjing Be Turned into Peiping?” The Heart of the Matter Lies Precisely Here! If We Surrender Peiping and Tientsin—abandoning the Vast Expanse of Chinese Territory East of the Lugou Bridge and the Yongding River—Hebei–Chahar Will Surely Fall; it Will Become the First of the Four Northeastern Provinces. With Hebei–Chahar Lost, North China and the Whole of China Will Be Plunged Into Dire Peril, Leading Inevitably to National Annihilation and Ethnic Extinction. Therefore, We Must Resolutely Oppose Any Concessions or Compromises Made by the Hebei–Chahar Authorities Under Song Zheyuan to the Japanese Invaders.

Fellow Countrymen Nationwide! We Must Never Yield to or Soften Our Stance in the Face of Song Zheyuan’s Surrendering, Humiliating “Facts on the Ground” or the So-Called “Local Settlement” Between China and Japan. We Demand That the Central Government in Nanjing Take All Concrete Measures to Fulfill the Hopes and Demands of the Entire Nation and to Implement the Anti-Japanese Policy Declared by Mr. Chiang Kai-shek on July 17. In Today’s Context, Mere Vigorous Declarations, Statements of Non-Recognition, and Protests Are No Longer Sufficient. The Ruthless Japanese Imperialist Bandits Fear None of These. Nor Will It Yield Much Fruit to Hope That the Signatory Nations of the Nine-Power Treaty Will Intervene; the Overbearing Japanese Imperialist Bandits Pay Them No Mind. What We Need Today Are the Most Practical Measures to Ensure That the Hopes and Demands of the Entire Chinese People Are Realized and That Mr. Chiang Kai-shek’s Declared Anti-Japanese Policy Is Carried Out. Such Measures Should Include: (1) Immediately Ordering the Hebei–Chahar Authorities, Including Song Zheyuan, to Refuse to Implement the Three Japanese Conditions and to Lead the Entire 29th Army in Armed Resistance. Should Song Zheyuan Refuse to Obey the Central Command, He Is to Be Immediately Relieved of His Post, and Another High-Ranking Official Is to Be Appointed to Lead the Brave Soldiers of the 29th Army and All Other Northern Armies in the War of Resistance. (2) Promptly Dispatching Major Reinforcements to Support the 29th Army and Mobilizing the Entire Chinese Navy, Army, and Air Force for the War of Resistance. An Emergency National Defense Conference Is to Be Convened Immediately to Bring Together Military Leaders and Establish Unified Command Along All Fronts, Adopting an Active Resistance Strategy to Counter the Japanese Offensive. A Broad Guerrilla Campaign Is to Be Launched Around the Japanese Troops, Providing Aid to the Northeast People’s Revolutionary Army and Volunteer Forces to Coordinate with the Main Anti-Japanese Forces. (3) Immediately Initiating a Nationwide General Mobilization, Lifting the Ban on Political Parties, Opening Up Patriotic Movements, Releasing Political Prisoners, Granting Democratic Rights, Meeting the People’s Urgent Needs, Launching Large-Scale Mass Mobilizations, Organizing and Arming the People, and Establishing Diverse Organizations of the People’s United Front Against Japan. (4) Immediately Embarking on Comprehensive Resistance Against Japan: Ceasing Diplomatic Negotiations with Japan, Enforcing Strict Anti-Smuggling Measures, Boycotting Japanese Goods, Seizing All Banks, Mines, Factories, and Other Assets Belonging to Japanese Imperialists in China, Revoking All Political and Economic Privileges Granted to Japanese Imperialists in China, Closing All Japanese Embassies, Consulates, and Intelligence Agencies, Arresting All Japanese Spies and Traitors, and Disbanding All Armed and Unarmed Groups in China Composed of Japanese Troops and Their Collaborators. (5) Immediately Reforming the Political Institutions to Democratize Both the Central and Local Governments, Inviting Representatives from All Parties, Factions, and People’s Organizations to Participate in the National Assembly and the Government, Thus Transforming the National Assembly into a True Legislative Body Reflecting Public Opinion and the Government into a Genuine National Defense Government Dedicated to Resisting Japan and Saving the Nation, While Thoroughly Purging All Pro-Japanese Traitors Within the Government, So as to Unite the Government and the People in a Common Front Against the Enemy. (6) Immediately Forging Close Cooperation Between the KMT and the CPC, Using This Collaboration as a Foundation to Unite All Anti-Japanese and National Salvation Forces and to Establish a Solid National United Front Against Japan, in Order to Achieve Genuine Sincere Unity and Jointly Meet the Nation’s Crisis. (7) Immediately Implementing a Series of New Policies in the Fiscal, Economic, Land, Labor, Cultural, and Educational Fields to Strengthen National Defense and Improve People’s Livelihoods. (8) Immediately Pursuing an Active Diplomacy of Resistance, Upholding the International Peace Front and Opposing the Fascist Aggression Front, and Concluding Various Agreements Beneficial to the Cause of National Salvation with Britain, the United States, France, the Soviet Union, and Other Nations.

Fellow Countrymen Nationwide! As Long As Our Government and People Firmly Implement These Measures, We Shall Possess the Strength to Defeat the Japanese Invaders, Drive Them Out of China, and Recover All Lost Territories. Only the Great, Steadfast Power of the Chinese Nation Can Smash the Japanese Imperialist Offensive, Establish National Independence, Popular Sovereignty, and Freedom, and Build a New China Where the People Enjoy Prosperity and Happiness! All Sons and Daughters of the Chinese Nation, All Those Who Refuse to Be Slaves of a Vanquished Nation: Now Is a Moment of National Life-and-Death Urgency. Let Us Unite Closely, Mobilize Without Delay, and Risk Our National Existence in Order to Achieve Our Final Victory Against All Concessions and Compromises to the Japanese Invaders. Only Resolute Resistance Is the Path to the Survival of the Chinese Nation—To Repel the New Japanese Imperialist Offensive and to Defend Peiping and North China! Down with Japanese Imperialism! Thirteen Days ☆o().. Guide to the Anti-Japanese National United Front (Part II). Liberation Press, 1938. Fourth Declaration of the Chinese Communist Party on the Second Japanese Invasion of North China. 89