To All Military and Political Leaders and Political Organs on the Question of the Eighth Route Army Actively Participating in the Elections for the Special Region Assembly (November 13, 1937)

Leaders at all levels, political organs at all levels:

Under the task of mobilizing the broad masses of the people of the Special Region and their armed forces to actively participate in the War of Resistance and defend the Special Region, the Assembly of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Special Region is scheduled to open in Yan'an on January 5 next year. At this critical moment of the War of Resistance, a moment of life and death for the Chinese nation, the Special Region Government, under the leadership of the Central Committee, is taking the lead in implementing the War of Resistance and democratic politics based on universal suffrage across the vast northwestern region, serving as the vanguard of democratic politics for the whole nation. The opening of the Special Region Assembly will further propel the democratic forces nationwide to rally around the Special Region Government, and, under a living example, to strive for the realization of a democratic system throughout the country and to carry the War of Resistance through to the end for national salvation and survival. The implementation of democratic politics in the Special Region, on the basis of consolidating and developing the national united front, is the driving force for KMT-CPC cooperation to rapidly enter a new stage. Therefore, the opening of the Special Region Assembly truly holds nationwide political significance. Our Eighth Route Army is a crucial pillar in the order of battle of the War of Resistance and an armed force under the direct leadership of the Communist Party. It must actively and enthusiastically participate in the elections for the Special Region Assembly. The election campaign must be closely linked with the tasks of the War of Resistance. At present, we should support the guerrilla warfare in North China with all our strength, fight for the whole nation and for the defense of the Special Region, and use our exemplary heroic combat and political work to influence all friendly armies, so as to achieve the goals of transforming the Kuomintang, transforming the National Government, transforming the army, and ultimately defeating the Japanese bandits. The elections for the Special Region Assembly delegates will be conducted amidst the war. The election methods and timing will be notified separately.

Mao Zedong