Today is the thirteenth anniversary of Mr. Sun Zhongshan’s passing. We are holding a solemn commemorative meeting. At the same time, the War of Resistance Against Japan has been fought for eight months, and many heroic officers and soldiers have sacrificed their lives. We are holding such a somber memorial meeting. None of these are casual or accidental; they have the necessary reasons of our nation’s historical development.

Wherein lies Sun Zhongshan’s greatness? It lies in the program of his Three Principles of the People, the policy of the united front, and the spirit of arduous struggle. When I met Mr. Sun in Guangdong, the First National Congress of the Kuomintang was being held. The new program of the Three Principles of the People, personally formulated by Sun Zhongshan, was passed by the congress. That is, the famous “Manifesto of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang of China.” At this time, the policy of the united front based on Kuomintang-Communist cooperation also began to be implemented. This united front included uniting with the Communist Party and the workers and peasants internally, and uniting with nations that treat us as equals externally, to struggle together. The famous “Three Great Policies” were established at this time. Sun Zhongshan’s program of the Three Principles of the People and policy of the united front are truly the greatest contributions to the Chinese nation by a great revolutionary in a semi-colonial position. Not only that, Sun Zhongshan’s greatness also lies in his arduous struggle, his unyielding and indomitable, and his relentless revolutionary perseverance and revolutionary spirit. Without this perseverance, without this spirit, his principles and policies could not be realized. As the first sentence of the Premier’s will, which was just read, says: “For forty years I have devoted myself to the cause of the national revolution.” In these forty years, how many hardships and twists and turns were experienced, yet Mr. Sun always became more roused the more he was thwarted, unyielding and indomitable, and relentless in continuing the struggle. When so many followers wavered in the face of difficulties and temptations, lost heart and will, and even surrendered and turned traitor, Mr. Sun was always steadfast. Mr. Sun upheld communism; in his entire life, his Three Principles of the People only developed and were never discarded. Mr. Sun never had a time when he discarded communism unwillingly; he always upheld the Three Principles of the People and developed the Three Principles of the People. The manifesto of the First National Congress manifested the development of the Three Principles of the People. It is the same with the united front. Mr. Sun not only upheld but also developed the united front, from uniting with various factions and secret societies to overthrow the Manchu Qing, to developing the policy of uniting with Soviet Russia, uniting with the Communist Party, and uniting with the workers and peasants to overthrow imperialism and feudal forces. All of these, combined with his revolutionary perseverance or revolutionary spirit of practice that was unafraid of difficulties and setbacks, unyielding and indomitable, and relentless in continuing the struggle, manifested Mr. Sun’s model as a great revolutionary. Today we have another united front. This united front is broader than the one in the past. The enemy this united front must deal with is also more severe than in the past. The program this united front should implement is still basically what was stated in the manifesto of the First National Congress, but its form and content have undergone certain developments, and in the future, there will certainly be further developments. In order to implement the Three Principles of the People, expand the united front, and defeat our enemy, Japanese imperialism, we must also carry forward the revolutionary spirit of arduous struggle, of not wavering, of not compromising, from revolutionary practice, only then can it be achieved. Therefore, when we commemorate Mr. Sun, if it is not to be a mere formality, we must pay attention to these three items: first, to struggle for the complete realization of the Three Principles of the People; second, to struggle for the consolidation and expansion of the Anti-Japanese National United Front; third, to carry forward the revolutionary spirit of arduous struggle, of being unyielding and indomitable, and of relentlessly continuing the struggle. I believe these three items are the most central, most essential, and greatest legacy Mr. Sun left us. All Kuomintang members, all Communist Party members, and all patriotic compatriots should accept this legacy and carry it forward. To judge whether a person is truly a faithful follower of Mr. Sun depends on his attitude toward these three precious legacies.

Now to speak of the significance of mourning the officers and soldiers who fell in the war of resistance. Since the Lugouqiao Incident, a great war unprecedented in Eastern history has been fought for eight months. The enemy is using the strength of its entire nation to fight; the objective is to subjugate China, the strategy is a war of quick decision. And us? We are also using the strength of our entire nation to resist; the objective is to defend the motherland, the strategy is a protracted struggle. In eight months, heroic battles have been fought on both land and in the air; a great unity has been realized throughout the country; several million troops and countless people have joined the front lines, among whom hundreds of thousands have gloriously and heroically sacrificed themselves in the course of carrying out their sacred tasks. Among these people, many are Kuomintang members, many are Communist Party members, and many are members of other parties or are without party affiliation. We sincerely mourn these dead and express our eternal remembrance of them. From generals Hao Mengling, Tong Linge, Zhao Dengyu, Rao Guohua, Liu Jiaqi, Jiang Yuzhen, Chen Jinxiu, Li Guidan, Huang Meixing, Yao Zifan, Pan Zhankui to every soldier, all have provided a lofty and great model for the entire Chinese people. The Chinese nation is by no means a flock of sheep, but a great nation rich in national self-respect and a sense of human justice. For national self-respect and human justice, for the Chinese people to be certain to live on their own land, and to absolutely not let the Japanese fascists achieve their lawless objectives without paying a heavy price, our method is war and sacrifice, to use war to counter war, to use a revolutionary war of justice to counter a barbaric war of aggression. This spirit has already been proven by the several thousand years of our nation’s history, and now it is being proven again in a great way. Hao Mengling and hundreds of thousands of others have sacrificed for this. It is judged that the Japanese fascists will still advance; they will still attack our Xi’an, Zhengzhou, Wuhan, Nanchang, Fuzhou, Changsha, and Guangzhou; they want to swallow all of China. But I want to tell those crazed enemies, your objective will certainly not be achieved. Do not think that by occupying our places, you have achieved your objective. It has not been achieved, and it will not be achieved. The victory of you Japanese fascists, history has determined, will only be temporary, not permanent. There are ample reasons to prove that the final victory can only belong to our side. Moreover, when the war reaches its end, you will certainly only be able to occupy a part of our territory; to occupy the whole country is impossible. Even if you achieve a quick decision in a city, you will at the same time get a protracted war in a village. For example, you have occupied several main roads and a number of cities in Shanxi, but the villages in the territory you occupy will ultimately and always belong to the Republic of China. We must tell this reason to the compatriots of the whole country. Japan can only carry out partial occupation in almost any province; Japan’s military strength is insufficient for distribution; its barbaric policies have aroused every Chinese person. China has vast armies and people, and China is also implementing the good policy of the united front. This determines to which side the protracted war and the greatest victory will belong. In the future situation, as a result of the bloody battles between the two sides, even if Japan occupies the greater half of China, and China is left with only a complete smaller half as the central base for continuing the war of resistance to win final victory, in that greater half, Japan can in reality only occupy the large cities, main roads, and certain plains within it. As long as we organize the majority in the rural areas in every province to arm themselves in unison to fight Japan and establish many anti-Japanese base areas, just like the Wutai Mountain base area that has now been established, we will have encircled the Japanese army. This war of our outer lines, coordinating with the war of the inner lines, and also from striving to make great progress in all the important work of the party, government, military, and people throughout our country, one day, we can coordinate with each other, attack from both inside and outside, and launch a great counter-offensive. At that time, it will certainly be coordinated with the assistance of the world revolution and the assistance of the people’s revolution within Japan. Who can say that the final victory will not be China’s? Who can say that the hot blood of General Hao Mengling and others was shed in vain? Who can say that it is not inevitable that the Japanese bandits will be driven out of China? Who can say that Mr. Sun Zhongshan’s three great ideals of national liberation, people’s rights and freedom, and people’s livelihood and happiness will not be realized in China? We must make the people of the whole country have this clear understanding and firm conviction, all understand the best policy of protracted war, and in this great war, with one heart and one mind, we must cast off the chains of being a subjugated people or the threat of being a subjugated people.

At this meeting, we must pay tribute to all the officers and soldiers fighting heroically at the front, because they are all struggling heroically for the final victory. We must pay tribute to the families of all anti-Japanese soldiers, especially the families of the fallen martyrs, because their families have produced such anti-Japanese soldiers who fight for the country and are not afraid of sacrifice. We must also pay tribute to the staff and leaders at all levels in the rear who are working hard in various circles, practicing self-denial for the public good to engage in the work of the war of resistance, because their work has all directly guided or helped the war of resistance.

Compatriots of the meeting, compatriots of the whole country, let us unite forever! Down with Japanese imperialism, long live the liberation of the Chinese nation!

*Jiefang* magazine, No. 33, April 1, twenty-seventh year of the Republic.