Letter to Mr. Yang Lingde
(December 14, 1938)
Mr. Lingde:
I have received both of your letters. Due to the prolonged Sixth Plenary Session of the CPC Central Committee, my reply has been delayed, for which I sincerely apologize. However, Brother Yuan Chenying had already instructed Comrade Gao Gang to order the relevant authorities to release him, so you must have already learned about it. Not only was I unaware of this matter, but neither were Gao Gang nor Fang Wu. It is regrettable that the local security organs, based on information from Northwest Shanxi, took such action without proper verification. Should you become aware of any shortcomings hereafter, I would greatly appreciate it if you could inform me, so that we may improve accordingly. With best regards.
Respectfully submitted,
Mao Zedong
December 14th
[1] Yang Lingde (1905–1985) was from Tuoketuo County, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. At that time, he served as a correspondent for the Ta Kung Pao newspaper stationed in Yulin, Shaanxi Province.
[2] Yuan Chenying was Yang Lingde’s nephew. In early 1938, he went to study at the Shaanbei Public School. Later that year, he was mistakenly detained but soon released.
[3] Gao Gang (1905–1954) was from Hengshan County, Shaanxi Province. At that time, he was the head of the CPC Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region Committee.
[4] Fang Wu refers to Cheng Fangwu (1897–1984), who was from Xinhua County, Hunan Province. He served as the president of the Shaanbei Public School at the time.