Speech at the First Assembly of Senators of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region [1]

(January–February 1939)

The Border Region is a part of the whole of China, yet there are some new things here, such as the principle of democracy, rare elsewhere, and the principle of the people’s livelihood, absent altogether elsewhere. This is what distinguishes the Border Region from other places. Now the whole country is persisting in the War of Resistance, convening political councils, and so forth, putting the Three Principles of the People into practice, and our Assembly of Senators in the Border Region is likewise part of this. The War of Resistance absolutely requires the principles of democracy and the people’s livelihood. Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People—nationalism, democracy, and the people’s livelihood—complement one another. Without the principles of democracy and the people’s livelihood, nationalism cannot be implemented, and the War of Resistance cannot be won. Progress in the Border Region is primarily manifested in democracy, and this democracy is, in turn, a development of the Soviet system at the present stage. Now all classes—workers, peasants, businessmen, students, and soldiers—may participate in the Assembly of Senators. Major matters will invariably meet with opposition. Bad things are opposed, and good things are opposed too. How, then, are we to judge whether a matter is good or bad? We must have a criterion when examining issues. That criterion is: Whatever

is opposed by Japanese imperialism and the traitors must be a good thing. We must therefore work hard for it.

We must vigorously develop the defense economy, expand national defense education, greatly promote national defense mass movements, and strengthen military training.

II

Wuhan has been lost, but we have not yet entered the new phase of stalemate between the enemy and ourselves; rather, we are in a period of transition between the two phases of enemy offensive and our defense, and stalemate. To complete this transition requires three conditions: that China persists in protracted war of resistance and strengthens its anti-Japanese forces; that the enemy’s difficulties increase; and that there is more international assistance. The task of the Communist Party is to persist in the War of Resistance, consolidate, and expand the united front. The task of the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army is primarily to pin down the “bull’s tail” behind enemy lines and coordinate with the frontal battlefield operations of the Kuomintang forces. The Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region must become a bulwark of resistance and a model of democracy.

III

The advocates of “one doctrine” are wrong now, just as they were wrong in the past. In the past, under the emperors, several faiths still existed; now, in the era of the “Republic,” they say there should be none at all—that is simply nonsense. As for “one party,” that is also wrong. Where different classes and different doctrines exist, naturally there will be various parties and factions. In the past, someone sang a song with the lines, “Outside the party, no other party—that is the thought of an emperor; inside the party, no factions—how bizarre.” These words hit the mark quite well. Therefore, talk of “one doctrine” and “one party” should be done away with. If they insist on speaking of it again, we must refute them. Speaking of dissolving or assimilating: what should be dissolved are those diehard elements, those who “profit from the national calamity” and “subsist on friction.” The Communist Party, which serves the nation and the people, absolutely cannot be dissolved!

--- Notes

[1] From January 17 to February 4, 1939, the First Assembly of Senators of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region was convened in Yan’an. Leading figures of the CPC Central Committee, including Mao Zedong, Wang Ming (Chen Shaoyu), Luo Fu (Zhang Wentian), Chen Yun, and Wang Jiaxiang, attended the conference and delivered important speeches. Section 1 of this text is part of Mao Zedong’s speech at the opening session on January 17. Section 2 is part of his report on the current political situation on the afternoon of January 18. Section 3 is part of his speech at the closing session on February 4, refuting the fallacy of “one doctrine” and “one party” touted by the Kuomintang and criticizing the anti-communist and communist-assimilation policy adopted by the Kuomintang’s Fifth Plenary Session of the Fifth Central Committee.