The Principal Staff of Political Organs at All
Levels Must Be Party Members
(February 19, 1939)

Our forces are constantly being enlarged. New units of all descriptions are being
reorganized into our forces. Many of the political cadres may not be Party members. If that is the case, it will be difficult to maintain the Eighth Route Army's fine
tradition of a good political system. There will be even less assurance of Party
leadership or of the application of its policies. In the future, no matter what kind of
force it is, once it has been reorganized into the Eighth Route Army, it is imperative that a Party organization be established within it. Its political instructors, instructors, and the principal staff of the political organs at various levels must be
Party members and accept the leadership of the Party. Otherwise, it is better to
have fewer forces organized in this way rather than many which are not.

Mao [Zedong] Wang [Jiaxiang]¹ Tan [Zheng]2

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 2, p. 454, where it is reproduced
from a copy in the Central Archives.
1. The reference is to Wang Jiaxiang, then deputy chairman of the Central Military
Commission and director of the General Political Department.
2. Tan Zheng (1907-1988), a native of Hunan, joined the Chinese Communist Party in
1927, participated in the Long March, and was at this time deputy head of the General
Political Department.