[On the Third Anniversary of the Founding of the Chinese
people's
Anti-Japanese Military and Political College]

May 26, 1939


Why is it that the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College has become
famous all over the country and even enjoys some reputation abroad? Because,
of all the anti-Japanese military institutes, it is the most revolutionary,
the most progressive, and the best fighter for national liberation and social
emancipation. This, I think, is also the reason why visitors to Yenan are
so keen on seeing it.

The college is revolutionary and progressive because both its staff members
and teachers and its courses are revolutionary and progressive. Without this
revolutionary and progressive character, it could never have won the praise
of revolutionary people at home and abroad.

Some people attack the college; they are the country's capitulationists and
die-hards. This only goes to show that the college is a most revolutionary
and progressive one, or otherwise they would not attack it. The vigorous
attacks by the capitulationists die-hards testify to its revolutionary and
progressive nature and add to its lustre. It is a glorious military institute
not only because the majority of the people support and praise it, but also
because the capitulationists and die-hards strenuously attack and slander
it.

I hold that it is bad as far as we are concerned if a person, a political
party, an army or a school is not attacked by the enemy, for in that case
it would definitely mean that we have sunk to the level of the enemy. It
is good if we are attacked by the enemy, since it proves that we have drawn
a clear line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves. It is still
better if the enemy attacks us wildly and paints us as utterly black and
without a single virtue; it demonstrates that we have not only drawn a clear
line of demarcation between the enemy and ourselves but achieved a great
deal in our work.

In the past three years, the Anti-Japanese Military and Political College
has made a great contribution to the country, to the nation and to society
by training tens of thousands of promising, progressive and revolutionary
young students. It will certainly go on making its contribution to the country,
the nation and society, because it will continue to train such young students
in large numbers. In speaking of the college, people often compare it to
the Whampoa Military Academy [1] before the Northern
Expedition. In fact, there are points of both similarity and difference between
the two institutes. The similarity is the presence of Communists among the
teachers and students in both. The difference is that, while the chief leaders
and the majority of the students at the Whampoa Military Academy were members
of the Kuomintang the entire leadership of the Anti-Japanese Military and
Political College is in the hands of the Communist Party and the vast majority
of the students are communist or communist-inclined. For this reason, the
Anti-Japanese Military and Political College of today cannot but be more
revolutionary and more progressive than was the Whampoa Military Academy
of the past, and it will certainly make a greater contribution to national
liberation and social emancipation.

The educational policy of the college is to cultivate a firm and correct
political orientation, an industrious and simple style of work, and flexible
strategy and tactics. These are the three essentials in the making of an
anti-Japanese revolutionary soldier. It is in accordance with these essentials
that the staff teach and the students study.

The progress and development of the college over the past few years have
been accompanied by certain shortcomings. It has grown, but difficulties
have arisen too. The main difficulty is the shortage of funds, teachers and
teaching materials. But led by the Communist Party, the college does not
fear any difficulties and will certainly overcome them. There are no such
things as difficulties for Communists, for they can surmount them.

It is my hope and the hope of the people of the whole country that the college
will eliminate its shortcomings and become still more progressive after its
third anniversary.

Teachers, staff members and students of the college, let us redouble our
efforts!


NOTES

1. The Whampoa Military Academy, located at Whampoa near
Canton, was established by Dr. Sun Yat-sen in 1924 with the help of the Chinese
Communists and the Soviet Union. At the time, it was run jointly by the
Kuomintang and the Communist Party. At one time or another Chou En-lai, Yun
Tai-ying, Hsio Chu-nu, Hsiung Hsiung and other comrades did political and
other works in the academy. They trained large numbers of cadres in a
revolutionary spirit for the revolutionary armed forces; these cadres included
many members of the Communist Party and the Communist Youth League. However,
the head of the academy was Chiang Kai-shek. Using his position, he pushed
aside the Communists, built up his own following and finally, after the
Counter-Revolutionary coup d'etat of April 12, 1927, turned the academy into
a Counter-Revolutionary organization.


Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project.