Establishing an Anti-Japanese Democratic Regime in Southern Shandong[1]

(June 21, 1939)

After the enemy’s “mopping-up” operations, the situation in southern Shandong is in chaos. We should seize this opportunity to dispatch the division headquarters of the 115th Division, the 686th Regiment, and a part of Xiao Hua’s troops to southern Shandong, in order to consolidate the southern Shandong base area, and send capable Party, government, and military cadres to serve as commissioners, county magistrates, and district heads, so as to establish an anti-Japanese democratic regime under the leadership of our Party.

[1] This is the main content of a telegram from Mao Zedong and Wang Jiaxiang to Zhu De, Peng Dehuai, and Yang Shangkun concerning consolidating the southern Shandong base area and establishing a democratic regime.