July 1940


The third anniversary of the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan
and the nineteenth anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of
China occur within a few days of each other. In commemorating the anniversary
of the resistance today we Communists feel our responsibility all the more
keenly. To fight for the survival of the Chinese nation is a responsibility
which falls on all the anti-Japanese political parties and groups and the
whole people, but as we see it an even heavier responsibility falls on us
as Communists. The Central Committee of our Party has issued a statement
on the present situation, the essence of which is a call for resistance and
unity to the very end. This statement, we hope, will meet with the approval
of the friendly parties and armies and the whole nation, and Communists in
particular must conscientiously carry out the line it has laid down.

All Communists must realize that only through resistance to the very end
can there be unity to the very end, and vice versa. Therefore, Communists
must set an example in both resistance and unity. Our opposition is directed
solely against the enemy and against the determined capitulators and
anti-Communists; with all others we must unite in earnest. In every place
the determined capitulators and anti-Communists are only a minority. I made
an investigation of one local government and found that out of 1,300 staff
members, only 40 to 50, or less than 4 per cent, were confirmed anti-Communists,
while all the rest wanted unity and resistance. Of course we cannot tolerate
these capitulators and anti-Communists, because that would amount to allowing
them to sabotage resistance and wreck unity; we must resolutely oppose the
capitulators and, in self-defence, firmly repel the attacks of the anti-Communist
elements. Failure to do so would be Right opportunism and would harm unity
and resistance. However, our policy must be one of unity with all those who
are not absolutely set in their capitulation and anti-communism. For some
face both ways, others are acting under compulsion, and still others have
temporarily gone astray; for the sake of continued unity and resistance we
must win over all these people. Failure to do so would be "Left" opportunism
and this, too, would harm unity and resistance. All Communists should realize
that, having initiated the Anti-Japanese National United Front, we must maintain
it. Now that the national crisis is deepening and the world situation is
undergoing a great change, we must shoulder the very heavy responsibility
of saving the Chinese nation. We must defeat Japanese imperialism and build
China into an independent, free and democratic republic, and to do so we
must unite the greatest possible number of people, with or without party
affiliations. Communists should not enter into unprincipled united fronts
and must therefore oppose all such schemes as corroding, restricting, containing
and repressing the Communist Party as well as oppose the Right opportunism
within the Party. But at the same time Communists should not fail to respect
the Party's united front policy and must therefore unite, on the principle
of resistance, with all those who are still willing to resist Japan and must
oppose "Left" opportunism within the Party.

Thus, as far as political power is concerned, we stand for united front organs
of political power; we do not favour one-party dictatorship either by the
Communist Party or by any other party, but we stand for the joint dictatorship
of all political parties and groups, people in all walks of life and all
armed forces, that is, for united front political power. Whenever we establish
organs of anti-Japanese political power in the enemy rear after destroying
the enemy and the puppet regimes there, we should adopt the "three thirds
system" as decided upon by the Central Committee of our Party, so that Communists
take only one-third of the places in all government or people's representative
bodies, while the remaining two-thirds are taken by people who stand for
resistance and democracy whether or not they are members of other parties
or groups. Anybody may take part in the work of the government so long as
he is not in favour of capitulation or is not an anti-Communist. Every political
party or group shall have the right to exist and carry on its activities
under the anti-Japanese political power, so long as it is not in favour of
capitulation and is not anti-Communist.

In regard to the question of the armed forces, our Party's statement has
made it clear that we shall continue to observe the decision "not to extend
our Party organizations to any friendly army". Local Party organizations
which have not strictly observed this decision should immediately put the
matter right. A friendly attitude should be taken towards all armed units
that do not start armed clashes with the Eighth Route or New Fourth Armies.
Friendly relations should be restored even with those troops that have created
"friction", once they stop doing so. This is our united front policy with
regard to the armed forces.

As for our policies on other matters, whether financial, economic, cultural
or educational or anti-espionage, for the sake of resistance we must follow
the united front policy by adjusting the interests of the different classes
and must oppose both Right and "Left" opportunism.

Internationally the imperialist war is becoming world-wide and the extremely
grave political and economic crises to which it has given rise will inevitably
cause revolutions to break out in many countries. We are in a new era of
wars and revolutions. The Soviet Union, which has not been drawn into the
maelstrom of this imperialist war, is the supporter of all the oppressed
people and all the oppressed nations of the world. These factors are favourable
to China's War of Resistance. But at the same time the danger of capitulation
is more serious than ever before because Japanese imperialism is intensifying
its attacks on China in preparation for its aggression against Southeast
Asia, and this will certainly induce some of the vacillating elements to
surrender. The fourth year of the war is going to be a most difficult one.
Our task is to unite all anti-Japanese forces, oppose the capitulators, surmount
all the difficulties and persist in nation-wide resistance. All Communists
must unite with the friendly parties and armies to accomplish this task.
We are confident that, through the united efforts of all members of our Party,
of the friendly parties and armies and the whole people, we shall succeed
in preventing capitulation, in conquering the difficulties, in driving out
the Japanese aggressors and in recovering our lost territories. The prospects
for our War of Resistance are indeed bright.


Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project.