Central Directive on Opposing Surrender and Saving the Current Situation

(November 7, 1940)

(1) Japan is actively enticing China to surrender. The German envoy Trautmann has already sent telegrams to the Chinese authorities urging peace. Pro-Japanese conspirators and instigators of civil war within the country are actively maneuvering, encircling and pressuring the Chinese authorities to launch a civil war and carry out surrender. The aim of Japan and the pro-Japanese clique is to cause China’s division, to make the Kuomintang and the Communist Party fight and destroy each other, so that they may reap the benefits as the fisherman. The crisis in the current situation is extremely grave; the entire Party must mobilize to oppose surrender and division and to save the crisis in the current situation.

(2) Rapidly mobilize all active elements inside and outside the Party, using oral, written, pictorial, letter, telegram, and all possible means, directly and indirectly, to explain sincerely and actively to the political authorities, to the Kuomintang, to the army, to all parties, factions, and circles: Suppressing the Communists will lead to the destruction of the Party and the nation; surrender will inevitably cause China to disintegrate, will inevitably cause the anti-Japanese armed forces to collapse, will inevitably cause the commander-in-chief of the War of Resistance to be utterly discredited, and will inevitably plunge the people of the whole nation into the plight of beasts of burden and slaves. These are precisely the treacherous schemes of Japan. These are precisely the treacherous schemes of the pro-Japanese conspirators and instigators of civil war; we must absolutely not fall into these treacherous schemes. When the snipe and the clam grapple, it only benefits the fisherman; turning the gun inward only pains our own people and delights the enemy. We Communists have always cherished and protected Chiang, cherished and protected the Kuomintang, cherished and protected the friendly armies, and cherished and protected all anti-Japanese parties, groups, and individuals. All we demand is to persist in the War of Resistance and unity, no surrender, no division, no civil war. On this basis, we implement all the declarations in our Party Central Committee’s July 7 Manifesto of this year and the consistent policy of the united front, and we are willing to unite to the very end with the Kuomintang and all parties, factions, circles, and armies. If they are momentarily careless and fall into the enemy’s trap, bringing about the destruction of the Party and the nation, then we will be unable to help even if we wish to. As for the pro-Japanese

clique and the instigators of civil war, we Communists, the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the people of the whole nation absolutely cannot tolerate them. As for all anti-Japanese friends, we will always cherish and protect them. Now, at this moment of existential crisis, we cannot but fulfill the duty of giving loyal counsel. At the same time, we demand that all parties, factions, circles, and armies actively pay attention to the recent movement of 200,000 troops toward the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army in the Henan area; the danger of civil war is such that it could break out at any moment. Everyone should demand that the government stop these military actions and prevent the outbreak of civil war.

(3) When active elements inside and outside the Party conduct propaganda, they should pay attention to their attitude. Do not scold Chiang, do not scold the Kuomintang, do not scold the Central Army and the Whampoa clique, do not scold the miscellaneous brand armies, do not scold the Three People’s Principles Youth League and the Renaissance Society, and do not scold Britain, the United States, and the Anglo-American faction (we certainly cannot agree to joining the European-American bloc, because it is an imperialist war bloc, but this is not the center of the current struggle). Instead, concentrate all attention on fiercely denouncing the pro-Japanese conspirators and instigators of civil war, emphasize Japan’s conspiracy to induce surrender, and resoundingly raise the slogans of opposing surrender and opposing civil war, raise the slogan of turning the gun outward, Chinese do not fight Chinese, raise the slogan of the people of the whole nation uniting to stop surrender and stop civil war, and expel the pro-Japanese clique. Our attitude must be sincere, active, and fervent; we must do everything possible, rushing everywhere to appeal and cry out, not sparing our tongues from weariness and our lips from parching, showing ourselves to be patriotic patriots and loyal friends who unite the whole people and defend the nation. At this tense moment, the central task of the whole Party is to oppose surrender and civil war. The firepower we previously directed at the diehards in struggle must now mainly be shifted onto the pro-Japanese clique and the instigators of civil war, and we must take this as the center and fiercely strike at them. If the pro-Japanese clique and the instigators of civil war are smashed, it will be comparatively difficult for the diehards to surrender.

(4) Who are the specific pro-Japanese conspirators and instigators of civil war should be determined based on concrete evidence from each locality. Their national leader is the pro-Japanese clique headed by He Yingqin. This clique is secretly connected with Japan and Wang Jingwei and is currently encircling Chiang Kai-shek, persuading and enticing him to issue orders to suppress the Communists and to mobilize troops for suppressing the Communists. The aim of this clique is to carry out Japan’s orders, provoke a war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, so that the Japanese army can extricate itself from the Chinese quagmire to deal with Britain and the United States. And once China falls into civil war, surrender will inevitably follow. But to achieve national surrender, Chiang must be dragged into the mire. Thus, the pro-Japanese clique starts by supporting Chiang’s anti-Communist policy, vigorously assisting Chiang in opposing

the Communists. They believe that once the anti-Communist war breaks out, Chiang will be placed over a blazing fire, unable to get off the stage, and surrender can then be realized. Then they will demand that Japan kick Chiang aside, and they themselves will act as China’s Pétain. This is the entire conspiracy of He Yingqin and his ilk. From this, it can also be seen that there is a great danger that Chiang and the Chiang faction may be drawn into the trap by the pro-Japanese clique and proceed from anti-Communism to surrender. This is the main danger for Chiang, and we must be extremely vigilant and absolutely must not be negligent, lest we fall into his trap. But for the present, Chiang is still standing at the crossroads of the three major international alignments and China’s three paths (either surrender, or join the Anglo-American bloc, or continue the independent war), and has not yet made the resolve to act as Pétain. Therefore, we must still strive to win him over, in order to prolong the time of resistance against Japan, even if it is only a very short time. At present, the most dangerous are the pro-Japanese clique headed by He Yingqin and the instigators of civil war. The whole Party should, orally, expose the enormous conspiracy of He Yingqin and his ilk to all parties, factions, circles, and armies, and use various methods to proclaim the crimes of He Yingqin and his ilk, so that all may know and deeply detest them, only temporarily avoiding mentioning He Yingqin’s name in public written materials.

(5) We must actively intensify the work of the united front. It must become more concrete, not missing a single opportunity to connect with every possible specific target. We must study how to approach and how to collaborate with each specific target in the work of opposing surrender and opposing civil war. Do not set demands too high; even verbal agreements on just one or two minor points are useful. We must daily and hourly examine the shortcomings in our own work. We must meticulously analyze the specific circumstances of each stratum, each party, each faction, each army, each group, and each individual, discerning the contradictions and possibilities within them. Do not see only pitch darkness, shutting the door and refusing to admit anyone, or halting in fear at the sight; these are all wrong.

(6) All Party organizations in the Kuomintang areas must, in accordance with the repeated directives of the Central Committee, completely, wholly, and in an orderly fashion conceal themselves, and prepare for long-term lying low, accumulating strength, and biding their time. In every locality, we must strictly guard against sudden attacks and be able to withstand such attacks.

(7) Regarding all anti-Japanese base areas of our Eighth Route Army and New Fourth Army, we must persist in a long-term, independent, self-reliant anti-Japanese war. At the same time, we must prepare to deal with any serious anti-

Communist war, and must fully prepare to smash the conspiracy of a joint pincer attack by Japan and the pro-Japanese clique.

(8) We must also tell all active elements and anti-Japanese personnel inside and outside the Party that as long as everyone rises up to carry out resolute and appropriate struggle, it is still possible to stop surrender and civil war at present; there is still time, and such time still exists. Therefore, our Party and the people of the whole nation must struggle to stop surrender and stop civil war. Every extra bit of work our Party and the people of the whole nation do today to oppose surrender and oppose civil war means one extra bit of victory tomorrow. What the final outcome of the current situation will be depends mainly on our Party’s policy and work.

(9) Regardless of how the situation develops, the final victory will inevitably belong to China and the Chinese people. Our Party has an army of 500,000, a membership of 600,000 Party members, the broad sympathy of the people of the whole nation, many middle-of-the-roaders who can still serve as our friends or remain neutral, the support of the great power of the Soviet Union, the brewing of world revolution, the unprecedentedly intense contradictions among the imperialists, the serious difficulties within the enemy camp, and the serious contradictions between the pro-Japanese clique and the diehards, between the diehards and the middle-of-the-roaders, and within each faction itself—all these give us the certainty to say that the final victory will inevitably belong to China and the Chinese people. No matter how dark the current situation may be, our Party has every confidence in ultimately overcoming this darkness. Any darkness in the whole world and in the whole of China is only temporary; only the revolutionary party and revolutionary people who rely on their own resolute struggle and solid unity are the final victors. This confidence must be firmly established throughout the Party and among the people of the whole nation. Any pessimistic and wavering sentiments that inevitably arise inside and outside the Party must be resolutely overcome.