Conditions for Negotiations to Smash the Kuomintang’s Anti-Communist Offensive[1]

(December 1, 1940)

Zhou and Ye:

We should take the offensive on all fronts to smash the Kuomintang’s anti-communist offensive: (1) The troops in southern Anhui shall move north, but the time of their movement must be postponed until the problem of supplementary conditions is resolved and the safety of the routes is guaranteed. (2) The troops in the three provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, and Anhui are, due to practical difficulties, absolutely unable to move. The attacks by Huo Shouyi and Mo Dehong[2] must be halted immediately; otherwise, if conflict ensues, we cannot bear responsibility. (3) The troops in northern China have no pay and no ammunition. If these are still not issued, and they are driven to a dead end, they will have no choice but to cross the Yellow River and move south. (4) Halt the military deployments for attacking the Border Region and stop constructing the blockade lines. We, on our part, guarantee that we will not attack their side. The so‑called claim that we are attacking Yichuan and Yijun is entirely a rumor. (5) Their side shall release Luo Shiwen[3]; our side shall release Sun Qiren[4]. (6) Halt the arrests of people and the seizure of vehicles and goods along the Longhai and Xianyu railways. All those already arrested and all goods already seized shall be released and returned without exception. (7) If Zhang Guotao and Ye Qing[5]
are to join the Political Consultative Council, our side will absolutely not join. (8) The Guilin Office shall absolutely not be voluntarily abolished. If their side wants to seal it, then let them seal it. (9) Cancel He Yingqin’s order to suspend the pay of the Eighth Route Army, and demand the immediate issuance of the November funds and the arrears from October. (10) Halt Shi Yousan’s activities south of the old Yellow River, and stop his coordination with the enemy and puppet forces in attacking the Eighth Route Army. (11) Guarantee the safety of all our offices. Should incidents such as arrests, assassinations, or disappearances occur, their side shall bear full responsibility. (12) Refuse to negotiate with He Yingqin and Bai Chongxi, and demand to resolve the issues directly with Chiang or with other designated persons; otherwise, we would rather not negotiate at all. With regard to the above twelve points, except for the point concerning the Political Consultative Council member, all shall be raised in the names of Zhu, Peng, Ye, and Xiang, and conveyed by you as our representatives. They need not all be raised at once; raise them as appropriate when negotiating one or several specific points, but our attitude on each point shall remain resolute and unchanged.

Secretariat of the Central Committee
The 1st day

--- Notes

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and addressed to Zhou Enlai and Ye Jianying.

[2] Huo Shouyi was then commander of the 112th Division of the Kuomintang’s 57th Army. Mo Dehong was then commander of the 138th Division of the Kuomintang’s 48th Army.

[3] Luo Shiwen, a native of Weiyuan, Sichuan. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, Luo Shiwen was sent back to Sichuan by the Party Central Committee to work. He successively served as Secretary of the Provisional Work Committee of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Secretary of the Sichuan‑Xikang Special Committee, engaging in work related to the Anti‑Japanese National United Front. On March 18, 1940, Luo Shiwen was arrested by Kuomintang secret agents.

[4] Sun Qiren, commander of the 33rd Division of the Kuomintang’s Han Deqin Army Group, was captured by our forces during the Battle of Huangqiao from October 4 to 6, 1940.

[5] Ye Qing (1896–1990), a native of Nanchong, Sichuan. In August 1928, he was arrested in Changsha, betrayed the revolution, and thereafter degenerated from a Communist Party member into a counter‑revolutionary “theoretician.”