We Must Never Fear a Rupture

(January 25, 1941)

Enlai:

They have already declared us to be in rebellion, we can absolutely no longer adopt a wavering attitude, we can absolutely no longer tolerate this, we must never fear a rupture, otherwise we shall commit grave errors. Therefore the Yan’an Order and Statement [1] in their entirety, including the wording, are completely correct. After we have made our attitude clear, we shall leave it to Chiang Kai-shek to deal with the matter; either he implements our Twelve Demands [2] and the two parties return to compromise, or he carries out a total rupture. You should indicate to all sides that Chiang Kai-shek has already pushed us into a position of antagonism, unless Chiang Kai-shek rescinds the Order of the 17th [3] and implements other necessary steps,
we have no alternative but to stand in opposition to him, for we have no other path to take. You should return to Yan’an immediately. For the rest, see the Secretariat’s telegram.

Mao Zedong

Youshen

--- Notes

[1] The Yan’an Order and Statement refer to the “Order of the Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China” and the “Statement by the Spokesman of the Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to the Correspondent of the Xinhua News Agency,” issued on January 20, 1941, in connection with the Southern Anhui Incident.

[2] The Twelve Demands refer to the twelve demands put forward to the Kuomintang in the statement made by the spokesman of the Revolutionary Military Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to the correspondent of the Xinhua News Agency on January 20, 1941, concerning the Southern Anhui Incident. Namely: First, pull back from the brink and stop provocations; Second, rescind the reactionary order of January 17 and declare that you were completely wrong; Third, punish He Yingqin, Gu Zhutong, and Shangguan Yunxiang, the chief culprits of the Southern Anhui Incident; Fourth, restore Ye Ting’s freedom and allow him to continue serving as Commander of the New Fourth Army; Fifth, return all the personnel and arms of the New Fourth Army in Southern Anhui; Sixth, provide compensation and pensions for all the killed and wounded officers and soldiers of the New Fourth Army in Southern Anhui; Seventh, withdraw the “Communist-suppression” troops from Central China; Eighth, dismantle the blockade line in the Northwest; Ninth, release all patriotic political prisoners arrested throughout the country; Tenth, abolish one-party dictatorship and implement democratic politics; Eleventh, carry out the Three People’s Principles and obey the “Premier’s Testament”; Twelfth, arrest the leaders of all pro-Japanese factions and hand them over for trial according to national law.

[3] On January 17, 1941, Chiang Kai-shek issued a general order in the name of the Military Council of the Kuomintang government, slandering the New Fourth Army as a rebel army, announcing the revocation of the New Fourth Army’s designation, and handing Ye Ting over for court-martial.