Introductory Editorial to the
Yan'an Jiefang Ribao
(May 16, 1941)
What is the mission of this paper? One phrase says it all: Unite the people of the
whole country to defeat Japanese imperialism.
This is the general line of the Chinese Communist Party, and also the mission of
this paper. Given the current situation internationally and domestically, this mission is even more critical.
The questions at hand are the following: Is the world one in which imperialist
bandits slaughter one another, or is it one in which the world's people enjoy peace?
Does China belong to Japanese imperialism, or does China belong to the Chinese
people? Now that the imperialist war has turned into a world war and Japanese
imperialism is attempting to destroy China once and for all, these questions face
us sharply.
There is not a single imperialist country that has not been brought into the war
(the United States has actually already entered the war), and the war has turned the
entire globe into a slaughterhouse. Unless the world's people rise up in strong
opposition to war and strive for peace, the world is in danger of destruction and
humanity is in peril of extinction. Now the struggle of people all over the world
against imperialism and war has begun, and this is wherein lies true light for the
world. The Communist Parties in various countries stand in the forefront of this
struggle, which is one that will help the Chinese people's own struggle. The Chinese people have the duty to ally themselves with the people of the world.
Having failed to solve the problem of China through four years of war, the
Japanese imperialists are now attempting to effect a "final solution" to it. Any
view that makes light of Japanese imperialist attacks is incorrect. Belonging under
the rubric of this sort of attitude are friction between the Guomindang and the
Communist Party, the anti-Communist high tide, and the two separate wars. What
we advocate is unity between the Guomindang and the Communists, abolition of
friction, and fighting a single war. It must be understood that only by waging one
war, the war specifically against Japanese imperialism, can the attacks by Japanese imperialism be repelled, can Japanese imperialism be driven out. China's

Our source for this text is Mao Zedong xinwen gongzuo wenxuan, pp. 55-57, where it is
reproduced from the version published in Jiefang ribao at the time.

foreign policy necessarily has to be a pro-Soviet policy, despite the fact that at the
same time it should not abandon its diplomatic relations with Britain and the United
States. China's domestic political policy has to be one of democracy. All reactionary policies that are anti-Communist, antipopular, and antidemocratic must be
abolished.
The present moment is a critical juncture for China's survival. All anti-Japanese
parties and groups and anti-Japanese people must unite as one against the primary
enemy, Japanese imperialism. The Communist Party stands on the forefront of
this struggle. It has been this way in the past, it is this way at present, and it will
continue to be this way in the future. The policy of the Chinese Communist Party
has always been one of a national united front against Japan. The Chinese Communist Party harbors good intentions toward others, and it gives the opportunity
for self-reflection and repentance to anyone who has committed errors during the
anti-Japanese war and strikes a resolute blow only at those who betray the national
interest and yet absolutely refuse to repent. And this is totally necessary, because
if national traitors who betray the interests of the nation yet are staunchly unwilling to repent are not hit hard, then the national War of Resistance will surely meet
defeat.
The mission of the Communist Party is the mission of this paper. All our colleagues on the paper firmly believe that, as a result of the concerted struggle of the
world's people and the Chinese people, the world will surely become a bright new
world belonging to people of the world, and that China will become a China where
the Chinese people enjoy independence and sovereignty. We will be able to smash
to bits any Japanese imperialist plots. Unity, unity, unity; this is our weapon, and
this is also our slogan. On the occasion of this paper's inauguration, we wish to
make this expression of utmost sincerity to our fellow countrymen.