Yan'an Commentator's Commentary on the Current Situation

(May 24, 1941)

(1) Recently, Japanese imperialism has on the one hand been moving troops in an attempt to launch a major new offensive against us, but on the other hand it has been engineering a new plot to induce capitulation. The military situation at the front is urgent, while peace rumours are again rife in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The Japanese bandits' two-faced policy of striking and cajoling is being carried out simultaneously with both hands at once. (2) Certain imperialist authorities are also pursuing a two-faced policy: on the one hand giving us some meagre assistance, and on the other hand continuing their dirty dealings to compromise with Japan and scheme for our surrender. The new plot for a Far Eastern Munich has already leaked out from the New York stock exchange to the whole world. The Matsuoka-Grew talks are not without cause. (3) Certain authorities in Chongqing are likewise persisting in a two-faced policy: on the one hand continuing the situation of resisting Japan, yet on the other hand not blocking the path to compromise; on the one hand willing to fight in coordination with the Eighth Route Army, yet on the other hand still not abandoning the anti-communist policy, refusing to give supplies to the Eighth Route Army, and continuing to fabricate anti-communist rumours. Such a two-faced policy inevitably leads to having no way to deal with the war of resistance, readily gives rise to pessimism, and fosters a chaotic situation. Recently, the news about "peace" in the Far East spread by the United Press, the Transocean News Agency, and other news agencies has not been denied by the relevant authorities of China, the United States, and Japan. Therefore, the current situation urgently demands the attention of our countrymen, and the key to overcoming all possible dangers lies decidedly not outside but inside, namely, in whether the Kuomintang authorities can resolutely abandon the two-faced policy that is harmful to the war of resistance and to unity.