RUMOR AND SMOKESCREEN
28 May 1941
[Text] Creating rumors is a common trick of riffraff of the marketplace,
yet political vagrants resort to such despicable means in political struggles and actually call it "spreading rational hearsay."

In social and political struggles, holding in their hands the banner of
justice and truth, the progressive class and progressive political party
are not afraid of openly and frankly announcing their political program
and goal to the broad masses, clarifying their own political tasks and
the direction of their political action, and waging an open and solemn
struggle against the current major enemy. They have no need to resort
to the low-class and shameless means of conspiracies, schemes and rumors,
because they have confidence in themselves. Truth is on their side, and
their future is bright. Therefore, their actions are open and aboveboard, frank and solemn.

On the other hand, to protect their selfish interests, which are contrary to truth and justice, while knowing that their advocations, outlines, political tasks, and political goals are unpopular with the broad
people, the political vagrants do not dare to act openly and seriously.
They can only resort to stealth and secrecy; therefore, they are experts
in conspiracies, tricks and rumors. Creating rumors, or "spreading
rational hearsay," becomes their favorite trick, because, unable to
compete with their opponents in open and frank political struggles, they
can only depend on creating rumors. Furthermore, as an ancient classic
puts it, "Tseng Ts'an committed murder; his mother threw down the
shuttle of the loom," or, as a poet wrote, "three men together become
tigers in the marketplace; saturation turns into glue and varnish."
It can be very effective.

Moreover, rumors also have another function: to serve as a blinder or
smokescreen. Wasn't there such a story? When a thief was discovered in
the act and an alarm was raised, the thief ingeniously joined in the
outcry: "The thief is over there!" He was thus able to get away. When

ATTACK BY RUMOR

doing something against their own conscience, the decadent political
figures often resort to rumormongering to shift the attention and hide
themselves.

The most recent example of this was the extensive and systematic spreading of the rumor that "the 18th Group Army concentrates in north Shansi
and does not coordinate with the friendly troops in combat." The first
to spread this rumor was a skilled veteran in this field--the T'UNG-MENG
PRESS. Early this month, while mounting a minor military operation, the
Japanese bandits launched a major attack by rumors. The T'UNG-MENG
PRESS spread all kinds of rumors, article after article, stressing in
particular the refusal of the 8th Route Army to cooperate with the
Central troops, its concentration in northern Shensi in preparation for
action against Sian, its utilization of the opportunity to expand and
capture the weapons of the Central troops, etc. The goal of the Japanese
bandits in launching military attacks and attacks by rumor is very clear.
It can be described in one word: Intimidation! Or, to force a surrender
by intimidation! Military attack is to show off their military might,
as if to say: If you do not surrender, we will occupy your homeland and
all your seaports, wipe out tens of thousands of your troops in Chung-
t'iao-shan, and take Loyang, Sian, Kunming, and Chungking. What are you
going to do about it? Attack by rumor is to alienate the relationship
between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. They paint a gloomy
picture and intimidate you by saying: See how bad the relationship is
between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Self-revitalization,
but what hope is there? Better surrender immediately! Such rumors as
"the 8th Route Army will not fight Japan" are the smokescreen, while
forcing a surrender by intimidation and inducement is the goal. The
technique is most superficial; the reason is most clear.

What is strange is that certain Chinese--not traitors like Wang Ching-wei,
but certain figures of the ruling stratum in the resistance war stronghold--actually copy T'UNG-MENG PRESS' broadcast word for word and voluntarily rebroadcast the rumors. While actually stating that "information
from the enemy is mostly fabricated and cannot be believed," such news
organs as TA KUNG PAO and the CENTRAL PRESS AGENCY repeat the "information from the enemy" and claim that "that the 18th Group Army has been
concentrating in northern Shansi and until now has not cooperated with
the friendly troops in battle is a fact." The Japanese do not have to
spend a penny, and there are those Chinese who volunteer to serve as
phonographs and witnesses to their rumors. Isn't it strange?

Nevertheless, actually there is nothing "strange" about it. If we understand the ingenuity of the thief in the story cited above, we will
understand the "secret" of the rumors. The spokesman of the Chungking
Military Commission more or less leaked a part of this "secret" on the
23d of this month. He said: "Last week there was a general mobilization of the bandit army, totaling over 300,000 men. When they brag
about solving the 'China incident' by such means, not only will no one

in the world believe them, but even the enemy bandits themselves know it
is impossible." Did it not imply that such means (military attack) would
not solve the problem; better use another method! As was expected,
T'UNG-MENG PRESS immediately reported that military authorities on all
fronts claimed that the initial fighting had concluded. Thus, the
rumors echoed back and forth, creating an intermediary effect like writing verses on a red leaf. What was regrettable was that some of the
Political Council members in Hong Kong were actually deceived by this
little sleight of hand.

We feel that there is no need for us to "quell the rumors" again, because
the perseverance of the 8th Route Army and the Communist Party members in
the resistance war and their loyalty to the nation are facts which cannot
be shaken by rumors; they are true gold, fearing no fire. Though the New
4th Army has been declared a rebel army and the 8th Route Army has not
received one bullet in 2 years or a halfpenny's worth of rations in 5
months, the officers and soldiers of the two armies have never for one
minute stopped fighting the enemy. Meanwhile, to relieve the battle
pressure in southern Shansi, the 8th Route Army is waging bloody battles
on the entire front in North China. These are the facts well known to
those creating rumors and those spreading them. That they create and
spread rumors is for another purpose.

What is the purpose? Those creating rumors wish to induce surrender;
those spreading them wish to surrender. They all want to use the Com-munist Party as the excuse, and the Communist Party serves as the red
leaf on which they write their verses. During the height of their
spring fever, the Japanese compose a poem on a red leaf and float it
up the Yangtze River. Picking up the red leaf, those at this end feel
excited. They write an answering poem and float it down the river. This
was the reason that the T'UNG-MENG PRESS and CENTRAL PRESS AGENCY have
chanted and responded on the Communist Party issue in recent days. There
are also Germany's ZEITUNG PRESSE, America's UNITED PRESS, and England's
REUTER which, for their own different purposes, have spread the love
poems of both sides everywhere. Their common goal is to "hurry the
marriage," except that England and America do so for the purpose of
resisting the communists, the Soviet Union and Germany, and Germany has
in mind the purpose of opposing England and America. That is the only
difference. "You had better get married quickly, so that the Pacific
war can be launched"--this is the goal of Germany. "You had better get
married quickly, so that an anticommunist, anti-Soviet Union, and anti-
Germany Far Eastern Munich can be created"--this is the goal of England
and America. We cannot but advise the leaders of the Chinese Kuomintang
that such a marriage is a "shotgun marriage," which will not bring happiness in the future; it is better to refuse the proposal. Using the
Communist Party as an excuse will not get you anywhere, either. If you
don't believe us, just wait and see!

Our countrymen throughout China, pay attention to the crisis of surrender
concealed under the smokescreen of rumors! The grave danger of a Far
Eastern Munich is growing daily. The "military attack" this time, with
the goal of "intimidating Chiang to surrender," has temporarily passed.
What follows will inevitably be surrender by inducement. Though it is
an old trick of the Japanese to "hit, then drag; hit and drag," it contains a new significance, because it is precisely from May to October
1941 [?]. Our countrymen of the entire nation must rise and expose and
smash it. It is a momentous task linked with the life of the nation!

0 CHIEH-FANG JIH-PAO (editorial), 28 May 1941

* "Reference Materials on the History of the Chinese Revolution," Vol 4,
China People's University, 1957