Declaration of the Chinese Communist Party
Regarding the War in the Pacific

(December 9, 1941)

On the 8th of this month, the Japanese fascist government declared war on Britain
and the United States and bombed Hawaii, the Philippines, Hong Kong, and
Singapore. Its army landed in northern Malaysia. After the Japanese declaration of
war, the United States and Britain likewise declared war on Japan. War has already
broken out in the Pacific. This Pacific War is an unjust war launched by the Japanese fascists for the sake of aggression against the United States, Britain, and other
countries. On the part of the United States, Britain, and other countries who have
risen to resist this aggression, it is a just war of liberation in defense of independence, freedom, and democracy. This aggressive act by the Japanese fascists is
exactly like their acts of aggression against China over the past ten years and exactly like the acts of aggression of the German and Italian fascists against Europe
and the Soviet Union. With the outbreak of the Pacific War, all democratic countries throughout the world find themselves subjected to the aggression of the fascist countries. At the same time, all the democratic countries have risen up in
resistance. All countries and nations throughout the world have been divided into
two camps: the fascist camp that has launched the wars of aggression, and the
antifascist camp that is waging the wars of liberation. The situation is very clear.
After the victory at Rostov, the great Soviet Red Army has moved to the phase of
counterattacking the Germans. In the light of this change and the fact that the two
great powers, Britain and the United States, possess enormous resources and military power, because China has fought heroically against the Japanese for five years,
and because Germany, Italy, and Japan have nearly exhausted their resources and
are facing domestic demoralization, the final defeat of the fascist camp and the
final victory of the antifascist camp are now certain. This is certain even though
Hitler and Mussolini might keep going for a while and the Japanese fascists might

win many victories in the initial stage of the Pacific War, or might cut off the
Burma Road, or might launch another cruel war against us. The Chinese government and people should continue the heroic war they have been waging for the
past nine years, stand resolutely on the side of the antifascist countries, mobilize
all their strength, and struggle for the final overthrow of the Japanese fascists. In
order to reach this unique objective, the following important tasks must be carried
out:
1. China must establish a military alliance with Britain, the United States, and
other friendly countries fighting Japan, coordinate our battles, establish a united
front of all anti-Japanese nations in the Pacific, and persevere in fighting the war
against Japan until victory is complete.
2. Military forces throughout the country must actively attack the enemy and
prepare for a large-scale strategic counterattack.
3. The Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army should continue to endure hardships, persist in the war in the enemy's rear in Central and North China,
smash the enemy's extermination operations, and tie down large numbers of the
enemy's troops.
4. Carry out ever more extensive anti-Japanese, antifascist propaganda and agitation among the Japanese army; the Japanese people; the peoples of Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam; the Chinese people in the areas that have fallen to the Japanese;
and those struggling for the establishment of an antifascist front inside Japan.
5. Strengthen the Anti-Japanese National United Front and cooperation among
the Guomindang, the Communist Party, and other parties; solve the disputes between the Guomindang and the Communist Party; restore the New Fourth Army;
and supply the Eighth Route Army with pay and ammunition.
6. Punish pro-Japanese and pro-German cliques and eliminate the enemy's fifth
column.
7. Carry out democratic politics, so that representatives from all parties and
nonparty people can take on the political and organizational responsibilities of
fighting the War of Resistance and building the country.
8. Strengthen the internal unity of the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia and
elsewhere; oppose the acts of division engaged in by some elements; at the same
time, the overseas Chinese should work with all the friendly governments and
local peoples to fight against the Japanese attacks.

Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
December 9, in the thirtieth year of the Republic
--- Notes

This document was first published in *Jiefang ribao*, December 10, 1941, and we have
translated it from that source. According to *Nianpu*, Vol. 2, pp. 343-44, it was Mao who
proposed, at a meeting of the Politburo immediately after news of the attack on Pearl Harbor was received (on December 8, rather than December 7, because of the time difference
between China and Hawaii), that such a statement should be issued. The Politburo discussed the matter for two days, and Mao revised this document before it was adopted on
December 9, 1941.