Directive of the Central Committee of the
Chinese Communist Party Regarding the
Pacific Anti-Japanese United Front

(December 9, 1941)

1. As the Declaration on the Pacific War of our Party's Central Committee
states, the War of Resistance Against Japan fought by Britain and the United States
and all the Pacific countries is a just liberation war, and the victory of Britain and
the United States over Japan is the victory of democracy and freedom. Therefore,
the central task of the people of our whole country, of all our overseas countrymen, and of all the nations in Southeast Asia in the War of Resistance is to establish a broad united front to oppose Japan and to oppose fascism. The components
of this united front should include the governments of all nations, parties, people
of all social strata that oppose Japan's aggression, people inside Japan who are
opposing the war and the people of the Japanese colonies of Korea and Taiwan,
and Vietnam. This united front should be an alliance of the upper strata but, at the
same time, also of the lower strata, an alliance of governments but, at the same
time, also of the popular masses. A military alliance against Japan of China, Britain, the United States, and the other Pacific countries should be realized. A close
cooperation between governments of suzerain states and aboriginal peoples should
be established. At the same time, the political and economic status of the aboriginal peoples should be improved, their popular masses organized, and their enthusiasm raised. Moreover, guerrilla warfare within all areas occupied by Japan should
be developed. Without all of this, it is not possible to defeat the Japanese bandits.
2. The Chinese people and the Chinese Communist Party are of particularly
great significance to the united front of Britain and the United States. On the one
hand, it is a prerequisite to China's national liberation to annihilate the Japanese
bandits, in cooperation with Britain and the United States. On the other hand, China's
being internally united as one, reforming its politics and military, actively pinning
down and striking the enemy, and actively preparing for strategic counterattacks
are all, in turn, important conditions for Britain and the United States in defeating
the Japanese bandits. For these purposes, the Chinese Communist Party should
sincerely and candidly make every effort to cooperate with British and American
personages in all kinds of situations in order to strengthen British and American
forces of resistance and to improve the situation in China's War of Resistance.
3. We must greatly develop our work with the overseas Chinese in the areas of
Southeast Asia, Britain, and the United States. The guiding principle of working
with overseas Chinese should be to unite all overseas Chinese, and to unite all of
their strata and parties in order to carry on a joint struggle against Japan, to propagate and support the motherland's united War of Resistance, and to support and
participate in all facilities and actions of anti-Japanese resistance by the governments in their localities. The ultraleft tendencies among the overseas Chinese and a
group of Communist Party members should be corrected, and they should be asked
to cooperate with the Chinese embassies and consulates in their localities, and with
branches of the Guomindang. But toward the actions on the part of pro-Japanese
and pro-German elements to split the unity of overseas Chinese and to sabotage the
work of resistance to Japan, there must be firm but appropriate opposition.
4. Efforts must be made to develop anti-Japanese guerrilla warfare in the enemy occupied regions of South China, Hainan Island, Vietnam, and all regions in Southeast Asia occupied by Japan and to coordinate, as much as possible, military actions
with all friendly forces resisting Japan and the friendly nations resisting Japan
such as Britain and the United States, and win their support in all areas. All policies carried out by guerrilla detachments should be in accordance with the demands of the anti-Japanese united front, and attention should be paid to preventing
and correcting various leftist tendencies.
5. The work in all localities in Southeast Asia should be done in concert with
the Communist Party of the given nation; help should also be extended to them in
correcting existing leftist tendencies and in developing united front work on a
broad scale.

This text was first published in Jiefang ribao, December 13, 1941. We have translated it
from Mao Zedong ji, Vol. 8, pp. 41-42, which reproduces this source. According to Nianpu,
Vol. 2, p. 344, Mao presided over the revision of this directive, as well as of the declaration
which appears above.