CCP COMMENTS ON THE 10TH PLENARY SESSION OF THE KUOMINTANG CENTRAL COMMITTEE
November 1942

[Text] Concerning the declaration issued by the 10th Plenary Session of the
Kuomintang Central Committee and the report of the Ad Hoc Research Committee, a reporter of this newspaper [CHIEH-FANG JIH-PAO] went to see the spokesman of the CCP Central Committee and sought his opinion. His reply is as
follows:

We share the plenary session's intention to persist in the war of resistance
and strengthen unity. For instance, the declaration said: "Before the final
victory we must endure the most difficult and most severe battles in order
to annihilate the enemy and permanently cut off the roots of all evil, adhere to the essence of the principles of self-reliance, and take into consideration the most difficult situations in our calculations." "Today we
should all the more stand fast with all our loyalty and courage and concentrate all the efforts of our 450 million people on combat." "Externally,
we must help and cooperate with each other in order to carry out the universal principle of equality for all mankind. Internally, we must unite with each
other and demonstrate our resolution to be sincere without any disagreement."
There must be a nationwide sincere unity before we can shoulder the unprecedentedly difficult mission." These words are all right. From this we
can see that on the most important external and internal policies the
opinions of the Kuomintang and the Chinese Communist Party are basically
the same. The 10th Plenary Session should be congratulated for this gesture.
Since the beginning of the war of resistance, the Communist Party, the 8th
Route Army, and the New 4th Army have always stood on the foremost front
of the war in defense of their motherland. Although isolated behind the
enemy lines under conditions of extreme shortages of money and equipment,
suffering from hunger and blockade, and facing tremendous difficulties,
they have always obeyed Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's order to cling to
their defense line without retreating a step. Generalissimo Chiang has
said: "All people, no matter whether they come from the north or the south
or whether they are young or old, have the responsibility to defend their
land in the war of resistance." Adhering to this instruction, Communist
Party members and people behind the enemy lines organized guerrilla bands
and coordinated with our main forces to resist the enemy army. They have

been able to persist in the war effort for 5 1/2 years, to keep their
strength as formidable as the Great Wall, and to resist the attack of 15 enemy
divisions, which is about half of all the enemy forces in China. That they
are able to do so is not without reason. As to the administration of various
anti-Japanese bases, they formulated many measures based entirely on Dr Sun
Yat-sen's Three People's Principles, Generalissimo Chiang's "Outline for the
War of Resistance and National Reconstruction," and the basic laws of the
National Government, with special consideration for the opinions of local
people. These measures have resulted in a harmonious relationship among
the people, which is helpful to the war effort and to winning the war. The
Chinese Communist Party issued a declaration, "To Meet the National Crisis
Together," on 22 September 1937. The following four points were enumerated in
that declaration: "1) Dr Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles are needed
for China today, and our party is willing to struggle for their thorough implementation; 2) abolish all policies of violence and all communist movements
for the overthrow of the Kuomintang regime, and stop the policy of forcibly
confiscating the land of landlords; 3) abolish the existing soviet government
and carry out people's rights policies in order to achieve unity in the form
of government throughout the country; 4) abolish the name and identification
of the Red Army and reorganize it as the People's Revolutionary Army, subject
to the control of the Military Commission of the National Government and
ready to take up frontline responsibilities in fighting the Japanese." We
have observed what we stated 5 years ago without any infraction. Not only
shall we do our best to observe these four points during the war of resistance, but we are prepared to continue to observe these four points
after the conclusion of the war of resistance. This is with a view to seeking
a sincere unity with the Kuomintang and other political parties and all
strata of people throughout the country for fulfilling the epoch-making
mission of the war of resistance and national reconstruction. The items
listed in the Ad Hoc Research Committee's report are not any different in
basic spirit from the four points contained in the aforementioned CCP
declaration. As to the attitude toward the Communist Party, the report of
the Ad Hoc Research Committee, after enumerating various demands, declared:
"The Government treats everybody equally. Not only will it not discriminate
against anybody, but it will safeguard the rights and freedoms to which its
citizens are entitled." This pronouncement is what we have been earnestly
demanding for many years. Now that we have this clear declaration, we feel
greatly elated. In short, all the viewpoints taken by the Chinese Communist
Party are based on the principle of the united anti-Japanese national front.
Anything in the interest of unity for the war of resistance will be sincerely
carried out without exception. This policy will be firmly adhered to and
never changed. We sincerely hope that the Kuomintang leaders will understand
our sincerity for the interest of the country and the people in order to
attain further cooperation. If so, although the enemy is strong, it will be
chased out of our territory, and a strong, prosperous and independent
Republic of China will be successfully built before long.