Reply to Zhou Enlai’s Telegram[1]

(April 6, 1943)

Here we plan to draft a reply telegram to He Yingqin within the next few days[2]. Upon receiving it, you should forward it to He immediately, but do not make it public for the time being. Wait until the other side makes further anti-communist gestures (for example, broadcasting anti-communist statements through the Central News Agency), and then publicly release this telegram. In this instance, we should adopt a defensive posture, refraining from rebuttal until the other side attacks, and should not publicly release documents in advance.

[1] This is the main content of Mao Zedong’s reply telegram to Zhou Enlai.

[2] At its meeting on April 5, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China decided that Ye Jianying should draft a reply telegram to He Yingqin, responding to certain questions raised by He Yingqin regarding KMT-CPC friction directed at the Communist Party.