The Chinese Communist Party’s “July 7” Manifesto Suppressed in Chongqing[1]

(July 11, 1943)

[Yan’an, July 11, via Xinhua News Agency] News from Chongqing: The *Xinhua Daily*’s July 1 editorial commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, which firmly upheld unity and resistance, was withheld by the Kuomintang press censorship bureau and barred from publication. The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party’s “July 7” manifesto was submitted for censorship on the 4th and was to be retrieved on the 5th, but it was also withheld. On the 6th, the newspaper office sent personnel to negotiate with the responsible person at the censorship bureau; as a result, publication was permitted, but over three thousand characters were deleted. However, by evening, the press censorship bureau suddenly notified them that publication was again prohibited, and the newspaper office’s further representations were of no avail. Not only that, but the authorities also ordered the special agents, military police, and regular police at Hualongqiao to turn out in full force, as if facing a formidable enemy. From the entrance of the *Xinhua Daily* office all the way to Hualongqiao, three inspection posts were set up, and another inspection post was established at Lianglukou. It was claimed that their task was to check whether the newspapers still contained the “July 7” manifesto. But even when the inspection found no manifesto, distribution was still prohibited. The *Xinhua Daily* had been completely printed by 6:00 a.m. on the 7th. The newspaper office made several representations to the censorship bureau, and it was not until 8:30 a.m. that the special agents, military police, and regular police were withdrawn. That same day, at a reception for foreign journalists given by the Kuomintang Central Propaganda Department, a *New York Times* correspondent inquired about Comrade Zhou Enlai’s mission in returning to Yan’an. Kuomintang Propaganda Minister Zhang Daofan gave a provocative reply, falsely alleging: “The Communist Party is divided into two factions, one advocating cooperation with the government, the other opposing it.” Regarding this matter, the Japanese fascist news agency, Dōmei Tsushin, immediately disseminated Zhang Daofan’s provocative and slanderous statement on the 8th, helping Zhang Daofan trumpet it. At the reception for foreign journalists on the 7th, a United Press correspondent further asked: It is rumored that the situation in northern Shaanxi has been very tense recently, and that the central authorities have dispatched a large army to surround the Eighth Route Army; is this true? Zhang Daofan appeared very embarrassed and could only mutter in a low voice in Chinese:

“There is no such thing.” Another American correspondent asked: Every year on “July 7,” the Communist Party issues a manifesto; why was no manifesto seen in the July 7 issue of the *Xinhua Daily* this year? Zhang replied: “That is a matter for the press censorship bureau; I will go and look into it.” Regarding the withdrawal of the Yellow River defense forces, the encirclement of the Border Region, and the preparations for an offensive, these matters were originally carried out in secret. However, the continuous dispatch of troops and generals and the incessant transportation have created a tense situation akin to “the wind sweeping through the tower heralding a rising storm in the mountains,” which has already become known both at home and abroad. Although the Kuomintang propaganda apparatus still tries to shroud it in profound secrecy, it can no longer cover it up.

[1] This is a news dispatch written by Mao Zedong for the Xinhua News Agency.