Chairman Mao Strongly Encourages
Fighters to Persist in Serving the People
(September 18, 1944)
(Liberation Daily) At 2:00 p.m. on September 18 in the central auditorium, the General Office of the
Chinese Communist Party Central Committee entertained a group of model study representatives of the
rear troops and representatives of the combat heroes of various armies who had come back from behind
enemy lines for reform and training. All the departments and committees of the Central Committee and
Northwestern Bureau as well as the responsible comrades of the rear troops, were invited and were
present at the meeting. They gathered under the same roof with outstanding and valiant representatives
from the Eighth Route Army in what was the first grand assembly since its founding. Representatives
from the New Fourth Army and the South China Militia who are valiantly fighting the War of Resistance
were also invited to attend the meeting.
Speakers at the meeting included Chairman Mao, Commander-in-chief Zhu [De], Vice Commanderin-chief Peng [Dehuai], Comrade Liu Shaoqi, Comrade Zhou Enlai, New Fourth Army Commander
Chen Yi, and Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Area Commander Nie Rongzhen. After the meeting, all the
leading comrades in the Central Committee headed by Comrade Mao Zedong and all the representatives
ate together. During the meal, friendly talk flowed freely between Chairman Mao and the fighters and
leaders, and they raised their glasses together in a toast for final victory in the War of Resistance. Later
that evening there was a Peking Opera performance, and the gathering did not disperse until well into
the night.
(Liberation Daily) Amid thunderous applause Chairman Mao met with all the model study
representatives and gave a speech. After briefly extending his welcome, Chairman Mao said:
“You have been elected from among the troops to attend this meeting. You
represent the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and simultaneously you
represent the ninety million people in our anti-Japanese base areas as well as the
450 million people in all of China. Although you were not elected directly by the
people, nevertheless, in the program you carry out and the work you do, you
represent the demands of all the Chinese people—to overthrow the Japanese
imperialists and to liberate the Chinese nation.”
Chairman Mao continued, and pointed out:

“Since the fall of Wuhan, and especially over the past two years, great and
obvious changes have taken place in China’s War of Resistance. At present, the
Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the South China Resistance
Militia are resisting five-sixths of the enemy and puppet troops in China. The
Guomindang is fighting only against the other one-sixth. In its campaigns in
Henan and Hunan, it was as if the enemy had entered a land without people to
defend it, and the situation was extremely serious. That China has not fallen is
because it has us Communists, the Eighth Route Army, and the New Fourth
Army. It has mainly been we who have maintained the War of Resistance. This is
the state of the War of Resistance in China today.”
Chairman Mao went on to say:
“Whether in fighting the enemy at the front or in guarding the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region in the rear echelon, whether in production or in
training troops, whether in relations between the people and the troops or
between officers and soldiers, our troops have made great progress. But we still
have flaws and we must correct them; we must take a step forward to improve
ourselves. During last year’s campaign to support the government and cherish
the people, we used the method of self-criticism: we may have flaws, but we can
criticize one another. An army must have unified leadership and discipline before
it can be victorious. Correct self-criticism will strengthen rather than weaken
leadership and discipline. Of course, such self-criticism exists only among our
troops; it would be impossible among those of the Guomindang. This is because
our army is truly a people’s army. Our every soldier, even every cook and every
cowherd, serves the people. Our troops must become one with the people; our
cadres must become one with our fighters. We must continue to uphold the
things that accord with the interests of the people and strive to abolish those
things that do not. In doing so we will ensure that there will be no enemies under
heaven. Our army has always abided by two guiding principles: first, be merciless
to the enemy, crush him, and annihilate him; and, second, be in harmony and
unite with the people, our comrades, officers, and subordinates. These are the
policies of the Party Central Committee and the Northwestern Bureau; these are
also the policies demanded by the whole people.”
Lastly, Chairman Mao cried:

“Our hearts are closely linked with the hearts of all Chinese people! We will
defeat Japanese imperialism and liberate the Chinese nation!”
Note
Our source for this document Mao Zedong ji, Vol. 9, pp. 115–16, where it is reproduced from the September
23, 1944, issue of Jiefang ribao. The core text, minus the editorial comment in the newspaper, also appears in
Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 3, pp. 209–10.