“You have been selected by the troops; you represent the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army. At the same time, you also represent the ninety million people of our base areas, as well as the four hundred and fifty million people of China, in coming here to this meeting. Although you were not directly elected by them, in practice the platform you are implementing and the work you are doing embody the aspirations of the entire Chinese people—to overthrow Japanese imperialism and liberate the Chinese nation.

“Since the fall of Wuhan, and particularly over the past two years, the situation of China’s War of Resistance has undergone profound and momentous changes. Today, the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the guerrilla forces in South China are bearing the brunt of the fighting, engaging five-sixths of the enemy and puppet forces in China, while the Nationalist forces are responsible for only one-sixth. During the Henan–Hunan Campaign, the enemy advanced with ease, as if through unoccupied territory, and the situation has become extremely grave. The reason China has not yet fallen is that we Communists, together with the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, have primarily sustained the war effort. Such is the current state of China’s War of Resistance.

“Our troops have made great progress, whether on the front lines resisting the enemy, in the rear areas defending the border regions, in production, or in military training; likewise in relations between the army and the people, and between officers and soldiers. Nevertheless, we still have shortcomings, and we must correct our mistakes and continue to improve. Last year, during the Movement to Support the Government and Love the People, we employed the method of self-criticism: we openly criticized each other’s faults. An army can only defeat the enemy when it possesses unified leadership and strict discipline. Proper self-criticism does not weaken leadership or discipline; on the contrary, it strengthens them. Of course, such self-criticism is possible only within our own ranks; it would be unthinkable in the Nationalist army. This is because our army is truly a people’s army. Every officer and soldier, down to every cook and animal keeper, serves the people. Our troops must be closely integrated with the people, and our cadres and soldiers must be united among themselves. We should uphold whatever accords with the interests of the people and strive to eliminate whatever conflicts with those interests. In this way, we shall be invincible throughout the world. Our army has always followed two guiding principles: first, be ruthless toward the enemy—crush him, annihilate him; second, be harmonious and united with our own people, with our comrades, with our superiors, and with our subordinates. These are the policies laid down by the Party Central Committee and the Northwest Bureau, and they are also what the entire people demand. Our hearts are closely bound to the hearts of all the Chinese people. We are determined to overthrow Japanese imperialism and liberate the Chinese nation!”

(September 23, 1944, Liberation Daily)