Speech at a Meeting of the Presidium of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the CPC[1]

(November 19, 1944)

Our general policy is the anti-Japanese united front, and our military strategy is primarily anti-Japanese. The united front adheres to the principles of being justified, advantageous, and restrained; being justified is the principle of self-defense, being advantageous is the principle of locality, and being restrained is the principle of temporariness. On the question of cadres, in principle we must send cadres for urban work, but the main source is still to find them locally. The overwhelming majority of Party members throughout the Great Rear Area are reliable, and we must dispel the “Left” view that many Party members are unreliable. There are a small number who are unreliable, and we must further analyze them and test them through struggle. In short, two attitudes are required: first, a serious attitude; second, a prudent attitude, guarding against “Left” or Right views.

[1] This is part of a speech by Mao Zedong at a meeting of the Presidium of the Seventh Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the CPC after hearing reports by Dai Jiying and Wang Shusheng.