Tasks for 19451
(December 15, 1944)
What are our tasks for 1945 now that 1944 is coming to an end? What work
should we give special attention to next year? There have been tremendous
victories in the entire anti-Fascist war, and the overthrow of Hitler may be
realized next year. Our only task is to cooperate with the Allies to overthrow the
Japanese invaders. Now the United States has already fought its way to Leyte
Island and might land in China. At the same time, the Japanese invaders have
broken through a continental transportation line from Tokyo to Singapore, and
their occupied territory in China has expanded. Will the enemy stop its offensive?
I do not think it will stop, and it is possible that it will launch attacks on our
southwestern and northwestern regions. During this period, the Japanese
invaders will certainly play tricks, attempting to use the Chinese capitulationists
to lure the Chinese government into surrender. China’s internal situation is still
not unified, negotiations between the Guomindang and the Communists have
brought no results, and the Chinese people’s anti-Japanese forces are being split
at the hands of Chinese reactionaries. Combat on the front-line battlefields
suffers one defeat after another, the Guomindang authorities still stubbornly
insist on their one-party dictatorship and defeatist policies with which all the
Chinese people are dissatisfied, and they refuse all suggestions beneficial to the
War of Resistance, unity, and democracy. Only the vast Chinese liberated areas
founded after great hardships have carried out Mr. Sun Yatsen’s revolutionary
Three People’s Principles or new democracy, united people from all walks of life,
established heroic armies, and shattered all the enemy’s attacks. In addition, they
have been able to launch offensives and have regained large areas of lost
territory. Under such circumstances, what should we do?
We must make people of the entire nation understand that we must use the

strength of the people to convene a democratic national assembly to organize a
coalition government in which the Guomindang, the Communist Party, and all
other anti-Japanese parties and nonpartisans participate. Only in this way can we
unify all anti-Japanese forces in China to resist the attacks of the Japanese
invaders and drive the Japanese invaders out of China in cooperation with the
Allies. We have raised this issue through Comrade Lin Zuhan2 at the National
Political Council,3 and we later raised it again in writing to the Guomindang
authorities. Comrade Zhou Enlai recently made a special trip to Chongqing to
discuss this matter, but still without any results. At present, it is very clear that
negotiations alone will not be successful, and we hope that all people throughout
the country will unite to appeal to the Guomindang authorities to change their
current policies in order to build a democratic coalition government quickly. This
is the general task of the people of the entire nation. The Chinese people, whether
in the great rear echelon, enemy-occupied territory, or liberated areas, should all
strive for this goal. Only if China has a unified central government that truly
carries out democratic policies and is able to mobilize and unify all anti-Japanese
forces in China can the victory of the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japan
and the liberation of the Chinese people come quickly. Everyone should come up
with many ways to achieve this objective.
In the great rear echelon, we must assist the democratic patriotic movement
that is being suppressed by the reactionary authorities, we must mobilize every
force to resist enemy attacks, and we must be on guard against the conspiracy by
the capitulationists who want to betray the nation and surrender to the enemy.
There should be many young people and people from other walks of life who
wage guerrilla warfare in the enemy-occupied territory, and the broad masses
should be prepared to resist the enemy wherever it may appear. At the same
time, the liberated areas should energetically assist the great rear echelon with
their own brave combat operations and should mobilize guerrilla warfare in new
areas. Working hard to establish a democratic coalition government is the
responsibility of all people and all patriotic parties in the great rear echelon. In
the great rear echelon there are already many parties, many industrialists,
professors, students, and even many members of the Guomindang who approve
of the proposition of a coalition government and believe that now it is the only
correct way to resist the Japanese and save the country. There is still not enough

strength, however, and we should call on the broad masses to stand up and strive
for this.
In the enemy-occupied areas, vast numbers of people are suffering from the
enemy’s cruel oppression and longing for liberation. We must help them organize
and prepare for armed uprisings when the time is ripe, cooperate with the army’s
offensives, drive out the Japanese invaders by collaborating from within with
forces from without, and liberate our brothers and sisters. This task must now be
raised to the same level of importance as work in the liberated areas. It is
extremely urgent work, and we must carry it out no matter how difficult it may
be. In this work, the French Communist Party and the French people are glorious
models, and we should learn from the French experience. We should explain the
necessity of a democratic coalition government to the people in enemy-occupied
territories and make them understand that once there is such a government, it
will not be long before the people in the enemy-occupied territories will be
liberated. We must call on them to stand up and strive for this goal.
The liberated areas have already become the core of resistance to Japan and
saving the nation. By the end of November 1944, there were 650,000 soldiers from
the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and other people’s anti-Japanese
armies here, as well as 2 million militia and 90 million liberated people. In the
single year of 1944, we had great achievements in the military, political,
economic, and cultural arenas, but what work is worthy of special note for 1945?
I believe that the liberated areas in China should pay attention to each of the
following in 1945:
1. Expand the Liberated Areas. There are many areas close to or a little bit
farther from each of the liberated areas that are occupied by the enemy and its
puppet regime and are not strongly defended. Our troops should attack these
places, wipe out the enemy and its puppet regime, expand the liberated areas, and
shrink the enemy-occupied areas. Under present conditions, we must take over all
the weakly fortified areas that we can and convert them all into liberated areas,
thereby forcing the enemy to live between extremely cramped cities and
important transportation lines, tightly surrounded by us. When total conditions
are ripe, we will drive the enemy out completely. This kind of offensive is
absolutely necessary as well as possible. Our troops have already carried out
many such offensives, with particularly great achievements this year, and we

should continue to do this next year. In all of the places newly occupied by the
enemy and the places where liberated areas have not yet been established, such
as Henan, we must call on the people to organize armed forces to oppose the
invaders and build new liberated areas. Several years of experience have proven
that it is very effective to organize “armed work teams,” which, after training, are
good at carrying out military and political tasks. They can penetrate the rear
areas behind enemy lines to attack the enemy and its puppet regime and to
organize the people to cooperate with the fighting on the front lines of the battle
in the liberated areas. This should be done in every location.
2. The enemy offensive (“mopping up”) will not stop. We should always be
alert and prepared at any time to use counter–“mopping up” to shatter the enemy
offensive. It is wrong not to be on guard like this. Do not think that we are strong
now and the enemy is weak, and that the comparative position between the
enemy’s strength and ours has now changed. We must be aware that the enemy
is still strong, and it will never forget to launch attacks against us. We are still
weaker than the enemy, and we must still work very hard. In addition, we must
carry out correct military and other policies; only in this way can we change the
situation. Only when we are at an advantage will the enemy’s attacks become
impossible.
3. Reform and train the present self-defense army and militia, and strengthen
their fighting capacity. There are not enough self-defense army soldiers and
militia and, with the exception of certain special places where it is impossible to
do so, every location should make the strongest possible effort to expand their
numbers. Of the 90 million people, apart from the old, the children, and the ill, all
male and female citizens should be incorporated into the self-defense army.
Without breaking away from production, they should shoulder the task of
defending their hometowns and assisting the army. From among the self-defense
army, we should choose the sharper and more capable elements and incorporate
them into the militia or the core members of the self-defense army. Under the
principle of “combining combat with production,” they will fight in cooperation
with the army or they will fight independently. Of the 90 million people, at least
5 percent, or 4. 5 million, should be militia, in other words, twice as many as the
present number. Some areas have not yet paid full attention to this task. In such
places, there are too few militia, they lack reform and training, and they are not

of high quality. This situation must be changed in 1945. Both the self-defense
army and the militia must not be away during the farming season, must
minimize lost work time, and not obstruct production. Here, the method of
exchanging labor is necessary. The fighting militia organization and the
production labor exchange organization can cooperate with each other regularly.
The leading bodies of the self-defense army and the militia must be
democratically elected. Only in this way can the self-defense army and the militia
be enlarged and their fighting capacity increased. An important combat method
of the militia is the use of land mines, and the land-mine movement should be
popularized in all villages. Widespread manufacture of all types of land mines as
well as technology training in explosives have become extremely necessary.
4. Reform and training of the regular army and the guerrilla forces. In 1945 all
troops should undergo reform and training once in rotation. They should reform
and train in accordance with the new methods, and a mass troop-training
movement should be carried out.
5. In the old areas, we should replenish the lost numbers of the original armies.
In the newly developed areas, we should enlarge the military where economic
conditions allow. Whether replenishing or enlarging the army, we must keep in
mind that it must be done without increasing the financial burden on the people.
If we violate this point, we are sure to fail.
6. Unity within the army is extremely important. Our Eighth Route Army and
New Fourth Army have won glorious victories by always relying on unity
between officers and soldiers. The influence of the pernicious warlord habits of
the Chinese warlord armies still exists in our army, however, and these
pernicious habits are very serious in some troops. In 1945, we should work
extensively to eliminate all the ugly phenomena that exist in relations between
officers and soldiers. Such vile habits and erroneous policies as beating and
verbally abusing soldiers, not caring about their provisions, illnesses, and other
difficulties, punishing them without considering their mistakes and shortcomings
and not using the method of patient persuasion and education, and humiliating
or executing deserters should all absolutely be eliminated. Many units are still
neglecting this work because they do not understand that it is the extremely
important political foundation of the fighting capacity of an army. The one-year
plan for reform and training that has now begun should place equal emphasis on

military and political reform and training, and the two should be combined. The
political aspect should be emphasized at the start of reform and training, focusing
on improving the relationship between officers and soldiers, strengthening
internal unity, and mobilizing a high level of enthusiasm among the officers and
soldiers. Only then will military consolidation and training be carried out easily
and more effectively. To carry out this work, a campaign to support the officers
and cherish the soldiers should be held in each army, and the officers should be
called upon to take care of the soldiers while the soldiers are called upon to
support the officers. The shortcomings and mistakes of each should be made
public and promptly corrected. This can help us to achieve the goal of uniting
well internally.
7. Strengthen the work of supporting the government and cherishing the
people, and supporting the army and giving preferential treatment to family
members of anti-Japanese soldiers in order to further improve the relationship
between the army and the people. Relations between the people in our liberated
areas and our Eighth Route and New Fourth armies have always been good,
which is why we can defeat the enemy and strengthen and develop the liberated
areas. The pernicious habits of the old army, however, may similarly infect us.
Harmful phenomena in relations between the army and the people, such as the
army’s unreasonable attitude, impairing the interests of the people, poor
discipline, and disrespect for the government, also occur frequently. In addition,
phenomena such as localities not helping the army enough and doing a poor job
in giving preferential treatment to family members of the anti-Japanese soldiers
also exist. In 1943, we pointed out the importance of this work, yet many places
still have not paid attention to it. In January 1945, according to the lunar
calendar, all liberated areas should hold a broad campaign to support the
government and cherish the people and to support the army and give preferential
treatment to family members of the anti-Japanese soldiers. Great successes must
be achieved. Those who have already had achievements must continue with their
work and examine the results of these two tasks. If all our troops are united, from
the officers to the soldiers, and politically strengthened like iron, with military
skills and tactical training along with the support of the people the Chinese
people’s cause to resist the Japanese and save the nation will be staunchly
guaranteed.

8. The national United Front is the basic political line for the Chinese people to
resist the Japanese and save the nation. In the liberated areas, this is primarily
manifested in the “Three-Thirds” system4 of government work in which every
class and every party cooperates. Every location has some who have done good
work in this regard and some who have not, and every location should
summarize its experiences. The Communists must discuss more, talk more, and
meet more with other parties and nonpartisans to clear up rifts, eliminate
misunderstandings, and correct harmful phenomena in their relations, so that
they can collaborate to carry out government work and various social causes. All
the people who participate in the work of the people’s representatives congress
(the Provincial Assembly), government work, and social work should be
respected and given positions and power due them, without regard to which
party they belong or whether they are nonpartisans.
9. All areas have made achievements in rent reduction. Some places, however,
have had somewhat fewer achievements, superficially reducing but actually not
reducing and retaining the idea of “granting favors.” On the other hand, there are
also the phenomena of excessive reductions or failure to collect the rent at all
after the reductions. Both these two erroneous tendencies should be corrected.
After rent reduction, the lease should be renewed when it expires so that the
peasants will have land to work, unless it is in the interest of both the landlord
and the peasant that the landlord takes back the land to work it himself. Rents
should be examined in the old areas where rent reduction is not thorough. In the
newly liberated areas where the rent has not yet been reduced, a campaign
should be mobilized to reduce rents. It is wrong not to reduce rent, and reducing
too much is not right either. The government should help landlords who are
having difficulty making a living because they have been devastated by the
enemy or for some other cause to resolve their difficulties by giving them the
opportunity to work in agriculture, industry, commerce, or other businesses. We
must regard this as part of government work and use it to unite them to fight
against our common enemy. We are now in the countryside, and resolving the
land problem correctly is a key link in supporting the long-term war. I hope that
everyone will give this his full attention.
10. This year by far the highest number of localities has carried out production
campaigns, and many have had outstanding achievements. This is extremely

gratifying. There are also, however, some places that have still not started to
carry out these campaigns, some that have achieved little, and others where the
military has had achievements, but the people have not. In 1945, we must
universally and without exception carry out a widespread production campaign
on a large scale. All troops must engage in production and self-sufficiency in
addition to combat and training, and offices and schools must also do the same.
Only under special circumstances will reductions or exemptions of production be
permitted. Under the principle of freedom to choose, we must mobilize the people
to organize production mutual-aid groups, such as work-exchange teams,
mutual-aid organizations, and labor-exchange classes. Our local workers must
use tremendous energy to help the people organize these mutual-aid groups in
order to restore and develop production on a large scale. Not only should the
people have enough clothing and food, they should also gradually have a surplus.
The slogan of “for three years of cultivation have a year’s worth of spare grain”
can be realized in the liberated areas behind enemy lines, except in those places
that were badly devastated by the enemy. We must strive to be self-sufficient
with regard to industrial products in our liberated areas, and we must work hard
to reach the goal of becoming completely or mostly self-sufficient within several
years. It is possible to achieve this goal through the efforts of public, private, and
cooperative management. Thrift is what complements production, and waste
must be reduced as much as possible. “Develop the economy, guarantee supply”
is our unswerving financial policy. It would be a mistaken policy not to develop
our basic economy and instead try to solve the superficial financial problems. If
we have conscientiously developed both the public and private economy, we can
sustain the war, however long it lasts, without exhausting our energy. This is an
extremely important point that must be fully and clearly understood by all
working people and all army personnel in order to organize them to engage in a
large-scale production campaign. In the public economy, the individual
distribution system of equal distribution based on quality [of work] can and
should be carried out in many sectors. We must be careful not to violate the two
principles of “consideration to both the army and the people” and “consideration
to both the public and the private.”
11. In order to defeat the Japanese invaders, we must pay attention to cultural
and education work, in addition to paying full attention to the military, politics,

and the economy. The great majority of intellectuals in our liberated areas are
good people. Their shortcomings and even their mistakes can be corrected
through work. They are a valuable asset in the people’s cause and should be
highly regarded. Many of them are engaged in military, political, and economic
work, and many others are doing cultural, educational, artistic, and health work.
All of these personnel should be highly regarded. The direction pointed out this
year at the Cultural and Educational Work Conference in the Shaan-Gan-Ning
Border Region can be applied in every location. Dictators foster the ignorance of
the people, but we foster the people’s intelligence. We must enable all people
gradually to escape the states of ignorance and poor sanitation. Every local
government and Party organization should place newspapers, schools, art, and
health, these four aspects of cultural and educational work, on its own daily
agenda.
12. Use mass democratic elections to select superior elements from the army,
the countryside, the factories, and government offices as combat heroes, labor
heroes, and model workers. We should reward them and educate them, and we
should inspire and unite the masses through them. For several years now, this
system has already proven to be very effective in raising the fighting capacity of
the military, promoting agricultural and industrial productive forces, and raising
the working capacity in government offices and other organizations. This
movement should be widely popularized everywhere.
13. In order to defeat the Japanese invaders, we need a large number of capable
cadres. Our current number of cadres has greatly increased from before, but it is
still not nearly enough. The capabilities of cadres have also increased but are still
quite insufficient. In particular, the literacy, understanding of policies, and
professional skill levels of the low-ranking and junior cadres, whether military or
local, are generally not high, and some are even very low. This is because they
are busy with work and seldom have the opportunity to receive education. In
1945, cadre education in each location should focus on training military
(company to squad) and local (district, township) low-ranking and junior cadres.
The incumbents should be trained using the rotation method, and those who do
not hold office should be trained using the school method. They should be
improved according to a plan.
14. An extremely great fault in our work style is that some of the workers are

accustomed to acting arbitrarily and are not good at inspiring criticism and
discussion among the people or at employing a democratic work style. Of course,
we are comparing the work styles within our liberated areas, not comparing the
work styles in our liberated areas with the Guomindang areas. Our liberated
areas are democratic places, and the Guomindang areas are feudal places. These
two areas differ in principle. Many people in our armed forces, though, have not
learned how to employ a democratic work style, and the bureaucratic work style
passed along from the old society still persists. Other people are not supposed to
offer different opinions, and, if they do, they are unhappy. They like hearing
flattery but not criticism. People do not dare to offer their opinions boldly
because they are afraid of meeting with rebuff, being attacked, and suffering
retaliation. This is a very bad work style, and it is hindering the progress of our
cause as well as the progress of the working staff. I propose that each location
carry out education on this point and widely promote a democratic work style
inside and outside the Party. Everyone is permitted to speak, unless he is a hostile
element or his words are malicious attacks, and it does not even matter if he is
wrong. Leadership personnel at each level have the responsibility to listen to
other people. Two principles should be applied: (1) Say all you know, and say it
without reserve; (2) The speaker is guiltless, the listener is suitably warned. If “the
speaker is guiltless” is not a reality, then it will not be possible to obtain the
results of “say all you know, and say it without reserve.” Since the Rectification
movement, our work style has made great progress. This has been praised by all
good and honest people, and this is very glorious. Yet we still have very serious
shortcomings, and many of us still lack a democratic work style. We must correct
this shortcoming. All our working cadres, regardless of whether they hold a high
position or low, are the servants of the people. Everything we do is to serve the
people. Are there some bad things that we are loathe to cast away? Once we have
corrected this shortcoming, we will be able to unite a broader group of people
and our cause will enjoy greater and faster development.
15. In addition to these items, an extremely important task confronting the
people in the liberated areas is to think of all kinds of ways to promote the
formation of a coalition government. Continuing negotiations with the
Guomindang and other parties is one way, and having all the people stand up
and make their demands known is another way. There may be still other ways. In

short, we must make every effort to establish as quickly as possible a democratic
coalition government that is in keeping with the demands of the War of
Resistance of the entire nation.
Certainly much work has been done and should still be done in our liberated
areas, but what I believe is now worth pointing out are the fifteen items discussed
above. Others have been omitted. The situation and work measures for each
liberated area are different in many respects, and every location should assign
work based on its own characteristics so as to complete each task properly.
The year 1945 should be a year in which the Chinese people’s War of
Resistance Against Japan will develop further. The people of the entire nation
hope that our liberated areas will be able to save China, and we also have the
same determination and courage. I hope that all the soldiers and people in our
liberated areas will work together. Whether Communists or not, we must all
unite in the struggle to strengthen anti-Japanese work in the liberated areas, to
organize the people in enemy-occupied areas, to assist the people in the great rear
echelon, and to establish a democratic coalition government!
Notes
Our source for this document is Mao Zedong junshi wenji, Vol. 2, pp. 737–47, where it is reproduced from the
December 16, 1944, issue of Jiefang ribao.

--- Notes

1. This is speech that Mao Zedong delivered at the Provincial Assembly of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia
Border Region.

2. Lin Zuhan, better known as Lin Boqu, was at this time chairman of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border
Region Government. He represented the Communist Party in the negotiations with the Guomindang.

3. On the National Political Council, see above, note to the text of September 19, 1944.

4. On the “Three-Thirds” system, see above, note to the text of January 26, 1942.