The Kuomintang-Communist negotiations have yielded no results,

Comrade Zhou Enlai returns to Yan’an[1]

(February 17, 1945)

[Yan’an, February 17, Xinhua News Agency] Comrade Zhou Enlai, representative of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, who flew from Yan’an to Chongqing on January 24, stayed in Chongqing for three weeks and held numerous discussions with the Kuomintang government side. Because the Kuomintang authorities still insist on one-party dictatorship, oppose a coalition government, oppose the people and democracy, and attempt to swallow up the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, just as in past negotiations, no agreement could be reached. Comrade Zhou Enlai therefore flew back to Yan’an at 12:00 noon on the 16th. The content of the negotiations is clearly recounted in the statement issued by Comrade Zhou Enlai on the 15th. This statement was published in the Chongqing *Xinhua Daily* on the 16th, and a translation was delivered to foreign newspaper correspondents stationed in Chongqing. The full text of the statement is as follows:

The statement made by Dr. Wang Shijie, representative of the National Government, at the foreign press conference this Wednesday was not frank and was unfair. For he spoke only of the so-called concessions put forward by the government side in the Kuomintang-Communist negotiations, but did not explain under what conditions or premises these so-called concessions were offered. First, in the negotiations, the National Government demanded that the Communist Party of China hand over all the armed forces under its leadership to the jurisdiction of the Military Commission of the National Government, that is to say, hand them over to the leadership of the Kuomintang, because the National Government is a government of one-party dictatorship by the Kuomintang. Second, in the negotiations, the Kuomintang insisted that its one-party dictatorship cannot be ended. Because of these two conditions or premises, all these

[1] This is a news item edited by Mao Zedong for Xinhua News Agency; the introductory paragraph was written by Mao Zedong.

so-called concessions either come to nothing or are utterly meaningless, and are not even concessions but rather shackles upon or sabotage of the forces resisting Japan. Specifically: First, without handing over the armed forces to the Kuomintang government, the Communist Party of China would have no legal status. Second, the members of the Military Commission of the National Government have never held meetings, nor do they have any power whatsoever. Third, the so-called wartime cabinet to be set up within the Executive Yuan under party rule would have no power to make final policy decisions. Fourth, without abolishing party rule and without changing the military policy of excluding dissidents, the reorganization of the Communist Party’s armed forces by a three-man committee would still amount to handing over the Communist Party’s armed forces to the Kuomintang government. Moreover, judging by their achievements in fighting the enemy, it is not the Communist Party’s armed forces that should be reorganized, but the Kuomintang’s armed forces. Having explained these points, one understands why, on the one hand, I, representing the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, rejected the entire proposal of the National Government. On the other hand, and this is the more important reason, the National Government rejected our proposal for the establishment of a democratic coalition government and a coalition supreme command to unify all China’s military forces and to reform policies in the political, military, economic, and cultural fields. We further proposed to the National Government, the Chinese Kuomintang, and the China Democratic League: that the National Government convene a conference of parties and groups to discuss and decide how to end party rule, how to reorganize the government into a democratic coalition government, and to draft a common administrative program, so that after unanimous agreement is reached, the policy of a coalition government can be realized. The National Government’s answer was a conference of a consultative nature, with the main content predetermined for the conference being the continued maintenance of one-party dictatorship and opposition to a democratic coalition government. Therefore, I must return to Yan’an to report to the Central Committee of our Party. As for our hope that the National Government would first release patriotic political prisoners, abolish all laws and decrees suppressing the people, stop all secret service activities, and withdraw all troops besieging the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region and attacking the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army, and so on, the government authorities have not accepted these. This is the main content of the negotiations between the two parties over the past several months. In the negotiations between the two parties over the past several months, we have received the warm-hearted assistance and unremitting efforts of General Hurley, the American Ambassador, for which we express our thanks here.

Below is a translated record of the public statement made by Dr. Wang Shijie, representative of the National Government, at the foreign press conference on February 14, for reference:

For the past half month, government representatives (I being one of them) have met in Chongqing with Mr. Zhou Enlai, representative of the Communist Party. The government side has put forward certain important concessions, among which are the following: (1) Recognizing the Communist Party as a legal political party; (2) Including senior personnel of the Communist Party in the membership of the Military Commission; (3) In order to form a kind of wartime cabinet, including representatives of the Communist Party and other political parties in the Executive Yuan; (4) Organizing a joint committee of three persons to consider the question of reorganizing the Communist troops and their provisioning—in this committee, representatives of the government and the Communist Party would have equal status, and an American officer might serve as chairman. But the Communist Party felt that these proposals were not acceptable to them, and they rejected them. The Communist Party proposed the convening of a conference of all parties and groups. The government’s consent to again convene a conference of representatives of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party and leaders of all parties, groups, and non-partisans to consider transitional measures for political and military unity before the National Assembly is an acceptance of the general idea of this proposal. Mr. Zhou has taken this proposal back to Yan’an to seek the opinion of his party. As for the outcome, it is beyond my ability to predict. Over the past several months, General Hurley, the American Ambassador, has rendered assistance and effort to the negotiations between the two parties, for which we express our thanks.

A manuscript of the introductory paragraph written by Mao Zedong for the Xinhua News Agency report “The Kuomintang-Communist Negotiations Have Yielded No Results, Comrade Zhou Enlai Returns to Yan’an.”