July 8, 1945. Empty and devoid of substance—such was the hallmark of Chiang Kai-shek’s speech yesterday. The only slightly unusual feature was his sudden invocation of “tolerance.” Yet we recall that in October 1933, addressing his generals, Chiang had declared: “All of you must adopt the spirit of cutting through tangled knots with a swift stroke of the knife; devise methods to do just that; employ personnel capable of making such decisive moves; and, animated by a resolute, rapid, and practical approach, annihilate the bandits… As my subordinates, you must possess both the spirit and the capacity to ‘cut through the knots.’ I, as your superior officer, will be a commander who acts with decisiveness; you, as my subordinates, must likewise act with decisiveness. I am myself a commander who cuts through difficulties without hesitation. Now we need more commanders of the same mold. We must advance boldly and energetically, for revolution is precisely this!” Back then, Chiang spoke not of “tolerance” but of eight instances of “cutting through the knots.” Yesterday, however, he mentioned “tolerance” four times, lending his remarks an air of incongruity. But has Chiang truly grown “tolerant” toward the Chinese people? The facts speak for themselves. On this very day last year, the Kuomintang forces arrayed against China’s liberated areas numbered over 600,000. Today, that figure has swelled to nearly one million. The entire Kuomintang army, including regional contingents, numbers no more than about 1.5 million; fully one-third of it is currently engaged in encircling and attacking the liberated zones. Such, then, is Chiang’s idea of “tolerance.” Within Chiang’s domains, not a single political prisoner is released, the people enjoy absolutely no freedom, secret agents proliferate, and corruption runs rampant—this too is Chiang’s “tolerance.” Meanwhile, emissaries of the Japanese aggressors like Wu Kaixian and Fang Xianjue are lavishly welcomed, while traitorous generals such as Pang Bingxun and Sun Dianying are brazenly indulged. Is this what Chiang means by “tolerance”? Under these circumstances, deep-seated discontent has begun to surface among broad sections of the Kuomintang membership. At the party’s Sixth National Congress held in May, out of more than six hundred delegates, over a hundred openly resigned in protest against Chiang’s arbitrary and unlawful rule—clear evidence of the growing rift within the ranks. In yesterday’s address, Chiang also boasted of how prophetic his past pronouncements had proved. On October 15, 1931, speaking to petitioning students at the Central Military Academy in Nanjing, he had vowed: “If, three years hence, our lost territories have still not been recovered, let my head, Chiang Chung-cheng, be severed as reparation to the nation.” And in July 1934, during a “spiritual address” delivered to officers at the Lushan Training Camp, he asserted that the Japanese “need only issue a single order—and within three strikes at most—they could seize all of China’s vital strategic centers and bring our country to ruin.” Have those words come to pass? Once again yesterday, Chiang proclaimed that “the coming year will be one of reaping the fruits of victory.” Judging from Chiang and his circle’s modus operandi—relying entirely on U.S. support—it is all too evident that, over the next few years, China under Chiang’s rule will be reduced to a virtual colony. That, indeed, would be the “fruit” of their labors. American imperialists like Hurley have forged a cozy alliance with feudal comprador fascists like Chiang, showering him with vast quantities of weapons and gold, ostensibly to fight Japan. Yet any sober observer can see that the outcome can only be civil war. By relentlessly seeking to preserve Chiang’s dictatorship and regarding the Chinese democratic forces as a thorn in their side, these U.S. imperialists—chief among them Hurley—are perpetuating a reactionary policy that, unless reversed, will inevitably plunge China into internal conflict. At present, every military deployment by Chiang is geared toward civil war; the word “tolerance” serves merely as a euphemism for preparing for it. Should civil war break out, can China under Chiang’s rule possibly escape the fate of colonization? To be sure, certain segments of the U.S. ruling class, beyond their efforts to prop up Chiang’s dictatorship and turn China into a U.S. colony, do harbor a genuine desire to defeat the Japanese aggressors. On this point, there is no disagreement between us and the U.S. government. Nevertheless, for the past six months, the U.S. administration’s pro-Chiang, anti-communist policy has, in essence, amounted to aiding Chiang in waging civil war. We urge all well-meaning Americans and enlightened elements within the U.S. government to take careful note of this and to act swiftly to rectify it. Otherwise, the consequences they themselves have brought about will prove detrimental not only to the Chinese people but also to the American people. As for the Chinese people’s attitude toward Chiang, it has already reached its limit. Up to now, they have agreed to grant him a place in a future coalition government, on the understanding that this would afford him an opportunity to reform and redeem himself. Yet, in truth, Chiang has long forfeited any claim to national leadership. With the exception of a small clique of Chinese and foreign supporters, the vast majority of the populace has long regarded him as “Chiang the Executioner,” ready to see him go down with the tide. Even so, the Chinese people remain willing to give him a chance to reform—this, in itself, constitutes an extreme form of tolerance. Such tolerance, however, exists only in China. Chiang’s so-called “tolerance,” by contrast, is nothing more than another name for preparing for civil war. The Chinese people must remain vigilant, opposing the collusion between foreign reactionaries and domestic counter-revolutionaries to ignite an anti-national, anti-democratic, anti-people civil war, and must employ every possible means to prevent it. This vigilance is indispensable if we are to defeat the Japanese aggressors and liberate the Chinese people.