On September 27, the Xinhua Daily published twelve questions put in writing by Reuters’ Chongqing correspondent, Mr. Gamber, requesting a reply from Comrade Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The questions and answers are as follows:

(1) Question: Is it possible to avoid civil war not by force but through an agreement?

Answer: It is possible. This would be in the interests of the Chinese people as well as those of the ruling party in China. At present, China needs only one policy—peaceful nation-building—and no other. Therefore, civil war in China must be resolutely avoided.

(2) Question: What concessions is the CPC prepared to make in order to reach an agreement?

Answer: On the condition that nationwide peace, democracy, and unity are achieved, the CPC is prepared to make significant concessions, including reducing the size of its armed forces in the liberated areas.

(3) Question: What compromises or concessions must the central government offer to satisfy the demands of the CPC?

Answer: The CPC’s position is set forth in the recent declaration of the CPC Central Committee. This declaration calls for the Kuomintang government to recognize the democratically elected governments and people’s armies in the liberated areas, permit their participation in accepting Japan’s surrender, severely punish traitors and puppet troops, carry out a fair and reasonable reorganization of the armed forces, safeguard the people’s fundamental freedoms and rights, and establish a democratic coalition government.

(4) Question: Do you believe there is any hope that the negotiations will lead to an agreement, even a temporary one?

Answer: I have full confidence in the outcome of the negotiations. With the joint efforts and mutual concessions of both the KMT and the CPC, I am convinced that the talks will produce an agreement that is not merely temporary but one capable of ensuring long-term peaceful development.

(5) Question: If the negotiations break down, could the KMT–CPC issue be resolved without bloodshed?

Answer: I do not believe the negotiations will fail. Under any circumstances, the CPC will adhere to the principle of avoiding civil war. There will undoubtedly be difficulties, but they can be overcome.

(6) Question: What is the CPC’s attitude toward the Sino-Soviet Treaty?

Answer: We fully endorse the Sino-Soviet Treaty and hope for its complete implementation, as it is conducive to the welfare of the peoples of both countries and to world peace, particularly peace in the Far East.

(7) Question: After Japan’s surrender, do you intend to continue occupying the territories you now control?

Answer: The CPC’s demand that the central government recognize the democratically elected governments and people’s armies in the liberated areas simply calls for the government to implement local self-government, which the Kuomintang had long promised. This is intended to safeguard the political, military, economic, and educational reforms undertaken by the people during the war—reforms that are entirely consistent with the ideals of Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Kuomintang.

(8) Question: If a coalition government is formed, to what extent are you prepared to cooperate with Chiang Kai-shek?

Answer: Should a coalition government be established, the CPC will devote itself wholeheartedly to working with Chiang Kai-shek to build a new China that is independent, free, and prosperous, and to thoroughly implement Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People.

(9) Question: (A) How many Communist Party members in North China will be affected by your actions and decisions? (B) How many of them are armed? (C) In which other regions is the CPC active?

Answer: The Party’s line of action is determined by the Central Committee. The CPC currently has over 1.2 million members, and the number of people living under its leadership in conditions of democracy now exceeds 100 million. These people, on a voluntary basis, have organized themselves into an army numbering more than 1.2 million and a militia of over 2.2 million. They are distributed not only throughout the provinces of North China and the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region in the Northwest, but also in Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, and Guangdong provinces. As for Party members, they are spread across all provinces of the country.

(10) Question: What is the CPC’s concept and interpretation of a “free and democratic China”?

Answer: A “free and democratic China” will be a country in which all levels of government, up to and including the central government, are elected through universal, equal, secret ballots and are accountable to the people who elected them. It will realize the principles of popular sovereignty and public welfare enunciated in Sun Yat-sen’s Three Principles of the People, as well as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms. It will ensure national independence, unity, territorial integrity, and cooperation among all democratic nations.

(11) Question: What are the CPC’s policies for construction and recovery within a multi-party coalition government?

Answer: In addition to democratic reforms in the military and political spheres, the CPC will propose to the government the implementation of an economic and cultural development program. The primary objectives of this program are to alleviate the burden on the people, improve their living standards, carry out land reform and industrialization, encourage private enterprise—except for monopolistic sectors, which should be operated by the state under democratic governance—welcome foreign investment and develop international trade on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, promote mass education, and eradicate illiteracy. All of these measures are in accordance with Sun Yat-sen’s legacy.

(12) Question: Do you support the nationalization of the armed forces and the abolition of private armies?

Answer: We fully support the nationalization of the armed forces and the abolition of private armies. The prerequisite for both measures is the democratization of the state. What is commonly referred to as the “Communist Army” is, in fact, an army voluntarily organized by the Chinese people during the war solely for the purpose of defending the motherland. It is a new type of military force, entirely different from all previous personal armies in China. Its democratic character provides valuable experience for the genuine nationalization of China’s armed forces and serves as a reference for improving other branches of the military.

(Liberation Daily, October 8, 1945)