Speech at a Party Held in the Auditorium of
the Military Affairs Commission
(October 8, 1945)
On October 8, Mr. Zhang Zhizhong held a grand party in the auditorium of the
Military Affairs Commission in honor of Comrade Mao Zedong. At the beginning
of the party, Minister Zhang addressed the audience as host (speech omitted here).
This was followed by a speech by Comrade Mao Zedong. He said:
On this visit to Chongqing, I would like first of all to thank Mr. Chiang for his
invitation and for more than forty days of excellent hospitality. My thanks also go
to tonight’s host, Mr. Zhang Wenbai,1 for preparing this magnificent banquet, and
to all of you from all walks of life who have come here tonight.
The talks on this occasion are of great interest to the people of the whole country, to our friends all over the world, and to the governments of all the Allied
countries. The reason is that these talks have not been merely concerned with
matters of interest to the two parties but they have also dealt with issues affecting
the interests of all of China’s people. As regards the circumstances of the talks,
we can, as Mr. Zhang has just said, be optimistic. Following the overthrow of fascism both in the East and in the West, the world is a bright world, and China is a
bright China. During the past thirty years, the world has experienced two world
wars. The nature of the Second World War is different from that of the First World
War. During this war, both the world and China made rapid progress. The goal
of the present talks is to carry out peaceful reconstruction. There is only one road
for China today and that is peace. Peace is all that counts, and any other intention
is wrong. (applause) The talks have been carried on in a friendly atmosphere.
Regarding the issues about which we could not reach agreement at the talks, we
agreed to continue resolving them through discussion and not in any other way.
Our source for this document is Mao Zedong ji, Vol. 9, pp. 337–38, where it is reproduced from the text published in Jiefang ribao, October 9, 1945. A virtually identical text,
taken from Xin Zhonghua bao, is reproduced in Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 4, pp. 31–32. It
differs from the version translated here only by the omission of the final two sentences:
“Long live new China! Long live Chairman Chiang!” A shorter version, containing more
significant variants and taken from Chongqing tanpan jilu (Chongqing chubanshe, 1983)
and Zhang Zhizhong, Huiyi Chongqing tanpan appears in Mao Zedong ji. Bujuan, Vol. 8,
1.  Zhang Wenbai, also known as Zhang Zhizhong (1890–1969, born in Chaohu, Hefei),
was the head of the Guomindang’s Military Affairs Commission.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-40

Peace, democracy, and unity, and achieving unification based on peace, democracy, and unity—this orientation conforms to the demands of all China’s people
and to the demands of people all over the world and of the governments of the
Allied countries. Peace and cooperation should be lasting. We should all be of one
mind, have no other intentions, and plan for long-term cooperation! (applause)
Let all of China’s people, parties, and factions work together during the coming
decades under the leadership of Chairman Chiang to fully implement the Three
People’s Principles and build an independent, free, rich, and powerful new China!
It cannot be denied that there are difficulties, and it would be wrong not to point
this out. The people of China are facing difficulties at present, and they may also
face many difficulties in the future. But the Chinese people are not afraid of difficulties. If the Guomindang and the Communist Party, uniting with the other parties and factions, are not afraid of difficulties, however great the difficulties may
be, unite as one around the orientation of peace, democracy, and unity, then under
the leadership of Chairman Chiang and based on thorough implementation of the
Three People’s Principles, every difficulty can be surmounted. (loud applause)
Long live new China! Long live Chairman Chiang! (prolonged applause)

pp. 73–74.