Issues to Note After the Promulgation of the October 10th Agreement[1]

(October 12, 1945)

To all Bureaus, and to be forwarded to the District Party Committees:

The Guomindang-Communist Agreement[2] of Double Tenth Festival is promulgated today. This Agreement has laid the foundation for peaceful national construction and has won many democratic rights for the people of the whole country (though these are still only things written on paper), and has secured our Party a status equal to that of the Guomindang. All these are important achievements of these negotiations. However, the following points should be noted:

(1) Although the basic policy of peace has been laid down, many local, large-scale military conflicts are still temporarily unavoidable. Apart from the fact that the diehard troops in Guangdong, Hubei, Henan, Zhejiang, and southern Jiangsu are currently attacking us, the diehard troops along the Ping-Han, Jin-Pu,[3] Tong-Pu, and Zheng-Tai[4] railways are launching large-scale offensives against us, and battles to contend for

[1] This is a telegram drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to be sent to all Central Bureaus and forwarded to all District Party Committees.

[2] This refers to the summary of talks signed by representatives of the Guomindang and the Communist Party on October 10, 1945, i.e., the October 10th Agreement. In this summary, the Guomindang expressed agreement with the basic policy of peaceful national construction; the rapid conclusion of the Guomindang's "political tutelage" and the realization of political democratization; and the recognition of the equal and legal status of all political parties and certain democratic rights of the people. Both sides confirmed that a Political Consultative Conference would be convened with the participation of representatives from all parties and non-party personages. However, the Guomindang refused to recognize the people's political power in the Liberated Areas; no agreement was reached on the issue of the National Assembly; and the question of reorganizing the troops led by the Communist Party of China was also not resolved in practice.

[3] Ping-Han refers to the Ping-Han Railway, the railway from Beiping (present-day Beijing) to Hankou, now a section of the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway. Jin-Pu refers to the Jin-Pu Railway, the railway from Tianjin to Pukou, now a section of the Beijing-Shanghai Railway.

[4] Zheng-Tai refers to the Zheng-Tai Railway, the railway from Zhengding to Taiyuan, now the Shijiazhuang-Taiyuan Railway.

Issues to Note After the Promulgation of the October 10th Agreement

the three railways of Bei-Ning,[1] Jiao-Ji, and Ping-Sui[2] will also soon begin. Our side must pay full attention, defeat these offensives, and absolutely must not slacken.

(2) Due to the above reasons, the issue of the Liberated Areas could not be resolved in these negotiations and can only be resolved through serious struggle. If this extremely important issue is not resolved, a complete situation of peaceful national construction cannot emerge.

(3) Every single gun and every single bullet of the Liberated Area armies must be preserved; this is an unalterable principle. In the negotiations, our side proposed 43 divisions, which was one-seventh of the other side's existing 263 divisions. Later, the other side proposed a plan for reorganizing the national defense forces, intending to organize 120 divisions, so our side agreed that at that time we could be reorganized into 20 divisions, which would also be one-seventh.[3] At present, the puppet troops have not been disbanded, the enemy troops have not been disarmed, and the issue of the Liberated Areas has not been resolved; the question of reorganizing the troops is out of the question. Even when reorganization is carried out in the future, our side will have its own methods to achieve the goal of preserving every single gun and every single bullet. The past directives of the Central Committee instructing all localities to expand the army and reorganize the main forces shall continue to be implemented without change.

(4) To show concessions and gain the sympathy of the whole nation, our side agreed to withdraw from eight areas, including eastern Zhejiang, southern Jiangsu, Henan, and Hubei. This is because these areas cannot be maintained under a peaceful situation. However, this represents a great sacrifice for the local people, and proper explanations and appropriate arrangements must be made. But in Hubei and Henan, the original policy set by the Central Committee shall still be followed for the time being. In Guangdong, the plan of dispersal and long-term persistence shall be carried out without change.

(5) The Northeast issue was not raised in these negotiations; all established plans of our Party shall be carried out as before.

The Central Committee

October 12

[1] Bei-Ning refers to the Bei-Ning Railway, the railway from Beiping (present-day Beijing) via Tianjin to Shenyang, now a section of the Beijing-Harbin Railway.

[2] Ping-Sui refers to the Ping-Sui Railway, the railway from Beiping (present-day Beijing) to Baotou in Suiyuan (now part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region), now the Beijing-Baotou Railway.

[3] The original text reads thus; it seems it should be one-sixth.

Manuscript of "Issues to Note After the Promulgation of the October 10th Agreement," drafted by Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.