To Nie Rongzhen and Wang Jiaxiang
(May 19, 1946)
To Nie [Rongzhen], and for transmission to Comrade [Wang] Jiaxiang:1
Regarding sending a plane to take Jiaxiang to the Soviet Union for medical
treatment, the other side has been considering it for quite some time since we
approached it on this matter. At first, it was rather concerned about the international atmosphere and wanted Jiaxiang and his wife to go to Outer Mongolia to
board their flight, but this concern no longer exists and they have decided to send
a plane directly to Zhangjiakou. There is therefore only the question of whether
Jiaxiang’s health will permit him to travel by plane. Please have Jiaxiang himself
decide and let me know, at which point those far away2 can be notified to send a
plane for him. In my opinion, as long as his health allows him to fly, even if with
difficulty, the best plan is for him to go to the Soviet Union for treatment.
Mao Zedong
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, p. 271, where it is reproduced
from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.
1.  Nie Rongzhen was commander-in-chief and political commissar of the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region. Wang Jiaxiang (1906–1974, born in Jing county, Anhui) was
assistant secretary of the Central Military Commission and director of the General Political
Department during the War of Resistance Against Japan.
2.  The editors of Shuxin xuanji state that “those far away” refers to the Soviet authorities.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-146