attacking the Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia Border Region.
The fact that the Guomindang has taken these steps does not in the least indicate
that its regime is strong, but rather that the crisis facing the Guomindang regime
has become extremely deep. Moreover, its attack on Yan’an and the Shaanxi–
Gansu–Ningxia Border Region is a vain attempt to first settle the Northwest question, cut off our Party’s right arm, and drive our Party’s Central Committee and
the General Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army from the Northwest,
and then to move its troops to attack North China, and thus achieve the objective
of defeating our forces one by one.
Under these circumstances, the Central Committee has decided as follows:
	 1.	 We must defend and expand the Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia Border Region
and the Liberated Areas in the Northwest with a steadfast fighting spirit; it is
entirely possible to achieve this objective.
	 2.	 The Central Committee of our Party and the General Headquarters of the
People’s Liberation Army must remain in the Shaanxi-Gansu–Ningxia
Border Region. It is an area where we have a favorable mountainous terrain,
Our source for this document is Mao Zedong’s handwritten manuscript. It can be found
in Zhang Zhipin, ed., Ganshou Xibaipo (Beijing: Zhongyang wenxian chubanshe, 2005),
1.  Circular of the CPC Central Committee on establishment of the Work Committee of
the Central Committee and Other Matters → Circular of April 9, 1947
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719511-292

a good mass base, plenty of room for maneuver, and full guarantees of
security.
	 3.	 At the same time, to facilitate our work we have set up a Central Committee
Work Committee, with Comrade Liu Shaoqi as secretary, to proceed to
northwestern Shaanxi or some other suitable place to carry out the tasks
entrusted to it by the Central Committee.
These three decisions were made last month and have already been put into effect.
You are hereby notified.
Central Committee

pp. 63–64.

--- Notes

# Circular of the CPC Central Committee on Establishment of the Work Committee of the Central Committee and Other Matters
# Date: 1947-04-09
# Source: en:MRP
Circular of the CPC Central Committee on
Establishment of the Work Committee of the
Central Committee and Other Matters1
(April 9, 1947)
Each bureau or sub-bureau of the Central Committee, each provincial and district Party committee, and each field army commander:
In order to save its moribund regime, the Guomindang, aside from taking steps
such as convening a bogus National Assembly, drawing up a bogus constitution,
driving out the representative agencies of our Party from Nanjing, Shanghai, and
Chongqing, and declaring a break between the Guomindang and the Communist
Party, has taken the further step of attacking Yan’an, the seat of our Party’s Central
Committee and the General Headquarters of the People’s Liberation Army, and