Letter to Li Jishen and Shen Junru1
(May 1, 1948)
To Mr. Renchao and Mr. Hengshan:
Under the present circumstances, it is already necessary, and the opportunity
is ripe, to convene a people’s congress, establish a democratic coalition government, strengthen mutual cooperation among all the democratic parties and people’s organizations, and draw up the guiding principles of administration for a
democratic coalition government. The broad ranks of democratic personages in
the country have already made these kinds of demands, and I think that you two,
my brothers, must share these feelings. If we wish to realize this next step, however, it is necessary first to invite representatives from each of the democratic
parties and people’s organizations to hold a meeting. At this meeting, we will discuss and make decisions on the issues mentioned above. It seems best to call this
meeting a political consultative conference.2 All democratic parties and people’s
organizations that oppose American imperialism and Chiang Kaishek’s party may
send representatives to take part. Some prominent personages in our society who
oppose American imperialism and Chiang Kaishek’s party but do not belong to
any of the democratic parties or people’s organizations may also be invited to
attend this meeting. Decisions at this meeting must seek to achieve consensus
among the major democratic parties and the people’s organizations in attendance,
everything possible should be done to achieve a consensus. Harbin is suggested as
the location for the meeting, and this autumn is suggested for the time. In addition,
it is suggested that the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Guomindang, the
Central Executive Committee of the China Democratic League, and the Central
Committee of the Chinese Communist Party issue a three-party joint declaration
this month to appeal for support. I have already drawn up a draft of this joint
declaration, and I will present it to you separately. I respectfully ask the two of you to give careful consideration to whether the above points are appropriate and
to offer your guidance. I would appreciate your advice as to whether the content
and wording of the three-party joint declaration are appropriate and as to whether
its signatories should be limited to the three parties or should be issued with the
signatures of other democratic parties and important people’s organizations. I am
now entrusting Comrade Pan Hannian3 to meet with the two of you. Please have
Hannian transmit your instructions, for which I will be very grateful.
Sincerely, and with democratic revolutionary greetings!
Mao Zedong

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Notes

1.  Li Jishen, courtesy name Renchao, was president of the Central Executive Committee of the Guomindang Revolutionary Committee. Shen Junru, style name Hengshan, was
a member of the Standing Committee of the Central Committee of the China Democratic
League, and he directed the league’s affairs in Hong Kong.

--- Notes

Our source for this letter is Mao Zedong wenji, Vol. 5, pp. 90–91, where it is reproduced
from a copy preserved in the Central Archives.

2.  When reviewing the May Day slogans that the Central Committee of the Chinese
Communist Party released on April 30, 1948, Mao added a paragraph on the political consultative conference along these lines.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-115

3.  Pan Hannian (1906–1977, native of Jiangsu) was an underground operative of the
Chinese Communist Party dealing with united front work in Hong Kong.