Since January 1, when Chiang Kai-shek launched his political offensive, the Kuomintang reactionaries—those so-called heroes who had repeatedly proclaimed their willingness to “shorten the war,” “alleviate the people’s suffering,” and “place the salvation of the people above all else”—suddenly adopted a markedly less conciliatory tone in early February. The old refrain of “fighting the Communists to the bitter end” resurfaced with renewed vigor, a trend that has only intensified in recent days. Following the return of the Nanjing People’s Peace Delegation from its visit to Beiping, its members were immediately subjected to persecution by these very same “heroes.”  On the 13th, the Kuomintang Central Propaganda Department issued a “Special Propaganda Directive” to “all party organizations and all party newspapers,” stating: “Ye Jianying has used the Nanjing Peace Delegation as a mouthpiece to propagate within our rear areas the claim that the Communist Party is sincere about peace, while simultaneously accusing the government’s military deployments of betraying any genuine intent to negotiate. All newspapers must, therefore, vigorously refute these assertions both directly and indirectly, based on the following points.” The directive then went on to enumerate several such points: “Rather than capitulate to the government’s five conditions, it would be better to fight to the finish.” “The eight points proposed in Mao Zedong’s January 14 statement constitute terms tantamount to national surrender, which the government should never have entertained.” “The Communist Party bears responsibility for sabotaging peace. Yet today it has presented a so-called list of war criminals, including every leading figure in the government, and even demands that the government arrest them first. This brazen and unreasonable behavior is self-evident. If the Communist Party does not change this approach, there will be no prospect of resuming peace talks.” “That frantic, almost mournful eagerness to negotiate displayed just two weeks ago has completely vanished.” The once ubiquitous slogans—“shorten the war,” “alleviate the people’s suffering,” “place the salvation of the people above all else”—are now nowhere to be heard. According to the Kuomintang’s “Special Propaganda Directive,” if the Communist Party refuses to alter its “approach” and insists on punishing war criminals, then there can be no talk of peace. Is the priority, after all, to save the people, or to shield the war criminals? By their own logic, the Kuomintang heroes have chosen the latter.  Meanwhile, the Communist side is still soliciting opinions from various democratic parties and mass organizations regarding the list of war criminals and has reportedly received numerous responses. Based on these submissions, virtually all express disapproval of the list proposed last December 25 by a certain authoritative figure. While they concur that each of the forty-three individuals named is indeed guilty, they argue that the list is far too short. In their view, those responsible for launching the counterrevolutionary war that has claimed the lives of millions are by no means limited to forty-three; rather, the number should run into the hundreds. For the sake of argument, let us assume that the final list comprises one hundred and several dozen names. In that case, we would ask our so-called heroes: Why do you oppose holding war criminals accountable? Did you not profess a desire to “shorten the war and alleviate the people’s suffering”? If your opposition prolongs the conflict, does that not merely delay resolution and extend the calamity? It was precisely you who, on January 26, 1949, in your capacity as spokesperson for the Nanjing government, branded the Communists with the charge of “delaying resolution and prolonging the calamity” through a public statement. Are you now contemplating retracting that accusation, posting it upon yourselves as a badge of honor? How is it that you, who claim to act “in the interest of saving the people,” have suddenly shifted your focus to safeguarding war criminals instead? According to official government statistics, the Chinese population stands at 475 million, not 450 million. Compared with a list of one hundred and several dozen war criminals, which seems more substantial—the people or the war criminals? Surely you have studied arithmetic; please consult your textbooks and perform the calculation carefully before drawing any conclusions. Should you fail to do so and hastily revise your original, perfectly reasonable position—that of “saving the people”—which enjoyed the endorsement of both ourselves and the entire nation, into one centered on “saving one hundred and several dozen war criminals,” you will find yourselves on shaky ground. Those who constantly tout “saving the people” are now set to persecute the Nanjing People’s Peace Delegation, accusing its members of having become mere mouthpieces for Ye Jianying. Has Ye Jianying’s influence grown so powerful that, within a matter of days, he could persuade the delegation to believe in the Communist Party’s sincerity about peace while denouncing the government’s military preparations as insincere? On February 14, the hardline faction ×× (the first two characters remain undeciphered, possibly indicating either authorization or instruction) of the Nanjing Municipal Consultative Assembly passed a resolution rejecting the Nanjing People’s Peace Delegation. A segment of the CC and Revival factions within the Kuomintang—essentially the war criminal clique—having briefly called for peace just weeks earlier, have now reversed course and are openly advocating for war, even going so far as to target the Nanjing Peace Delegation for repression. Such is the pattern of the Kuomintang hardliners: regardless of who they are—even those few within their own ranks who retain a shred of conscience—they mercilessly persecute and attack anyone unwilling to follow their lead, thereby isolating themselves atop an ever-narrowing pinnacle and remaining unrepentant until the very end.  To the broad masses of the Yangtze River basin and southern China—workers, peasants, intellectuals, the liberal bourgeoisie, enlightened gentry, and conscientious Kuomintang members alike: The hardline Kuomintang elements currently ruling over you are fast approaching their demise. We stand together on the same side. That tiny coterie of hardliners will soon tumble from the summit of the tower, and a people’s China will emerge.