To Hu Qiaomu1
(June 24, 1949)
[Hu] Qiaomu:


Please write a treatise to commemorate July 1st2 (it seems better to use your
name than to use the form of a Xinhua News Agency editorial) and a list of slogans to commemorate July 7th3 (Commemorate July 7th, Celebrate our victory,
Publicize the new Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and coalition government, Demand a treaty with Japan as soon as possible, Annihilate the
remnant reactionary forces, Suppress reactionary sabotage and troublemaking,
and Develop production and education). Please finish these two articles within
the next two days so we can send them out on June 28 and have them published in
newspapers throughout the country on June 29. Write an article to commemorate
July 7th (with a summary); it must be finished by July 2, edited on July 4th and
5th, broadcast on the 5th, and published in newspapers all over the country on the
7th. Draft a joint statement by all parties and groups to commemorate July 7th—
this article must also be finished on July 2nd so we can exchange opinions on it.
All of the above work is very important, and it is all heaped on you, so please plan
your time well and be sure you have time to get enough sleep. After you finish
the drafts, I will help you with the editing, which will save you a certain amount
of effort.


The article “British and American Diplomacy—The Diplomacy of Espionage”4
is very useful. Please order the content to be broadcast in full to enhance vigilance.


Mao Zedong


Our source for this letter is Mao Zedong shuxin xuanji, pp. 327–28, where it is reproduced from Mao’s handwritten manuscript.

--- Notes

1.  Hu Qiaomu was Mao Zedong’s secretary and director of Xinhua News Agency.

2.  July 1st marks the anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party.

3.  July 7th marks the anniversary of the 1937 Marco Polo Bridge Incident and the
launch of renewed hostilities between Japan and China.

4.  This article appeared in Renmin ribao on June 24, 1949.
DOI:  10.4324/9781315719436-285