It is the close cooperation between our Party and the Uyghur people
(September 26, 1949)
To Comrade Peng Dehuai [1], with copy to the Northwest Bureau:
We have received your telegram of the 25th.
(1) The dispatch of Zeng Zhenwu [3] by Tao Zhizhao [2] to Lanzhou [4] for negotiations is merely a试探性的 gesture.
You should focus on winning him over to our side rather than on reaching concrete agreements regarding Xinjiang, as no substantive resolution is possible before our forces enter the region.
(2) As for Zeng Zhenwu’s view that no military advance should be made this winter, do not directly contradict him—i.e., do not commit yourselves to an advance this season.
However, in practice, you must ensure that all preparations are completed by November 1st or 10th at the latest: including fur clothing, fur hats, felt boots, water bottles, automobiles, gasoline, food supplies, silver dollars, paper currency, and, most importantly, political mobilization and cadre readiness—so that the advance can be launched in early or mid-November.
The main force will be transported by vehicle and on foot, with a portion airlifted.
In addition to arranging 400 vehicles, fur garments, silver dollars, and paper currency for you, we are currently negotiating to secure 30 to 50 transport aircraft. (3) The key to resolving the Xinjiang issue lies in the close cooperation between our Party and the Uyghur people.
On this basis, we can compel the Kuomintang to comply—(the Kuomintang forces and its party and government apparatus number approximately 80,000, though they claim 100,000)—and bring Zhang Zhizhong, Tao Zhizhao, Liu Mengchun [5], and others into our service, enabling Xinjiang to be taken over peacefully with minimal destruction and the Kuomintang troops to be reorganized in an orderly manner.
Zhang Zhizhong may come to Lanzhou when our forces begin their advance in November to attend the inaugural meeting of the Northwest Military and Political Committee (as previously discussed with He [6], this committee will be established on the basis of the Border Region Government, with Peng as director and Xi Zhongxun [7] and Zhang Zhizhong as deputy directors), after which he will enter Xinjiang together with Peng. (4) The governing body for Xinjiang should be the Xinjiang Military and Political Committee, with Peng serving as director and Wang Zhen, Zhang Zhizhong, and Burhan as deputy directors.
The provincial government should be reorganized, with Burhan remaining as chairman.
The composition of the committee should reflect a majority of Uyghurs and other ethnic groups over Han Chinese (currently, Burhan’s provincial government comprises ten Han officials and fifteen from Uyghur and other minority groups; upon our entry, we should maintain this ratio). This fundamental policy has already been agreed upon by Burhan and his associates in Dihua [8]; please take note. (5) It is not necessary to establish military–political committees in Gansu and Qinghai.
The appointments to the governments of Shaanxi, Gansu, and Qinghai may proceed as you have proposed: Ma Mingfang to serve as chairman of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, Deng Baoshan as chairman of the Gansu Provincial Government with Wang Shitai as vice-chairman, and Zhao Shoushan as chairman of the Qinghai Provincial Government. (6) Regarding the military operation into Sichuan, further instructions will be provided after Deng Xiaoping [9] arrives in Beijing to finalize arrangements.


Mao Zedong
September 26
[1]
Liu Mengchun, formerly a member of the Kuomintang Xinjiang Provincial Government.
On September 26, 1949, he issued a joint proclamation of uprising with Burhan, chairman of the Xinjiang Provincial Government.
[2]
He refers to He Long, who at the time was commander of the Northwest Military Region.
[3]
Xi Zhongxun, who at the time served as political commissar of the Northwest Military Region.
[4]
Dihua, the former name of the city now known as Urumqi in Xinjiang.
[5]
Deng Xiaoping, who at the time was political commissar of the Second Field Army.