Speech at the Eighth Session [1]
(June 28, 1950)

The Chinese people have long declared that the affairs of all countries in the world should be managed by the peoples of those countries themselves, that the affairs of Asia should be managed by the peoples of Asia themselves, and not by the United States. U.S. aggression against Asia can only provoke widespread and resolute resistance from the peoples of Asia. Truman stated as recently as January 5 this year that the United States would not interfere in Taiwan, but now he himself has proven that statement to be false [2], and at the same time has torn up all international agreements of the United States concerning non-interference in China’s internal affairs. By thus revealing its imperialist features, the United States has greatly benefited the people of China and Asia. U.S. interference in the internal affairs of Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam, and other countries is completely unjustifiable. The sympathy of the entire Chinese people and the sympathy of the broad masses of people throughout the world will all be on the side of the victims of aggression and will definitely not be on the side of U.S. imperialism. They will neither be lured by imperialism nor intimidated by imperialism. Imperialism is outwardly strong but inwardly weak, because it has no support from the people. Let the people of the whole country and the whole world unite, make full preparations, and defeat any provocation by U.S. imperialism.

We must also strengthen our military preparations. The current approach is to reduce the army and strengthen the navy and air force. Reducing the army is to bring state fiscal revenues and expenditures closer to balance and stabilize commodity prices. In the 1950 budget estimates, over 70 percent of expenditures within the Shanhai Pass were spent on military and administrative expenses of government organs, and mainly on the army; therefore, the army is to be reduced. The navy and air force should be strengthened, especially the air force, which should be strengthened even more. We fought wars for decades, and we simply had no way to deal with things overhead, so we had to rely on fearlessness of death, on courage, on a spirit of sacrifice. However, today we have the conditions to build and strengthen the navy and air force, and therefore we should set about building them up. Now we are repairing what is broken, inviting specialists, buying airplanes, and doing everything possible to improve the naval lineup. All this shows that we have not forgotten about war, and that we are prepared.

June 28, 1950, Mao Zedong at the Eighth Session of the Central People’s Government Council. This session adopted the “Agrarian Reform Law of the People’s Republic of China.”

Archival photograph
June 28, 1950, Mao Zedong at the Eighth Session of the Central People’s Government Council.
June 28, 1950, Mao Zedong at the Eighth Session of the Central People’s Government Council.

Complete Works of Mao Zedong
Volume 28
June 1950, Mao Zedong signs a peace appeal.

Archival photograph
“The Heart’s Tide Surges High” (Chinese painting)