To the Left or to the Right?

For the past half-year, a group of people has had a thousand discussions, which is to say that neither the left is good, nor is the right good, and they have separately proposed a middle opinion, rejecting the rightists and also rejecting the leftists, labeling themselves as standing in the middle position. This sort of thing is not often seen in Guangdong, but is rather common in Jiang-Zhe. Because in Guangdong, the left is Guangzhou, and the right is Hong Kong; standing under the banner of Guangzhou, one must oppose Hong Kong, and standing under the banner of Hong Kong, one must oppose Guangzhou. Chen Jiongming leads the counter-revolutionary militarists, the political comprador class, and the local tyrants and evil gentry to stand under the banner of XX, so the two sides bombard each other with cannons. In this mutual bombardment, there can be no middle faction; even if there were, it could only cover its face and hide under the banner of one faction, speaking in a low voice and walking with light steps. If a rightist were to stand between Guangzhou and Hong Kong, his declaration would surely be "Hong Kong is not good, and Guangzhou is not good either," then Hong Kong's cannons would certainly aim and bombard him, and Guangzhou's cannons would also certainly aim and bombard him. In the Jiang-Zhe area, there is not yet the matter of mutual bombardment by cannons. The argument that "neither side is good" has thus flourished. Originally, on May 20th of this year, Party A's cannons were already booming in the Nanjing area; fortunately, Party B had no cannons, only some fists, so it could not become a "mutual bombardment" and did not brew into a chaotic situation of confrontation (even if it happened for a moment, it would not count for much), allowing the argument that "neither side is good" to still be publicly propagated, to "preserve righteous spirit between the two, and maintain freedom between heaven and earth." But if we were to hypothesize a situation, suppose the masses on Nanjing Road not only had fists but also cannons, and were led by Wang Jingwei and Chiang Kai-shek, and with a bang they smashed the police station to pieces, and immediately occupied the Gongbuju, and all the "red-headed Asan" types were turned into captives; immediately blockaded Wusongkou, and mounted cannons at Nanbei Tang and Shizilin (like at Hutoumen), and on the battery raised the banner "Bombard Imperialism." At this time, Shanghai would unfortunately have to descend into a "chaotic situation" like Guangzhou's, and a Garrison Command would also be established. Imagine Mr. Wang Maogong and his ilk becoming the commander, riding in an armored car and patrolling the streets every day; newspapers like the Shishi Xinbao would certainly be shut down (perhaps the Xingshi Zhoubao would not be spared). Freedom of speech would be allowed only for the majority, and the freedom of the minority would certainly be stripped away from them, the exact opposite of before. At this time, the middle faction, just as in Guangzhou, would be unable to propagate publicly. What is to be done? Naturally, there is still Beijing. But Beijing is also difficult to rely on for long, as it is conditional on Duan Zhizheng remaining securely in his seat. That Duan Zhizheng is securely in his seat is not a problem; not only can the Kuomintang Comrades' Club hang up its sign, but even the Fourth Central Executive Committee Plenary Session can be held there, with more freedom than in Zhangjiakou—though this is said, I am still a bit confused as to why the Fourth Central Executive Committee was not allowed to meet in Zhangjiakou. Is that place not under the jurisdiction of the Duan government? If Duan Zhizheng is not there—wait a moment, even if Duan Zhizheng is there, it is hard to avoid instances of inadequate care. Was it not heard that two people were seized, put into a car, taken into the city, beaten, and then made to write a letter of repentance? Alas, that such chaos should emerge right under the wheels of Duan Zhizheng's chariot, the ways of the world are truly hard to predict. What is more painful: according to a telegram from the Beijing Executive Department, on November 28th, a revolutionary movement occurred, with citizens besieging the Chief Executive's government, demanding the expulsion of Duan Qirui. It also stated: the National Assembly resolved three articles, the first being to organize a National Government (very unfortunate! Naturally, it will be modeled after the Guangzhou government). And according to a Reuters telegram: "On the 28th, a demonstration in Beijing, students held the Guangzhou flag, workers held the red flag, the national flag was not seen. The marchers distributed leaflets, on which were written 'Overthrow Duan Qirui,' 'Execute Zhu Shen,' 'Shoot the national traitors,' 'Disband the Customs Conference,' 'Arm the people,' 'Mass revolution,' 'A true national assembly,' and other such words." The Shishi Xinbao placed a headline before this telegram: "A Frightening Demonstration"! What is to be done? Here again is a "frightening demonstration." If in the future some "National Government" is truly organized, and on the roof of that government building the "Guangzhou flag" is hoisted high, would it not brew into the same kind of "chaotic situation" as in Guangzhou? Not only that, this "chaotic situation" might spread throughout the country, with imitations everywhere, the majority rising up for "freedom," forcefully making the minority "unfree." Gentlemen standing in the middle! May I ask, what is to be done? To the left? Or to the right?

Bolshevization is Originally Like This

November 23rd, Shenbao, Beijing telegram: "The Diplomatic Corps is a Guangdong foreign-language newspaper. It recognizes that although Chiang Kai-shek's doctrine is labeled as Bolshevization, he is quite protective of the people. Conversely, when the anti-communist armies of Chen, Lin, Hong, and others arrive in a place, they engage in many communist-like behaviors." So it turns out that Bolshevization is to be protective of the people. Bolshevize me, Bolshevize others, how can we get it to spread all over China!

Who is it that Kills Off the Intellectual Class

Among Chen Jiongming's anti-communist propaganda articles, there is one titled: "A Respectful Word to Young Students." The last few sentences say, "The policy of the Communist Party is also to exterminate the intellectual class. Young students are, after all, considered the intellectual class. When the Communist Party succeeds, it will kill off the intellectual youth, one by one." To know whether Chen Jiongming's words are correct, one should first analyze the position of the intellectual class in China. We feel that people with intellect cannot be recognized as a class. They can only be recognized as some intellectual elements, because they do not have a common interest that can impel them to unite and form a class. Some of them have become advocates or secretaries for the likes of Zhang Jian, Mu Ouchu, and Lian Bo, saying that peasants should not withhold rent and workers should not go on strike, but at the same time, there is indeed a portion of intellectual elements that has already thrown itself into the battle lines of the peasant and worker classes. Based on this, we can very well understand that every person with intellect is an intellectual element. These intellectual elements, following the inevitable result of the progress of modern world industry, have long lost the dignity and guarantee of their so-called liberal professions, and have temporarily fallen from the middle class to become proletarians, with no choice but to wholeheartedly participate in the peasant-worker movement. If they should forget their own position in the existing society and willingly turn back the clock to help the warlords, the comprador class, and the local tyrants and evil gentry, that is when the intellectual youth will be killed off. Killed off by whom? Directly and unjustly killed by the warlords, the comprador class, and the local tyrants and evil gentry; indirectly and poisonously killed by imperialism.

(December 13, 1925, *Zhengzhi Zhoubao*, Issue No. 2)