On the Question of Political Power in the Anti-Japanese Base Areas
#PUBLICATION NOTE
This edition of On the Question of Political Power in the Anti-Japanese Base Areas has been prepared and revised for digital publication by the Institute of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism under the Central Committee of the Communist Party in Switzerland on the basis of the following edition: On the Question of Political Power in the Anti-Japanese Base Areas, in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Vol. 2, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1965.
#INTRODUCTION NOTE
This is an inner-Party directive drafted by Comrade Mao Zedong for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Yan'an, Shaanxi, China on the 6th of March, 1940. It was first published in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, Vol. 2, in 1951.
#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!
#ON THE QUESTION OF POLITICAL POWER IN THE ANTI-JAPANESE BASE AREAS
#DIRECTIVE OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA
#Mao Zedong
#6th of March, 1940
#★
#1
This is a time when the anti-Communist Right-wingers of the Nationalist Party of China are doing all they can to prevent us from setting up bodies of anti-Japanese democratic political power in northern and central China and other places, while we on our part must set them up, and in the major anti-Japanese base areas, it is already possible for us to do so. Our struggle with the anti-Communist Right-wingers over this issue in northern, central, and north-western China can help to promote the establishment of united-front bodies of political power over the whole country, and it is being followed attentively by the whole nation. Therefore, this issue must be handled carefully.
#2
The political power we are establishing during the anti-Japanese war is of a united-front character. It is the political power of all those who support both resistance and democracy; it is the joint democratic dictatorship of several revolutionary classes over the traitors and reactionaries. It differs from the counter-revolutionary dictatorship of the landlord class and the bourgeoisie as well as from the worker-peasant democratic dictatorship of the period of the Agrarian Revolutionary War. A clear understanding of the character of this political power and conscientious efforts to put it into practice will greatly help to spread democracy through the country. Any deviation, either to the «Left» or the Right, will create a very bad impression on the whole nation.
#3
The convening of the Hebei Provincial Assembly and the elections to the Hebei Administrative Council, preparations for which have just been started, will be of exceptional importance. Equally important will be the establishment of the new bodies of political power in north-western Shanxi, in Shandong, in areas north of the Huai River, in the counties of Suide and Fuxian, and in eastern Gansu. We must proceed according to the united-front principle and do our utmost to avoid any Right-wing or «Left-wing» tendencies. At the moment, the «Left-wing» tendency of neglecting to win over the middle bourgeoisie and the enlightened gentry is the more serious danger.
#4
In accordance with the united-front principle concerning the bodies of political power, the allocation of seats should be 1/3 for Communists, 1/3 for non-Party Left-wing progressives, and 1/3 for the Centrist factions who are neither Left-wing nor Right-wing.
#5
We must make sure that the Communists play the leading role in the bodies of political power, and therefore, the Party members, who occupy 1/3 of the seats, must be of high calibre. This will be enough to ensure the Party's leadership without a larger representation. Leadership is neither a slogan to be shouted from morning until night nor an arrogant demand for obedience; it consists rather in using the Party's correct policies and the example we set by our own work to convince and educate people outside the Party, so that they willingly accept our proposals.
#6
The non-Party Left-wingers must be allocated 1/3 of the seats, because they are linked with the broad masses of the small bourgeoisie. This will be of tremendous importance in winning the latter over.
#7
Our aim in allocating 1/3 of the seats to the Centrist factions is to win over the middle bourgeoisie and the enlightened gentry. Winning over these factions is an important step in isolating the Right wing. At the present time, we must not fail to take the strength of these factions into account and must be circumspect in our relations with them.
#8
Our attitude to the non-Communists must be one of cooperation, whether or not they have political party affiliations and whatever these may be, so long as they favour resistance to Japan and are willing to cooperate with the Communist Party.
#9
The allocation of seats described above represents the genuine policy of the Party, and we must on no account be halfhearted about it. To execute this policy, we must educate the Party members who work in the bodies of political power, overcome the narrowness manifested in their reluctance and uneasiness in cooperating with non-Communists, and encourage a democratic style of work, that is, consultation with the non-Party people and winning majority approval before taking action. At the same time, we must do all we can to encourage the non-Party people to express their views on various problems and must lend an attentive ear to their suggestions. We must never think that, because we hold military and political power, we can force unconditional compliance with our decisions, and on that account shun the effort to win the non-Party people over to our views, so that they carry them out gladly and wholeheartedly.
#10
The above figures for the allocation of seats are not rigid quotas to be filled mechanically; they are in the nature of a rough proportion, which every locality must apply according to its specific circumstances. At the lowest level, the ratio may be somewhat modified to prevent the landlords and evil gentry from sneaking into the bodies of political power. Where such bodies have been in existence for some time, as in the Shanxi-Chaha'er-Hebei Border Area, the central Hebei area, the Taihang Mountain area, and the southern Hebei area, there should be a reexamination of policy in the light of this principle. And this principle should be observed whenever a new body of political power is set up.
#11
The united-front policy on suffrage should be that every Chinese who reaches the age of 18 and is in favour of resistance and democracy should enjoy the right to elect and to be elected, irrespective of class, nationality, gender, creed, political party affiliation, or educational level. The bodies of political power of the anti-Japanese united front must be elected by the people. Their form of organization should be based on democratic centralism.
#12
The fundamental point of departure for all major policy measures in the united-front bodies of political power should be opposition to Japanese imperialism, protection of the people who are resisting Japan, proper adjustment of the interests of all the anti-Japanese social strata, improvement of the livelihood of the workers and peasants, and suppression of traitors and reactionaries.
#13
The non-Party people who work in our bodies of political power should not be required to live, talk, and act like Communists, or otherwise they may feel dissatisfied or ill at ease.
#14
All regional and sub-regional bureaus of the Central Committee, all area Party committees, and all commanders of army units are hereby instructed to give a clear explanation of this directive to Party members, and ensure that it is fully carried out in the work of our bodies of political power.