Urgent Tasks Following the Establishment of Nationalist-Communist Cooperation

#PUBLICATION NOTE

This edition of Urgent Tasks Following the Establishment of Nationalist-Communist Cooperation 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 editions:

• Urgent Tasks Following the Establishment of Kuomintang-Communist Cooperation, in the Selected Works of Mao Zedong, First English Edition, Volume 2, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 1965.
• Urgent Tasks of the Chinese Revolution Following the Establishment of Guomindang-Communist Cooperation, in Mao's Road to Power, First English Edition, Volume 6, M.E. Sharpe, Armonk, 2004.

#INTRODUCTION NOTE

This is an article written by Comrade Mao Zedong in Yan'an, Shaanxi, China on the 29th of September, 1937. It was first published in the 1944 edition of the Selected Works of Mao Zedong.

#Workers and oppressed people of the world, unite!

#URGENT TASKS FOLLOWING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONALIST-COMMUNIST COOPERATION

#Mao Zedong

#29th of September, 1937

#★

#1. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED FRONT BETWEEN THE TWO POLITICAL PARTIES

As far back as 1933, the Communist Party of China issued a declaration stating that it was ready to conclude an agreement for resisting Japan with any faction of the Nationalist army that was willing to stop the civil war against the Communist Party, the council regime, and the Red Army and to resist Japan together, on three conditions, namely, that attacks on the Red Army be stopped, that democratic freedoms be granted to the people, and that the people be armed. This declaration was made because after the 18th of September Incident in 1931, resistance to the Japanese imperialist invasion became the primary task of the Chinese people. But we did not succeed in our objective.

In August 1935, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese Red Army called upon all political parties and groups and the people throughout the country to organize an anti-Japanese united army and a government of national defence for a common fight against Japanese imperialism.¹ In December of that year, the Communist Party of China adopted a resolution² on the formation of an anti-Japanese national united front with the national bourgeoisie. In May 1936, when the Red Army returned from Shanxi, the Central Council Government and the Revolutionary Military Commission of the Red Army published an open telegram³ demanding that the Nanjing government stop the civil war and make common cause against Japan. In August of that year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent a letter⁴ to the Central Executive Committee of the Nationalist Party of China demanding that the Nationalist Party stop the civil war and form a united front of the two political parties to fight jointly against Japanese imperialism. In September of the same year, the Communist Party passed a resolution⁵ on the establishment of a unified democratic republic in China. Besides the declaration, the open telegram, the letter, and the resolutions, we sent representatives to hold discussions with people from the Nationalist side on many occasions, and yet all in vain. It was only towards the end of 1936, after the Xi'an Incident, that the plenipotentiary of the Communist Party of China and the responsible chief of the Nationalist Party of China reached an agreement on a contemporary issue of vital political importance, namely, cessation of the civil war between the two political parties and the two armies, and brought about the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident. This was a great event in Chinese history and provided a prerequisite for the renewal of cooperation between the two political parties.

On the 10th of February this year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China sent a telegram⁶ to the Third Plenary Session of the Nationalist Party's Central Executive Committee on the eve of its meeting, making comprehensive and specific proposals for concrete cooperation between the two political parties. In that telegram, we demanded that the Nationalist Party give the Communist Party guarantees on the following five points: the ending of the civil war, the realization of democratic freedoms, the convening of a National Assembly, speedy preparations for resisting Japan, and improvement of the people's livelihood. At the same time, the Communist Party offered guarantees to the Nationalist Party on the following four points: the elimination of the state of antagonism between the two regimes, the redesignation of the Red Army, the application of the new-democratic system in the revolutionary base areas, and the discontinuance of the confiscation of the land of the feudal lords. This was likewise an important political step, for without it, the establishment of cooperation between the two political parties would have been delayed, which would have been wholly detrimental to speedy preparations for resisting Japan.

Since then, the two political parties have moved a step closer to each other in their negotiations. The Communist Party has made more specific proposals on the question of a common political programme for the two parties, on the question of lifting the ban on the mass movements and releasing political prisoners, and on the question of redesignating the Red Army and the council areas. So far, the common programme has not yet been promulgated, nor has the ban on the mass movements been lifted, nor has the new system in the revolutionary base areas been recognized; however, about a month after the fall of Beijing and Tianjin, an order was issued to the effect that the Red Army was to be redesignated as the Eighth Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army (also called the 18th Group Army in the anti-Japanese battle order). The declaration of the Central Committee of our Party on the establishment of bipartisan cooperation, which had been drafted on the 4th of July and conveyed to the Nationalist Party as early as the 15th of July, and Jiang Jieshi's statement recognizing the legal status of the Communist Party of China, which should have been published as agreed simultaneously with the declaration, were finally released to the public (alas after a long delay) by the Nationalist Party's Central News Agency on the 22nd and 23rd of September respectively, when the situation at the front had become critical. The Communist Party's declaration and Jiang Jieshi's statement announced the establishment of cooperation between the two political parties and laid the necessary foundation for the great cause of alliance between the two political parties to save the nation. The declaration of the Communist Party not only embodies the principle of unity between the two political parties, but also embodies the fundamental principle of the great unity of the people throughout the country. It is good that Jiang Jieshi, in his statement, recognized the legal status of the Communist Party throughout China and spoke of the necessity of unity to save the nation; however, he has not abandoned his Nationalist arrogance or made any necessary self-criticism, and we can hardly be satisfied with that. Nevertheless, the united front between the two political parties has been proclaimed as established. This has ushered in a new epoch in the history of the Chinese revolution. This great political significance should be recognized by the people of the whole country. From now on, it will exert a widespread and profound influence on the Chinese revolution and play a decisive role in defeating Japanese imperialism.

#2. THE IMPACT OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE UNITED FRONT BETWEEN THE TWO POLITICAL PARTIES

Ever since 1924, the relationship between the Nationalist Party of China and the Communist Party of China has played a decisive role in the Chinese revolution. The Revolution of 1924-27 took place as a result of the cooperation of the two political parties on the basis of a definite programme In a mere two or three years, tremendous successes were achieved in the national revolution for nationalism, democracy, and people's livelihood, to which Dr. Sun Yixian had devoted 40 years and which he had left unaccomplished; these successes were the establishment of the revolutionary base in Guangdong and the victory of the Northern Expedition. They were the products of the formation of the united front of the two political parties. But, at the very moment when the revolution was nearing its triumph, some people, who failed to uphold the revolutionary cause, disrupted the two-party united front and so brought about the failure of the Chinese revolution. Thereafter, political power belonged to one class and one political party. This created a deep rift, not only between the Communist Party and the Nationalist Party, but also between the government and the people, the door was left open for foreign aggression, and a history of utmost misery and humiliation unfolded. These were the products of the disruption of the united front of the two political parties. Now, the newly formed united front between the two political parties has ushered in a new period in the Chinese revolution. There are still people who do not understand the historical role of the united front and its great future and regard it as a mere temporary makeshift devised under the pressure of circumstances; nevertheless, through this united front, the wheel of history will propel the Chinese revolution forward to a completely new stage. Whether China can extricate itself from the national and social crisis which is now so grave depends on how this united front will develop. There is already fresh evidence that the prospects are favourable. First, as soon as the policy of the united front was put forward by the Communist Party of China, it won the approval of the people everywhere. This is a clear expression of the will of the people. Second, immediately after the Xi'an Incident was settled peacefully and the two political parties and two armies ended the civil war, all political parties and groups, people in all walks of life, and all armed forces in the country achieved unprecedented unity. This unity, however, still falls far short of meeting the needs of resisting Japan, especially as the problem of unity between the government and the people remains fundamentally unsolved. Nevertheless, sharp conflicts between various provinces and the Central Government were alleviated greatly and immediately under the impact of the truce between the two political parties. Third, and most striking of all, is the fact that the nationwide War of Resistance has started. We are not satisfied with the War of Resistance in its present state, because, though national in character, it is still confined to the government and the armed forces. As we pointed out earlier, Japanese imperialism cannot be defeated through a war of resistance of this kind. Nevertheless, for the first time in 100 years, China is definitely putting up nationwide resistance to a foreign invader, and this could never have come about without internal peace and without cooperation between the two political parties. If the Japanese aggressors were able to take the four north-eastern provinces without firing a single shot during the time when the two-party united front was broken up, then today, when the united front has been reestablished, they will not be able to occupy more Chinese territory without paying a price in bloody battles. It is reported that the daily war expenditure of the Japanese bandits is JPY 20'000'000 to 25'000'000. If China can persist in the war for a year, the financial resources of the Japanese bandits will be exhausted, for they will have to lose JPY 7'200'000'000. In fact, their future expenses will greatly increase and will not be limited to this figure. Fourth, there is the effect abroad. The proposal for the anti-Japanese united front put forward by the Communist Party of China has won the support of the workers and peasants and the Communist Parties all over the world. With the establishment of cooperation between the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party, its impact will be greater, and the people of various countries, and particularly the masses of the people of the Council Union, will help China more actively. China and the Council Union have concluded a treaty of non-aggression⁷ and the relations between the two countries can be expected to improve still further, moving to a stage when the two countries will oppose the Japanese bandits more concretely. From all this evidence, we can state with certainty that the growth of the united front of the two political parties will carry China towards a bright and great future, namely, the historic task of national liberation will be accomplished in the future development of the united front between the two political parties, and the result will be the defeat of Japanese imperialism and the establishment of a unified democratic republic.

However, the united front cannot accomplish this great task if it remains in its present state. The united front of the two political parties must be developed further. For, in its present state, it is not yet broadly based or consolidated.

#3. WHAT IS A BROADLY BASED AND CONSOLIDATED UNITED FRONT?

Should the Anti-Japanese National United Front be confined to the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party? No, it should be a united front of the whole nation, with the two political parties forming only a small part of it. Undoubtedly, the two political parties are the leading aspect of this great united front, but, from beginning to end, they are only one aspect of it. It should be a united front of all political parties and groups, people in all walks of life, and all armed forces, a united front of all patriots — the workers, peasants, soldiers, intellectuals, and businesspeople. So far, the united front has in fact been confined to the two political parties, while the masses of the workers, peasants, soldiers, and urban small bourgeois and a large number of other patriots have not yet been mobilized, called into action, organized, or armed. This is the most serious problem at present. It is serious, because it makes victories at the front impossible. It is no longer possible to conceal the critical situation at the front, both in northern China and in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces, nor is there any need to do so; the question is how to save the situation. And the only way to save it is to put Dr. Sun Yixian's Testament into practice, to «mobilize the masses of the people». The essence of the contradiction is that those who have seized the latrine pit cannot shit, while the people of the whole country, who suffer acutely from bloating, have no pit. In his deathbed Testament, Dr. Sun declared he was deeply convinced, from the experience accumulated over 40 years, that only thus could the goal of revolution be achieved. What reason is there for obstinately refusing to put this Testament into practice? What reason is there for failing to do so at a moment when the fate of the nation is at stake? Everybody knows that autocracy and suppression run counter to the principle of «mobilizing the masses of the people». Resistance by the government and the army alone can never defeat Japanese imperialism. Early in May this year, we warned the ruling Nationalist Party in all seriousness that, unless the masses of the people were mobilized to resist, China would follow the same path to disaster as Ethiopia. This point has been made not only by the Chinese Communists, but by progressives throughout the country and by many intelligent members of the Nationalist Party itself. Yet the policy of autocratic rule remains unchanged. As a result, the government has estranged itself from the people, the army from the masses, and the military command from the rank and file. Unless the united front is reinforced by the participation of the masses, the crisis on the war fronts will inevitably be aggravated, not mitigated.

Why has the policy of autocratic rule not changed up to now? Because the present anti-Japanese united front still lacks a political programme to replace the Nationalist Party's policy of autocratic rule, a programme accepted by both political parties and formally promulgated. In relation to the masses, the Nationalist Party is continuing the same practices it has followed for the last ten years; there has been no change and, on the whole, everything has remained the same for the last ten years, from the government apparatus, the army system, and the policy toward civilians to financial, economic, and educational policies. Changes there are, and very great ones too — cessation of civil war and unity against Japan. The two political parties have ended the civil war, and the nationwide War of Resistance Against Japan has started, which mean a tremendous change in the Chinese political scene since the Xi'an Incident. But, so far, there has been no change in the practices enumerated above, and there is thus a disharmony between the things that have not changed and those that have. The old practices are suited only to compromise abroad and suppression of the revolution at home, and they prove ill-suited in every respect and reveal all their inadequacies when it comes to coping with the Japanese imperialist invasion. It would be another story if we did not want to resist Japan, but since we do and resistance has actually begun, and since a serious crisis has already revealed itself, refusal to change over to new ways will lead to the gravest dangers imaginable. Resistance to Japan requires a broadly based united front, and hence all the people should be mobilized to join it. Resistance to Japan requires a consolidated united front, and this calls for a common programme. The common programme will be the united front's guide to action and will serve also as the tie which, like a cord, closely binds together all the organizations and individuals in the united front, all political parties and groups, people in all walks of life, and all armed forces. Only in this way will we be able to speak of firm unity. We are opposed to the old binding rules, because they are unsuited to the national revolutionary war. We look forward to the introduction of new binding rules to replace the old, that is, to the promulgation of a common programme and the establishment of revolutionary order. Nothing else will suit the War of Resistance.

#4. FIGHT FOR THE REALIZATION OF THE «THREE PEOPLE'S PRINCIPLES» AND THE TEN-POINT PROGRAMME

What should the common programme be? It should be the «Three People's Principles» of Dr. Sun Yixian and the Ten-Point Programme for Resisting Japan and Saving the Nation⁸ proposed by the Communist Party on the 25th of August this year.

In its declaration announcing Nationalist-Communist cooperation, the Communist Party of China stated that, «the ‹Three People's Principles› of Dr. Sun Yixian being what China needs today, our Party is ready to fight for their complete realization». Some people find it strange that the Communist Party should be ready to put the «Three People's Principles» of the Nationalist Party into practice; Zhu Qinglai⁹ of Shanghai, for instance, has expressed doubts in a local periodical. These people think that Communism and the «Three People's Principles» are incompatible. This is a purely formal approach. Communism will be put into practice at a future stage of the development of the revolution; at the present stage, the Communists harbour no illusions about being able to realize it, but will carry out the national and democratic revolution as required by history. This is the fundamental reason why the Communist Party has proposed an anti-Japanese national united front and a unified democratic republic. As for the «Three People's Principles», at the Nationalist Party's First National Congress, the Communist Party and the Nationalist Party jointly decided to put them into practice during the first two-party united front over ten years ago, and they were put into practice from 1924 to '27 in large areas of the country through the efforts of all loyal Communists and all loyal Nationalists. Unfortunately, that united front broke up in 1927, and, in the subsequent ten years, the Nationalist Party opposed the application of the «Three People's Principles». But, as far as the Communist Party is concerned, all its policies in these ten years have been fundamentally in line with the revolutionary spirit of Dr. Sun's «Three People's Principles» and «Three Great Policies». Not a day has passed without the Communist Party's conducting a struggle against imperialism, which means the thoroughgoing application of the Principle of Nationalism; the worker-peasant democratic dictatorship is nothing but the thoroughgoing application of the Principle of Democracy; the Agrarian Revolution is the thoroughgoing application of the Principle of People's Livelihood. Why, then, has the Communist Party announced the abolition of the worker-peasant democratic dictatorship and the discontinuance of confiscating the land of the feudal lords? The reason, as we explained some time ago, is not that there is anything at all wrong with these things, but that the Japanese imperialist armed aggression has led to a change in class relations in the country, and has thereby not only made it necessary to unite all classes of the nation against Japanese imperialism, but also created the possibility of doing so. An anti-fascist united front for the sake of the common struggle against fascism is both necessary and possible, not only in China, but throughout the world. Therefore, we stand for the establishment of a national and democratic united front in China. This is what China really needs today. It is on these grounds that we have proposed a democratic republic based on the alliance of all classes in place of a worker-peasant democratic dictatorship. The Agrarian Revolution put into effect the principle of «Land to the tillers!», which is precisely what Dr. Sun Yixian proposed. We have now discontinued it for the sake of uniting greater numbers of people against Japanese imperialism, but that does not mean China does not need to solve its land problem. We have unequivocally explained our standpoint on the causes of these changes in policy and their timing. It is precisely because the Communist Party of China, which has never been in the slightest degree disloyal to the revolution, and, basing itself on Marxist principles, has constantly adhered to and further developed the revolutionary «Three People's Principles» — the common programme of the first Nationalist-Communist united front — that, in this hour of national crisis, when our country is invaded by a powerful aggressor, the Party has been able to put forward the timely proposal for a national and democratic united front, which is the only policy capable of saving the nation, and to apply this policy with unremitting effort. The question now is not whether it is the Communist Party which believes in or carries out the revolutionary «Three People's Principles», but whether it is the Nationalist Party which does so. The present task is to restore the revolutionary spirit of Dr. Sun's «Three People's Principles» throughout the country, and, on this basis, to work out a definite programme and policy and put them into practice sincerely and not halfheartedly, conscientiously and not perfunctorily, promptly and not tardily; the Communist Party of China has been earnestly praying day and night for this to happen. For this very reason, and on the very day of the 15th of August, it put forward the Ten-Point Programme for Resisting Japan and Saving the Nation after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident. The Ten-Point Programme is in line both with Marxism and with the genuine, revolutionary «Three People's Principles». It is an initial programme, the programme for the Chinese revolution at the present stage, which is the stage of the anti-Japanese national revolutionary war; China can be saved only if this programme is put into effect. History will punish those who persist in any course conflicting with this programme. The punishment will be the subjugation and enslavement of the Chinese nation.

It is impossible to put this programme into practice throughout the country without the consent of the Nationalist Party, because the Nationalist Party today is still the biggest political party in China and the political party in power. Without its consent, it is impossible to put the programme into practice throughout the country. We believe that the day will come when intelligent members of the Nationalist Party and their leaders will agree to this programme. For if they do not, the «Three People's Principles» will forever remain an empty phrase, and it will be impossible to restore the revolutionary spirit of Dr. Sun Yixian, impossible to defeat Japanese imperialism, and impossible for the Chinese people to escape becoming the slaves of a foreign power. No really intelligent member of the Nationalist Party nor their leaders can possibly want this to happen, and our people will never allow themselves to be turned into slaves. Moreover, in his statement of the 23rd of September, Mr. Jiang Jieshi declared:

I hold that we who stand for the revolution should put aside personal grudges and prejudices and devote ourselves to the realization of the «Three People's Principles». At this critical juncture of life and death, we should all the more let bygones be bygones and together with the whole nation make a completely fresh start, and work strenuously for unity in order to preserve the very life and existence of our country.

This is most true. The urgent task at present is to strive for the realization of the «Three People's Principles», to discard personal and factional prejudices, to change the old set of practices, to carry out a revolutionary programme in line with the «Three People's Principles» immediately, and to make a completely fresh start together with the whole nation. Today, this is the only course. With further delay, it will be too late to repent.

But there must be instruments for carrying out the «Three People's Principles» and the Ten-Point Programme, and this raises the question of reforming the government and the army. The present government is still a one-party dictatorship of the Nationalist Party and not a government of the national-democratic united front. In the absence of a government of the national-democratic united front, it is impossible to carry out the «Three People's Principles» and the Ten-Point Programme. The present army system of the Nationalist Party is still the old one, and it is impossible to defeat Japanese imperialism with troops organized under this system. The troops are now engaged in resistance, and we have great admiration and respect for them all, and especially for those fighting at the front. But the lessons of the War of Resistance in the last three months demonstrate that the Nationalist army system must be changed, as it is unsuited to the task of completely defeating the Japanese aggressors and to the successful application of the «Three People's Principles» and the revolutionary programme. The change should be based on the principles of unity between officers and soldiers and unity between the army and the people. The present army system of the Nationalist Party is fundamentally opposed to both these principles. It prevents the masses of officers and soldiers from giving their best, despite their loyalty and courage, and, therefore, an immediate start must be made to reform it. This does not mean that the fighting has to stop until the system is reformed; it can be reformed while the fighting is going on. Here, the central task is to bring about a change in the army's political spirit and its political work. The National Revolutionary Army during the Northern Expedition provides an admirable precedent, for, in general, it did establish unity between officers and soldiers and between the army and the people; a revival of the spirit of those days is absolutely necessary. China should learn from the war in Spain, where the Republican army has been built up under extremely adverse circumstances. China is in a better position than Spain, but it lacks a broadly based and consolidated united front, it lacks a united front government capable of carrying out the whole revolutionary programme, and it lacks large numbers of troops organized according to a new system. It must remedy these defects. With regard to the war as a whole, the Red Army led by the Communist Party of China can at present only play a vanguard role, it cannot yet play a decisive role on a national scale. Nevertheless its political, military, and organizational merits are well worth acquiring by friendly armies throughout the country. At its inception, the Red Army was not what it is today; it, too, has undergone many reforms, the main ones being the weeding out of feudal practices within the army and the application of the principles of unity between officers and soldiers and unity between the army and the people. Friendly armies throughout the country can draw on this experience.

Anti-Japanese comrades of the ruling Nationalist Party of China! Today we share with you the responsibility for saving the nation from extinction and ensuring its survival. You have already formed an anti-Japanese united front with us. That is very good. You have started resisting Japan. That is also very good. But we do not approve of your continuing your other policies in the old way. We should all develop and broaden the united front and draw in the masses of the people. It is necessary to consolidate the united front and pursue a common programme. It is essential resolutely to reform the political and army systems. It is absolutely necessary to have a new government, which alone can carry out the revolutionary programme and start to reform the armies on a national scale. This proposal of ours answers the needs of the times. Many people in your party also feel that now is the time to put it into practice. Dr. Sun Yixian, in his day, made up his mind and reformed the political and army systems, thereby laying the foundation for the Revolution of 1924-27. The responsibility for effecting the same kind of reform now falls on your shoulders. We believe that no loyal and patriotic member of the Nationalist Party will consider that our proposal is ill-suited to the needs of the situation. We are firmly convinced that it meets the objective needs. We place special hope in Jiang Jieshi to take responsibility for this reform.

The fate of our nation and our country is at stake — let the Nationalist Party and the Communist Party unite closely! Let all our compatriots, who refuse to become slaves, unite closely on the basis of Nationalist-Communist unity! The urgent task in the Chinese revolution today is to make all the reforms necessary to overcome all difficulties. When this task is accomplished, we can surely defeat Japanese imperialism. If we try hard, our future will be bright.