FE Files, Lot 52–354
Digest of Yenan Radio Broadcast as Monitored by the Federal Communications Commission
Speech by Mao Tze-tung, May 1, 1945
Yenan, May 1—“On the Coalition Government” was the title of the political report given by Chairman Mao Tze-tung, leader of the Chinese Communist Party to the Seventh Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
Mao Tze-tung pointed out that the “unification of all parties and groups and non-party representatives to form a provisional democratic coalition government so as to carry out democratic reform to overcome the present crisis, mobilize and unify the national forces of the war of resistance to effectively collaborate with the Allies in fighting and defeating the Japanese aggressor, and to secure the thorough-liberation of the Chinese are the basic demands of the Chinese people at present”.
National Assembly
China needs a coalition government, said Mao Tze-tung, not only during the war but also after the war. “After the victory of the war of resistance, the National Assembly based on a broad, democratic foundation should be called to form a regular democratic government of a similar coalition nature, embracing more broadly all parties and groups of non-party representatives. This Government will lead the liberated people of the entire Nation to build up an independent, free, unified, prosperous and strong new country. After China has had a democratic elective system, the Government should be a coalition working on the basis of a commonly recognized new democratic program no matter whether the Communist Party is the majority or minority party in the National Assembly”.
Immediate Formation
Mao Tze-tung repeatedly urged the necessity of immediate formation of a coalition government. One party dictatorship, dictatorship of the anti-population [sic] group within the Kuomintang, said Mao Tze-tung, is not only “a fundamental obstacle to the mobilization and unification or the strength of the Chinese people in the war of resistance, it is also the [colossal] embryo of the civil war”.
If such dictatorship is not abolished and replaced by a democratic coalition government, then “not only will it be impossible to carry out any democratic reform within the Kuomintang-controlled areas and mobilize all the people and army there effectively to collaborate with the Allies thoroughly to defeat the aggressors, but it will also lead to a calamity as [words missing] war”.
[Page 363]Signs of Civil War
Mao Tze-tung pointed out: “The principal ruling clique within the Kuomintang is still upholding the reactionary policy of dictatorship and civil war. Many signs disclose that they have been, and especially now, are preparing to launch a civil war and are only waiting till certain Allied troops have driven the Japanese from certain parts of China. They also hope that the Allied commanders will in China enact the role of Gen. Scobie24 in Greece. They hail and welcome the work of slaughter committed by Gen. Scobie and the reactionary Greek government”.
Mockery of Democracy
Speaking of Kuomintang authorities who talk of “convoking a national assembly to return the reins of the Government to the people” and yet refuse a coalition government, Mao Tze-tung called this “a mockery” of democracy. He exposed the dark designs of the reactionary clique within the Kuomintang as that of “being bent on convoking a so-called ‘National Assembly’ entirely under its thumb which will [push] an anti-democratic so-called ‘constitution’, maintaining dictatorship.
“This will enable it to put up a show of ‘returning the reins of government to the people’ by putting on a cloak of ‘legality’ on the illegal so-called ‘national’ government without popular support, clamped on the Chinese people through appointment by only several dozens of Kuomintang members. There will then be an excuse for issuing punitive orders against anyone who disagrees”.
Issuing a serious warning against such an action of the Kuomintang authorities, Mao Tze-tung said “popular heroes stand in danger of pushing themselves into a blind alley”. At the same time he also declared that “Whenever the Kuomintang Government abandons its erroneous policy, at present in force, and consents to democratic reform, we are willing to resume negotiations with it. But such negotiations must be based on a general policy of the war of resistance, unity, and democracy. We can never agree with any measure, proposition or other empty talk which departs from this general policy, no matter how well they sound”.
In order to promote the setting up of a coalition government, Mao Tze-tung proposed to the liberated areas that “a conference of people’s representatives in [all] of liberated China should be called in Yenan as soon as possible to discuss the unification of [action] of all liberated areas, [lead] the anti-Japanese democratic movement of the people in Kuomintang-controlled areas and the underground movement of [Page 364] the people in the occupied areas, and promote the unity of the entire Nation and formation of a coalition government”.
Two Courses Open
In analyzing the concrete conditions in China’s anti-Japanese war, Chairman Mao Tze-tung pointed out that for a long time there has obviously been two courses in China. These are, he said, “the course of the Kuomintang Government which oppresses the people and passively carries on armed resistance, and the course of the Chinese people who have awakened and united to get her to carry out the peoples war”.
Contrast in Areas
In order to explain clearly these two diametrically opposed courses, Mao Tze-tung vividly compared and contrasted the liberated areas and the areas under Kuomintang rule. He said: “The Chinese liberated areas now extend to over 906,000 square kilometers with 95.5 million population. In these vast liberated areas all essential policies of the anti-Japanese national united front have been put into force, and popularly elected governments, through cooperation between [words missing] and the representatives of other parties and groups have been set up or are in the process of being set up. These are really local coalition governments which have mobilized the entire people”.
Democratic Pattern
He also said: “Chinese liberated areas have become a democratic pattern for China and the center of gravity for cooperation with our allies to drive out the Japanese aggressors and to liberate the Chinese people. The troops in the liberated areas have expanded to 910,000 and the people’s volunteers to over 2,200,000. These troops have become the main force in the war of resistance, and as soon as they receive modern equipment they will become still more invincible and able finally to defeat the Japanese aggressors”.
In areas under Kuomintang rule, on the contrary, as a consequence of the anti-popular and anti-democratic policies of Kuomintang authorities, “there were military defeats, loss of huge territories, and economic as well as financial crises. These gave rise to a serious crisis of the people, reduced to the hardest life, people complaining loudly and insistently and people staging revolts. Kuomintang troops have been reduced by more than half their strength”.
Battlefronts
As [to?] the conditions in the battlefronts in Kuomintang-controlled areas and liberated areas, Mao Tze-tung pointed out that since 1939 the Japanese aggressors’ bayonet has mainly been pointed at the liberated [Page 365] areas. In 1945, 64 percent of the Japanese forces invading China and 95 percent of the puppet forces in China were opposed by troops in the liberated areas.
In 1944 the Japanese aggressors launched a war for effecting a through continental line and found Kuomintang troops devoid of the power of resistance. It was only at this period that some changes occurred in the proportion of the share in armed resistance by the two above-mentioned battlefronts. However, even at present, troops in liberated areas are still opposing 56 percent of the Japanese troops invading China, while there is absolutely no change in the proportion of the puppet troops they are opposing.
Puppet Troops
Mao Tze-tung pointed out that among the 800,000 puppet troops the majority were entire units that went over to the Japanese under Kuomintang officers or were organized by Kuomintang officers who had gone over. Kuomintang reactionary elements are supporting these puppet troops morally and organizationally in order that they may cooperate with the Japanese aggressors to attack Chinese liberated areas. Besides, these reactionary elements mobilized a large number of troops to blockade and attack the Shensi, Kansu, and Ninghsia border region and other liberated areas. These troops reached the number of 797,000, and even now they have not been reduced.
Many Chinese and foreigners never heard of such a serious situation in China because of the Kuomintang news censorship policy. Mao said: “Many people only know that there is a Mihailovich in Yugoslavia, but they never knew that there were scores of Mihailovichs in China.”
Concerning these two courses, Mao Tze-tung drew the following conclusion: “One is the course of victory, in spite of the fact that it is carried on under such adverse conditions as in the liberated areas, absolutely without outside help. The other is the course of defeat, even though it is carried on under such extremely favorable conditions as in the Kuomintang-controlled areas aided by foreign supplies.”
- Lt. Gen. Sir Ronald MacKenzie Scobie, General Officer, commanding Allied Forces in Greece from 1944.↩