893.00/15377
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 18.]
Sir: Referring to the Embassy’s despatch No. 2464 [2466] of April 21, 1944, reporting the views of Chinese minority party leaders, I have the honor to enclose a translation of an address27 given by General Chou En-lai, former Communist representative at Chungking, in a memorial meeting at Yenan on March 12, the anniversary of Dr. Sun Yat-sen’s death. The contents of this address are believed to represent the “official” Communist view on the question of constitutional government in China and the problem of Kuomintang-Communist relations.
Summary of Address. Without democracy, the war against Japan cannot be successful; yet after 18 years of Kuomintang rule and 7 years of war, China is not yet prepared for the counter-offensive. The Kuomintang has in the past delayed the establishment of constitutional government but at the Kuomintang Central Executive Committee’s 11th Plenary Session in September 1943 it promised both constitutional government and a solution through political means of the Kuomintang–Communist problem.
[Page 409]China should practice the revolutionary San Min Chu I (as set forth in the manifesto issued by the First Kuomintang Congress). These principles are being successfully followed by the Communist Party in the border areas and other anti-Japanese bases in north and central China. To realize constitutional government China must have its prerequisites, most important of which are: the protection of people’s democratic freedom, the lifting of the ban on political parties and the true practice of local self-government. The following principles should be recognized: revolutionary democratic rights for all citizens, not just for the small minority; direct democratic rights under representative government; the right of self-determination of China’s minority peoples; division of power between central and local government; and emphasis on the people’s livelihood under national reconstruction. The election and organization of the national congress should be revised and new elections should be held for delegates to the congress to replace those elected during a period of civil war (1935–36) with the eligibility of candidates not restricted by such requirements as examination of “party principles”. Congress should convene now to establish constitutional government in order to bring about democratic mobilization for the counter-offensive.
Kuomintang–Communist relations have been “irregular” since the fall of Hankow28 and most serious during the past year. Internal and international democratic tendencies will defeat the efforts of the capitulationist elements in China to disrupt unity and prepare for civil war. The Communist Party does not know the real meaning of the Kuomintang’s policy of “a solution through political means” but the Communists have fulfilled the four promises referred to in the Kuomintang manifesto of last September. The political solution should be reciprocal, just and reasonable. The Communists are willing to keep their promise but the Kuomintang should in turn recognize the legal standing of the Communist Party, should recognize the Border Region and the various anti-Japanese bases as legal local governments, should recognize the 8th Route and New Fourth Armies as under Central Government control and the latter’s responsibility for supplying them and should lift the blockade of the Communist areas. If Kuomintang–Communist differences can be settled justly and reasonably, the two parties can, under the leadership of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, drive the Japanese from China and jointly rebuild the nation. End of Summary.
Although this address is relatively mild in tone and is not bitterly critical of the Kuomintang, being confined chiefly to an exposition of the Communist position vis-à-vis constitutional government and the Kuomintang, foreign press correspondents were not permitted to transmit despatches reporting the address. They have been told that they will not be allowed to transmit any material abroad on the Kuomintang–Communist question until they reach Yenan.
Respectfully yours,