FE Files, Lot 52–354
Memorandum by the Assistant Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Chase) to the Deputy Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs (Stanton)
The most notable feature of these speeches,49 as far as reported, is an emphatic and repeated eulogy of the leadership and ideology of Mao Tze-tung as the embodiment of the common spirit of the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people. That this is something of [Page 386] a new line is indicated by Chu Teh’s own words that “this is what marks this Congress from other Party Congresses in the past”.
Such a line might represent a Communist move to build up Mao as a possible future head of state in case of a final break with Chungking. It might, also or alternatively, reflect the existence of Party criticism of Mao and a consequent effort to vindicate him and policies which he has succeeded in establishing over opposing policies. In fact, certain passages would almost seem to imply that there have been some differences between (1) a group favoring a more purely doctrinaire Communist program and (2) Mao’s group, calling for an opportunistic and realistic policy of adapting the Chinese Communist movement to the immediate internal and international situation and to the actual present needs of the Chinese people.
However, one might easily read too much into the statements, which may be primarily of an electioneering character in connection with elections to be made by the Congress. In any case, it is believed, in the light of reports by Mr. Service and other observers at Yenan, that any divergences which may exist in the Chinese Communist Party are not of a serious nature. There is, moreover, no evidence of Moscow’s taking any part in Chinese Communist politics, or of the existence of any faction not desiring close ties with Moscow.
- Digests of Yenan radio broadcasts by Chu Teh, Chou En-lai, and the Japanese Communist, Okano, as monitored by the Federal Communications Commission, not printed.↩