893.00/4–649: Telegram
The Consul General at Peiping (Clubb) to the Secretary of State
[Received April 7—1:10 a. m.]
570. Having reference to an instruction reputedly issued March 31 by MOI91 Nanking regarding propaganda, all papers today carry [Page 232] New China News Agency editorial entitled “We Demand Nanking Government Surrender to the People”. High points as follows:
It was stated by Mao Tze-tung in his reply to telegram from Fu Tso-yi that Communists welcome all civil and military officials of Kmt Government who pursued past policy of counter-revolutionary civil war, if only such officials discriminate between right and wrong and express repentance deeds in order to further progress liberation of people and peaceful solution domestic problems.
If responsible and important party administrative and military personnel fail to act in that manner, they will be unable to avoid trial and punishment by the people. Fu Tso-yi in his telegram April 1 chose that line but many major Nanking Kmt personnel have not acted likewise but contrariwise advocated “equal and glorious peace”. Substance of such advocacy is disclosed in MOI order under reference.
Demand by those elements for “equal and glorious peace” shows refusal assume responsibility for civil war, refusal to hand over government to the people, desire preserve reactionary forces in order make comeback in future. They even demand restoration position existing at time defunct PCC92 of January, 1946, demand unconditional cease fire, demand that People’s Liberation Army shall not cross Yangtze to liberate 200,000,000 oppressed fellow-countrymen in south; in short they pretend they are not group of war criminals, that they have not been finally defeated and demand that they be placed on equal footing with Chinese revolutionary people and people’s leader, the CCP, who have been struggling for independence, democracy and peace.
“No equality should be tolerated between the reactionary and treasonous war criminals and the revolutionary people.” During 44 months since Japanese surrender Kmt reactionary and treasonous government, with support American imperialism, rejected many times the people’s demand for peace, destroyed the agreements signed with CCP and other democratic parties to start civil war which resulted in human catastrophe unprecedented in history civil war in China—as stated by Li Tsung-jen.
Unexpectedly the Chinese people and CCP propose that they may expiate their crime through merit under conditions of the eight terms of peace. War criminals cannot demand that so-called glory from the revolutionary people. For them to take some glorious action would be for them to surrender to the people. Kmt party administrative and military personnel must understand that if they are unwilling to take initiative and surrender to the people, unwilling to confess their counter-revolutionary sins, unwilling to hand over counter-revolutionary arms in both military and political fields, there would not be true peace between them and the people. “In China today there is only one [Page 233] kind of peace and that is a peace whereby counter-revolutionary elements effect basic surrender to revolutionary forces of the people.” This is political prerequisite to acceptance of the eight terms of peace which must be fulfilled strictly. Such surrender would be advantageous to the people and the fatherland and Kmt personnel could then expect pardon by the people and the fatherland. “They would be able thus get much more glory than they would be able to obtain by refusing to surrender to the people and continuing meaningless struggle, only to be eventually arrested one by one and tried and punished.”
Sent Department, Nanking 349, OffEmb Canton 41, Shanghai 391, By mail to Tientsin.