Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung ON A STATEMENT BY CHIANG KAI SHEK'S SPOKESMAN Agus116,1945 [This commentary was written by Comrade Mao Tse-tung for the Hsinhua News Agency. A spokesman for Chiang Kai-shek.commenting on the alleged violation by the Communist Party of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's order to Commander-in-Chief Chu Teh,said at a press conference in Chungking on the afternoon of August 15,"The orders of the generalissimo must be obeyed"and "Those who violate them are enemies of the people."A Hsinhua News Agency correspondent states:This is an open signal by Chiang Kai-shek for all-out civil war.On August 11, at the critical moment when the Japanese invaders were being finally wiped out,Chiang Kai-shek issued an order of national betrayal forbidding the Eighth Route Army,the New Fourth Army and all the other armed forces of the people to fight the Japanese and the puppet troops.Of course,this order cannot and should not be accepted.Soon afterwards,Chiang Kai-shek through his spokesman proclaimed the armed forces of the Chinese people to be "enemies of the people".This shows that Chiang Kai-shek has declared civil war against the Chinese people.Chiang Kai-shek's plotting of civil war did not of course begin with his order of August 11;it has been his consistent plan throughout the eight years of the War of Resistance.During those eight years,Chiang Kai-shek launched three large-scale anti-Communist campaigns,in 1940,1941 and 1943,[1]each time attempting to develop the attack into a country-wide civil war,and only the opposition of the Chinese people and of public figures in the Allied countries prevented its occurrence,much to Chiang's regret.Thus he was forced to postpone the country-wide civil war until the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan,and so came the order of August and the statement of August 15.For the purpose of unleashing civil war,Chiang Kai-shek had already invented many terms,such as "alien party","traitor party","traitor army","rebel army","traitor areas","bandit areas", "disobedience to military and government orders","feudal separatism","undermining the War of Resistance"and"endangering the state";and he had alleged that,since in the past there had been only "suppression of Communists"in China and not "civil war",there would be no "civil war"in the future either,and so on and so forth.The slight difference this time is the addition of a new term, "enemy of the people".But people will perceive that this is a foolish invention.For whenever the
Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung ON A STATEMENT BY CHIANG KAISHEK'S SPOKESMAN August 16, 1945 [This commentary was written by Comrade Mao Tse-tung for the Hsinhua News Agency.] A spokesman for Chiang Kai-shek, commenting on the alleged violation by the Communist Party of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's order to Commander-in-Chief Chu Teh, said at a press conference in Chungking on the afternoon of August 15, "The orders of the generalissimo must be obeyed" and "Those who violate them are enemies of the people." A Hsinhua News Agency correspondent states: This is an open signal by Chiang Kai-shek for all-out civil war. On August 11, at the critical moment when the Japanese invaders were being finally wiped out, Chiang Kai-shek issued an order of national betrayal forbidding the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army and all the other armed forces of the people to fight the Japanese and the puppet troops. Of course, this order cannot and should not be accepted. Soon afterwards, Chiang Kai-shek through his spokesman proclaimed the armed forces of the Chinese people to be "enemies of the people". This shows that Chiang Kai-shek has declared civil war against the Chinese people. Chiang Kai-shek's plotting of civil war did not of course begin with his order of August 11; it has been his consistent plan throughout the eight years of the War of Resistance. During those eight years, Chiang Kai-shek launched three large-scale anti-Communist campaigns, in 1940, 1941 and 1943, [1] each time attempting to develop the attack into a country-wide civil war, and only the opposition of the Chinese people and of public figures in the Allied countries prevented its occurrence, much to Chiang's regret. Thus he was forced to postpone the country-wide civil war until the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and so came the order of August and the statement of August 15. For the purpose of unleashing civil war, Chiang Kai-shek had already invented many terms, such as "alien party", "traitor party", "traitor army", "rebel army", "traitor areas", "bandit areas", "disobedience to military and government orders", "feudal separatism", "undermining the War of Resistance" and "endangering the state"; and he had alleged that, since in the past there had been only "suppression of Communists" in China and not "civil war", there would be no "civil war" in the future either, and so on and so forth. The slight difference this time is the addition of a new term, "enemy of the people". But people will perceive that this is a foolish invention. For whenever the
term,"enemy of the people",is used in China,everyone knows who is meant.There is a person in China who betrayed Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles[2]and the Great Revolution of 1927. He plunged the Chinese people into the bloodbath of ten years of civil war and thereby invited aggression by Japanese imperialism.Then,scared out of his wits,he took to his heels and led a flock of people in a flight all the way from Heilungkiang to Kweichow Province.He became an onlooker and sat around,waiting with folded arms for victory to come.Now that victory has come, he tells the people's armies to"stay further orders"and tells the enemy and the traitors to"maintain order"so that he can swagger back to Nanking.One need only mention these facts for the Chinese people to know that this person is Chiang Kai-shek.After all he has done,can there be any dispute as to whether Chiang Kai-shek is an enemy of the people?Dispute there is.The people say "Yes" The enemy of the people says"No".And that is the only dispute.Among the people it is becoming less and less a matter of dispute.The problem now is that this enemy of the people wants to start a civil war.What are the people to do?The Hsinhua News Agency correspondent says:The policy of the Communist Party of China in regard to Chiang Kai-shek's launching a civil war is clear and consistent,namely,to oppose it.As far back as the time when Japanese imperialism began to invade China,the Communist Party of China demanded an end to civil war and unity against foreign aggression.In 1936-37 the Party made tremendous efforts,forced Chiang Kai-shek to accept its proposal and so carried out the War of Resistance Against Japan.During the eight years of resistance,the Communist Party of China never once relaxed its efforts to alert the people to check the danger of civil war.Since last year,the Communist Party has time and again called the people's attention to the huge plot being hatched by Chiang Kai-shek to unleash a country-wide civil war as soon as the War of Resistance ended.The Communist Party,like the rest of the Chinese people in the world concerned for peace in China,holds that a new civil war would be a calamity.But the Communist Party maintains that civil war can still be prevented and must be prevented.It is in order to prevent civil war that the Communist Party has advocated the formation of a coalition government.Now Chiang Kai-shek has rejected this proposal,and so civil war is touch-and-go.But there is definitely a way of checking this move of Chiang Kai-shek's.The people's democratic forces must strive to expand resolutely and rapidly;the people must liberate the big cities under enemy occupation and disarm the enemy and puppet troops;and if an autocrat and traitor to the people dares to attack them,the people must act in self-defence and resolutely strike back to frustrate the designs of the instigator of civil war.That is the way,the only way.The Hsinhua News Agency correspondent calls on the whole nation and the whole world to repudiate the utterly hypocritical and shameless lie which asserts that,on the contrary,civil war in China can be averted if Chiang Kai-shek forbids the Chinese people to liberate the enemy-occupied big cities,forbids them to disarm enemy and puppet forces and forbids them to establish democracy,if he himself goes to these big cities to "inherit"(not to smash)enemy and puppet regimes.This is a lie,the Hsinhua News Agency correspondent points out,and this lie obviously runs counter to the national and democratic interests of the Chinese people and also in the face of all the facts of modern Chinese history.It must always be remembered that it was not because the big cities were in the hands of the Communist Party rather than in his own hands that Chiang Kai-shek waged the ten- year civil war from 1927 to 1937;on the contrary,since 1927 none of the big cities has been in the hands of the Communist Party but all have been in Chiang's hands or have been yielded by him to the Japanese and the traitors,and this is the very reason why the civil war lasted for ten years on a country-wide scale and has continued on a local scale to this day.It must always be remembered
term, "enemy of the people", is used in China, everyone knows who is meant. There is a person in China who betrayed Sun Yat-sen's Three People's Principles[2] and the Great Revolution of 1927. He plunged the Chinese people into the bloodbath of ten years of civil war and thereby invited aggression by Japanese imperialism. Then, scared out of his wits, he took to his heels and led a flock of people in a flight all the way from Heilungkiang to Kweichow Province. He became an onlooker and sat around, waiting with folded arms for victory to come. Now that victory has come, he tells the people's armies to "stay further orders" and tells the enemy and the traitors to "maintain order" so that he can swagger back to Nanking. One need only mention these facts for the Chinese people to know that this person is Chiang Kai-shek. After all he has done, can there be any dispute as to whether Chiang Kai-shek is an enemy of the people? Dispute there is. The people say "Yes". The enemy of the people says "No". And that is the only dispute. Among the people it is becoming less and less a matter of dispute. The problem now is that this enemy of the people wants to start a civil war. What are the people to do? The Hsinhua News Agency correspondent says: The policy of the Communist Party of China in regard to Chiang Kai-shek's launching a civil war is clear and consistent, namely, to oppose it. As far back as the time when Japanese imperialism began to invade China, the Communist Party of China demanded an end to civil war and unity against foreign aggression. In 1936-37 the Party made tremendous efforts, forced Chiang Kai-shek to accept its proposal and so carried out the War of Resistance Against Japan. During the eight years of resistance, the Communist Party of China never once relaxed its efforts to alert the people to check the danger of civil war. Since last year, the Communist Party has time and again called the people's attention to the huge plot being hatched by Chiang Kai-shek to unleash a country-wide civil war as soon as the War of Resistance ended. The Communist Party, like the rest of the Chinese people in the world concerned for peace in China, holds that a new civil war would be a calamity. But the Communist Party maintains that civil war can still be prevented and must be prevented. It is in order to prevent civil war that the Communist Party has advocated the formation of a coalition government. Now Chiang Kai-shek has rejected this proposal, and so civil war is touch-and-go. But there is definitely a way of checking this move of Chiang Kai-shek's. The people's democratic forces must strive to expand resolutely and rapidly; the people must liberate the big cities under enemy occupation and disarm the enemy and puppet troops; and if an autocrat and traitor to the people dares to attack them, the people must act in self-defence and resolutely strike back to frustrate the designs of the instigator of civil war. That is the way, the only way. The Hsinhua News Agency correspondent calls on the whole nation and the whole world to repudiate the utterly hypocritical and shameless lie which asserts that, on the contrary, civil war in China can be averted if Chiang Kai-shek forbids the Chinese people to liberate the enemy-occupied big cities, forbids them to disarm enemy and puppet forces and forbids them to establish democracy, if he himself goes to these big cities to "inherit" (not to smash) enemy and puppet regimes. This is a lie, the Hsinhua News Agency correspondent points out, and this lie obviously runs counter to the national and democratic interests of the Chinese people and also in the face of all the facts of modern Chinese history. It must always be remembered that it was not because the big cities were in the hands of the Communist Party rather than in his own hands that Chiang Kai-shek waged the tenyear civil war from 1927 to 1937; on the contrary, since 1927 none of the big cities has been in the hands of the Communist Party but all have been in Chiang's hands or have been yielded by him to the Japanese and the traitors, and this is the very reason why the civil war lasted for ten years on a country-wide scale and has continued on a local scale to this day. It must always be remembered
that the ten-year civil war was stopped and that the three large-scale anti-Communist campaigns and countless other provocations during the War of Resistance were checked (up to and including Chiang Kai-shek's recent invasion of the southern part of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia Border Region [3)not because Chiang Kai-shek was strong,but on the contrary because Chiang was relatively not strong enough,while the Communist Party and the people were relatively strong.The ten-year civil war was stopped,not by the appeals of public figures throughout the country who desired peace and feared war(such as those of the former "League for Banning Civil War"[4]and similar bodies),but by the armed demand of the Communist Party of China and the armed demands of the Northeastern Army under Chang Hsueh-liang and the Northwestern Army under Yang Hu-cheng.[5]The three large-scale anti-Communist campaigns and countless other provocations were not beaten back by unlimited concessions and submission by the Communist Party,they were beaten back by the Communist Party's persistence in a just,stern attitude of self-defence-"We will not attack unless we are attacked;if we are attacked,we will certainly counter-attack."[6]If the Communist Party had been utterly powerless and spineless and had not fought to the finish for the interests of the nation and the people,how could the ten-year civil war have been ended?How could the War of Resistance Against Japan have started?And even though started,how could it have been carried on resolutely until victory today?How else could Chiang Kai-shek and his ilk be alive now,issuing orders and making statements from a mountain retreat so far from the front lines?The Communist Party of China is firmly opposed to civil war.The Soviet Union,the United States and Britain declared in the Crimea,"establish conditions of internal peace"and "form interim governmental authorities broadly representative of all democratic elements in the population and pledged to the earliest possible establishment through free elections of governments responsive to the will of the people".[7I That is exactly what the Communist Party of China has persistently advocated-the formation of a "coalition government".The carrying out of this proposal can prevent civil war.But there is one precondition-strength.If people unite and increase their strength,civil war can be prevented. NOTES 1.See "A Comment on the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Kuomintang's Central Executive Committee and the Second Session of the Third People's Political Council",Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung,Vol.Ⅲ. 2.The Three People's Principles were the principles and programmes put forward by Sun Yat-sen on the questions of nationalism,democracy and people's livelihood in the bourgeois democratic revolution in China.In 1924,in the Manifesto of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang,a congress characterized by co-operation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party,Sun Yat-sen restated the Three People's Principles,interpreted nationalism as opposition to imperialism and expressed active support for the movements of the workers and peasants.The old Three People's Principles thus developed into the new Three People's Principles with the Three Great Policies,that is,alliance with the Soviet Union,alliance with the Communist Party and assistance to the peasants and workers.The new Three People's Principles provided the political basis for the co-operation between the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang during the First Revolutionary Civil War period
that the ten-year civil war was stopped and that the three large-scale anti-Communist campaigns and countless other provocations during the War of Resistance were checked (up to and including Chiang Kai-shek's recent invasion of the southern part of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia Border Region [3]) not because Chiang Kai-shek was strong, but on the contrary because Chiang was relatively not strong enough, while the Communist Party and the people were relatively strong. The ten-year civil war was stopped, not by the appeals of public figures throughout the country who desired peace and feared war (such as those of the former "League for Banning Civil War"[4] and similar bodies), but by the armed demand of the Communist Party of China and the armed demands of the Northeastern Army under Chang Hsueh-liang and the Northwestern Army under Yang Hu-cheng. [5] The three large-scale anti-Communist campaigns and countless other provocations were not beaten back by unlimited concessions and submission by the Communist Party, they were beaten back by the Communist Party's persistence in a just, stern attitude of self-defence - "We will not attack unless we are attacked; if we are attacked, we will certainly counter-attack." [6] If the Communist Party had been utterly powerless and spineless and had not fought to the finish for the interests of the nation and the people, how could the ten-year civil war have been ended? How could the War of Resistance Against Japan have started? And even though started, how could it have been carried on resolutely until victory today? How else could Chiang Kai-shek and his ilk be alive now, issuing orders and making statements from a mountain retreat so far from the front lines? The Communist Party of China is firmly opposed to civil war. The Soviet Union, the United States and Britain declared in the Crimea, "establish conditions of internal peace" and "form interim governmental authorities broadly representative of all democratic elements in the population and pledged to the earliest possible establishment through free elections of governments responsive to the will of the people".[7] That is exactly what the Communist Party of China has persistently advocated - the formation of a "coalition government". The carrying out of this proposal can prevent civil war. But there is one precondition - strength. If people unite and increase their strength, civil war can be prevented. NOTES 1. See "A Comment on the Eleventh Plenary Session of the Kuomintang's Central Executive Committee and the Second Session of the Third People's Political Council", Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung,Vol. III. 2. The Three People's Principles were the principles and programmes put forward by Sun Yat-sen on the questions of nationalism, democracy and people's livelihood in the bourgeois democratic revolution in China. In 1924, in the Manifesto of the First National Congress of the Kuomintang, a congress characterized by co-operation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, Sun Yat-sen restated the Three People's Principles, interpreted nationalism as opposition to imperialism and expressed active support for the movements of the workers and peasants. The old Three People's Principles thus developed into the new Three People's Principles with the Three Great Policies, that is, alliance with the Soviet Union, alliance with the Communist Party and assistance to the peasants and workers. The new Three People's Principles provided the political basis for the co-operation between the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang during the First Revolutionary Civil War period
3.This refers to the attack in July 1945 by Kuomintang troops on Chunhua,Hsunyi and Yaohsien in the Kuanchung sub-region of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia Border Region.See "The Situation and Our Policy After the Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan",Note 12,p.24 of this volume. 4.The "League for Banning Civil War"was formed in Shanghai in August 1932 with a mainly bourgeois membership.It issued a declaration calling for"ending the civil war and uniting to resist foreign aggression". 5.In 1936 the Kuomintang's Northeastern Army headed by Chang Hsueh-liang and the Kuomintang's Northwestern Army headed by Yang Hu-cheng were stationed in and around Sian; they were charged with the task of attacking the Chinese Red Army which had arrived in northern Shensi.Influenced by the Chinese Red Army and the people's anti-Japanese movement,they agreed to the Anti-Japanese National United Front put forward by the Communist Party of China and demanded that Chiang Kai-shek unite with the Communist Party to resist Japan.Chiang Kai-shek turned down the demand,became even more active in his military preparations for the "suppression of the Communists"and massacred the anti-Japanese youth of Sian.Chang Hsueh-liang and Yang Hu-cheng took joint action and arrested Chiang Kai-shek.This was the famous Sian Incident of December 12,1936.Chiang Kai-shek was forced to accept the terms of unity with the Communist Party and resistance to Japan and was then set free to return to Nanking. 6.See "Talk with the Correspondents of the Central News Agency,the Sao Tang Paoand the Hsin Min Pao",Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung.Vol.II. 7.From the communique of the Crimea(Yalta)conference of the Soviet Union,the United States of America and the United Kingdom,February 11,1945. Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE KUOMINTANG-CIRCULAR OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA
3. This refers to the attack in July 1945 by Kuomintang troops on Chunhua, Hsunyi and Yaohsien in the Kuanchung sub-region of the Shensi-Kansu-Ningsia Border Region. See "The Situation and Our Policy After the Victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan", Note 12, p. 24 of this volume. 4. The "League for Banning Civil War" was formed in Shanghai in August 1932 with a mainly bourgeois membership. It issued a declaration calling for "ending the civil war and uniting to resist foreign aggression". 5. In 1936 the Kuomintang's Northeastern Army headed by Chang Hsueh-liang and the Kuomintang's Northwestern Army headed by Yang Hu-cheng were stationed in and around Sian; they were charged with the task of attacking the Chinese Red Army which had arrived in northern Shensi. Influenced by the Chinese Red Army and the people's anti-Japanese movement, they agreed to the Anti-Japanese National United Front put forward by the Communist Party of China and demanded that Chiang Kai-shek unite with the Communist Party to resist Japan. Chiang Kai-shek turned down the demand, became even more active in his military preparations for the "suppression of the Communists" and massacred the anti-Japanese youth of Sian. Chang Hsueh-liang and Yang Hu-cheng took joint action and arrested Chiang Kai-shek. This was the famous Sian Incident of December 12, 1936. Chiang Kai-shek was forced to accept the terms of unity with the Communist Party and resistance to Japan and was then set free to return to Nanking. 6. See "Talk with the Correspondents of the Central News Agency, the Sao Tang Paoand the Hsin Min Pao", Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung,Vol. II. 7. From the communiqué of the Crimea (Yalta) conference of the Soviet Union, the United States of America and the United Kingdom, February 11, 1945. Transcription by the Maoist Documentation Project. HTML revised 2004 by Marxists.org Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung ON PEACE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE KUOMINTANG - CIRCULAR OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF CHINA
Augs1261945 [This inner-Party circular was drafted by Comrade Mao Tse-tung for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China two days before he went to Chungking for peace negotiations with Chiang Kai-shek.Because the Chinese Communist Party and the broad masses of the Chinese people firmly opposed Chiang Kai-shek's civil war plot and because U.S.imperialism still had to pay some heed to world-wide democratic public opinion,which unanimously condemned his policy of civil war and dictatorship,Chiang sent three telegrams to Comrade Mao Tse-tung on August 14,20 and 23,1945,inviting him to Chungking for peace negotiations,and for the same purpose Patrick J.Hurley,then U.S.ambassador to China,came to Yenan on August 27.The Communist Party of China decided to send Comrades Mao Tse-tung,Chou En-lai and Wang Jo-fei to Chungking for peace negotiations with the Kuomintang in order to make every possible effort for peace and also,in the process of struggling for peace,to show U.S.imperialism and Chiang Kai- shek in their true colours and so help unite and educate the masses of the people.This circular drafted by Comrade Mao Tse-tung analysed developments in China during the fortnight after Japan announced her surrender.It set forth the policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the peace negotiations,certain concessions the Party was prepared to make in the negotiations and policies for coping with the two possible outcomes of the negotiations.It contained directives concerning the principles to be followed in the struggles in the Liberated Areas of northern and eastern China and of central and southern China respectively.And it warned the whole Party that it must absolutely not relax its vigilance or its struggle against Chiang Kai-shek because negotiations were to take place.Comrade Mao Tse-tung and his colleagues arrived in Chungking on August 28 and held negotiations with the Kuomintang for forty-three days.Although the negotiations resulted only in the publication of the "Summary of Conversations Between the Representatives of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China"(also known as the "October 10th Agreement"),they were nevertheless successful in that politically they enabled the Chinese Communist Party to gain the initiative to a great extent and put the Kuomintang in a passive position.Comrade Mao Tse-tung returned to Yenan on October 11.Comrades Chou En-lai and Wang Jo-fei remained in Chungking to continue the negotiations.For the results see "On the Chungking Negotiations",the next article in this volume.] The speedy surrender of the Japanese invaders has changed the whole situation.Chiang Kai-shek has monopolized the right to accept the surrender,and for the time being(for a stage)the big cities and important lines of communication will not be in our hands.Nevertheless,in northern China we should still fight hard,fight with all our might to take all we can.In the past two weeks our army has recovered fifty-nine cities of various sizes and vast rural areas,and including those already in our hands we now control 175 cities,thus winning a great victory.In northern China,we have recovered Weihaiwei,Yentai,Lungkou.Itu.Tsechuan.Yangliuching.Pikechi.Po-ai,Changchiakou. Chining and Fengchen.The might of our army has shaken northern China and,together with the sweeping advance of the Soviet and Mongolian forces to the Great Wall,has created a favourable position for our Party.In the coming period we should continue the offensive and do our best to capture the Peiping-Suiyuan Railway,the northern section of the Tatung-Puchow Railway and the Chengting-Taiyuan,Tehchow-Shihchiachuang,Paikuei-Chincheng and Taokou-Chinghua
August 26, 1945 [This inner-Party circular was drafted by Comrade Mao Tse-tung for the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China two days before he went to Chungking for peace negotiations with Chiang Kai-shek. Because the Chinese Communist Party and the broad masses of the Chinese people firmly opposed Chiang Kai-shek's civil war plot and because U.S. imperialism still had to pay some heed to world-wide democratic public opinion, which unanimously condemned his policy of civil war and dictatorship, Chiang sent three telegrams to Comrade Mao Tse-tung on August 14, 20 and 23, 1945, inviting him to Chungking for peace negotiations, and for the same purpose Patrick J. Hurley, then U.S. ambassador to China, came to Yenan on August 27. The Communist Party of China decided to send Comrades Mao Tse-tung, Chou En-lai and Wang Jo-fei to Chungking for peace negotiations with the Kuomintang in order to make every possible effort for peace and also, in the process of struggling for peace, to show U.S. imperialism and Chiang Kaishek in their true colours and so help unite and educate the masses of the people. This circular drafted by Comrade Mao Tse-tung analysed developments in China during the fortnight after Japan announced her surrender. It set forth the policy of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the peace negotiations, certain concessions the Party was prepared to make in the negotiations and policies for coping with the two possible outcomes of the negotiations. It contained directives concerning the principles to be followed in the struggles in the Liberated Areas of northern and eastern China and of central and southern China respectively. And it warned the whole Party that it must absolutely not relax its vigilance or its struggle against Chiang Kai-shek because negotiations were to take place. Comrade Mao Tse-tung and his colleagues arrived in Chungking on August 28 and held negotiations with the Kuomintang for forty-three days. Although the negotiations resulted only in the publication of the "Summary of Conversations Between the Representatives of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China" (also known as the "October 10th Agreement"), they were nevertheless successful in that politically they enabled the Chinese Communist Party to gain the initiative to a great extent and put the Kuomintang in a passive position. Comrade Mao Tse-tung returned to Yenan on October 11. Comrades Chou En-lai and Wang Jo-fei remained in Chungking to continue the negotiations. For the results see "On the Chungking Negotiations", the next article in this volume.] The speedy surrender of the Japanese invaders has changed the whole situation. Chiang Kai-shek has monopolized the right to accept the surrender, and for the time being (for a stage) the big cities and important lines of communication will not be in our hands. Nevertheless, in northern China we should still fight hard, fight with all our might to take all we can. In the past two weeks our army has recovered fifty-nine cities of various sizes and vast rural areas, and including those already in our hands we now control 175 cities, thus winning a great victory. In northern China, we have recovered Weihaiwei, Yentai, Lungkou, Itu, Tsechuan, Yangliuching, Pikechi, Po-ai, Changchiakou, Chining and Fengchen. The might of our army has shaken northern China and, together with the sweeping advance of the Soviet and Mongolian forces to the Great Wall, has created a favourable position for our Party. In the coming period we should continue the offensive and do our best to capture the Peiping-Suiyuan Railway, the northern section of the Tatung-Puchow Railway and the Chengting-Taiyuan, Tehchow-Shihchiachuang, Paikuei-Chincheng and Taokou-Chinghua