Chapter 50 Letter to Wang Shijie and Zhang Zhizhong[2] drafted for Lin Boqu[1]

(September 27, 1944) Lessons learned from Mr. Snow Boat and Wenbai: The letter from the two gentlemen on September 10, as well as the report on the progress of the negotiations between the two parties at the political participation meeting[3], and Chairman Jiang's statement on this issue at the political participation meeting have all been reported to the Central Committee of our party.I will repeat the following points and inform the two gentlemen, and please convey them to Chairman Jiang of the Nationalist Government and the Central Committee of your party. (1) We are gratified that Chairman Jiang stated at the political participation meeting that he would continue to use political means to solve the problem.Because some powerful people in the country have not relaxed their preparations for the civil war, the crisis of civil war still exists.And the closer it is to the counteroffensive, the more serious the crisis will be.According to their plan, the counter-offensive and the anti-communism were combined to achieve their so-called goal of killing two birds with one stone.However, Chairman Jiang made such a statement at the political participation meeting, which is enough to reassure us and the people of our country for the time being.We welcome the Yan'an inspection team organized by the Political Council.For the two gentlemen's trip to Yan'an, I still look forward to their orders.As for the two gentlemen asking whether they can send responsible representatives back to Chongqing together, it depends on the outcome of the Yan'an negotiations.But what can be confirmed is that as long as the Nationalist Government and the Kuomintang do not refuse to continue negotiations and can guarantee freedom of movement (so far there is no such freedom), even if no one comes out immediately, someone will come out soon.Although Comrades Zhou Enlai and Dong Biwu[4] have been in Chongqing for many years, Mr. Lin Biao[5] came to Chongqing the year before last, and Zu Han came to Chongqing this time in May, and none of them has achieved a negotiation result; but as long as there is still a glimmer of hope, we will always Someone came to negotiate.

(2) In view of the critical situation of the current war of resistance, and the general situation in the country is far from being on a track suitable for the needs of the war of resistance, there are serious crises everywhere in the military, economic, cultural, and political aspects, and the relationship between the government and the people , between the army and the people, between officers and soldiers, between officers and officers, and between the army and the army. Feeling that there is no way out, under such circumstances, the morale of the army is shaken and the hearts of the people are divorced, so that it is impossible to stop the enemy's attack and cannot cooperate with the counterattack of the allies.The most fundamental reason for these serious crises is the complete absence of democracy under the one-party dictatorship.Therefore, it was impossible to gain the trust of the people, to mobilize and unite the national anti-Japanese forces, to consolidate the morale of the army and the people, and to make political, military, economic, and cultural facilities meet the needs of the anti-Japanese war, democracy and unity.The only way to save the current situation is to ask the Nationalist Government and the Kuomintang to immediately end the situation of one-party dictatorship, and the current Nationalist Government immediately summon representatives of all anti-Japanese parties, anti-Japanese troops, local governments, and various mass organizations across the country to hold an emergency call. The country is a conference, and a coalition government of all parties is established, and this government announces and implements new policies on the complete reform of the military, politics, economy, and culture.Only such a new government, but by no means a so-called new government that does not treat guests, does not change the essence of one-party dictatorship, and does not change policies, can change the eyes and ears of the world, implement Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary Three People's Principles, and ensure that the people have a full The right to democracy and freedom can only issue military orders and democratic government orders to actively resist the war and gain the trust of the people, and mobilize the people of the whole country to strengthen the resistance to the war, stop the enemy's attack and carry out our counter-offensive, and only then can we implement a truly democratic policy by the people. An elected National Assembly and a democratically elected government.With such a new government, national unity is possible.If the situation of one-party dictatorship remains unchanged, it will be impossible to gain the trust of the people, and all kinds of crises will only increase.Our proposal really represents the request of the people of the whole country, and many people in your party share the same aspirations.This suggestion was formally proposed by Zu Han in the political participation meeting, and Zite reiterated his intention.The previous conversations and letters between the two gentlemen were all perfunctory words about the implementation of democracy, which made people feel no sincerity.That is to say, the letter of September 10 is still the same.If this plan is not resolved, even if the negotiations between the two parties can resolve some minor issues, as for the major issues related to the country and the nation, they will definitely not be completely resolved.

(3) In the letter of September 10th, the two gentlemen included a reproach of "requests are increasing with the times", which cannot but be corrected.The four items proposed by Master Lin Biao[6] were rejected by the government a year and a half ago, and Master Lin went back and forth in vain.In May, Zu Han talked with the two gentlemen in Xi'an, and agreed to report to the central government for instructions. Neither Zu Han nor the two gentlemen had the right to make the final decision, so only June 4th (on June 5th, Zu Han met in person) The official 12 articles proposed by the Central Committee of our Party and the eight verbal articles [7] proposed by Zu Han entrusted by the two gentlemen are the opinions of the Central Committee of our Party.Moreover, as discussed in Xi’an, it was originally agreed that both parties would sign and report to the central authorities of both parties, but after Zu Han signed it, the two gentlemen refused to sign, so it should not be established. An unfriendly attitude; to be more correct, it is called pointless artifice, which will only affect the solution of the problem.As for the four characters "Hua Zhong Nan", it was obvious that the telegram was lost, and after correction, it was added immediately.The people's anti-Japanese regime in the vast liberated areas of central and southern China has existed for many years. Is there any reason why the government should not recognize it?

(4) Taking a look at the letter of September 10, Mr. Liang, it is still the same as the government's reminder [8] and Mr. Liang's previous letter. It does not proceed from the interests of the War of Resistance, so it is always far-fetched and fruitless.In addition to the above-mentioned implementation of democracy, which is a major issue related to the rise and fall of the country, the same is true for the military and political issues in the vast Chinese Liberated Areas that require the national government to recognize it.Now let me once again tell the two gentlemen that the army and political power in the Liberated Areas behind the enemy must be recognized by the Nationalist Government, and will definitely "increase with time".This is because the war situation in the entire enemy's rear battlefield is exactly the opposite of the frontal battlefield. On the front, we are retreating steadily, while in the enemy's rear, we are winning successively.The Eighteenth Group Army, the New Fourth Army, and the South China Anti-Japanese Column are developing day by day, and the recovered land, liberated people, and democratically elected governments are also increasing day by day. Don’t the Nationalist Government and the Kuomintang like these things? Doesn’t Chairman Jiang also like them? Don’t you like it? Not necessarily! Regardless of whether the Nationalist Government and the Kuomintang admit it or not, the vicious Japanese bandits will always fight, and they will fight as far as the Yalu River to recover all the land.The reason why we ask for recognition is to demand unification, and to demand that the Kuomintang, the Communist Party, and all the anti-Japanese forces in the country be united and united on a democratic basis, not on a dictatorial basis, so that we can cooperate with the allies to defeat the Japanese bandits as soon as possible.If you insist on non-recognition of doctrine, or less recognition of doctrine, Zu Han thinks it is inappropriate.Why do you not want the military power that won the battle, but you want the military power that was defeated? Why do you not want the recovered land, and you blame it, but you don’t feel sorry for losing such a vast land from Zhengzhou to Guilin in a few months. Don’t blame me? I would like to tell the two gentlemen now, and please tell the Nationalist Government and Chairman Jiang that you will never hate us Communists for asking you to recognize the victorious army and the recovered land, because this kind of disgust is very serious. not in the interest of the nation.To be frank, I beg for forgiveness!

Lin Zuhan Printed from originals kept at the Central Archives. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] Lin Boqu, named Zuhan, was a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and chairman of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Government at that time.During the Anti-Japanese War, he served as the negotiating representative of the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang. At this time, he was negotiating in Chongqing. [2] Wang Shijie, styled Xueboat; Zhang Zhizhong, styled Wenbai.See Note [3] on page 134 of this volume.

[3] The Political Council, referring to the National Political Council, is the highest advisory body established by the Kuomintang Provisional National Congress on March 31, 1938.The senators are appointed by the Kuomintang government, and the Kuomintang members make up the majority.The members of the Communist Party of China are Mao Zedong, Qin Bangxian, Chen Shaoyu, Dong Biwu, Lin Boqu, Wu Yuzhang and Deng Yingchao.With the development of the Kuomintang's passive anti-Japanese and active anti-communist policies, the National Political Council became more and more the official tool of the Kuomintang government.It was revoked after the Third Congress of the Fourth Session was held in May 1947.

[4] Dong Biwu, then deputy secretary of the Southern Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, head of the Propaganda Department, and head of the United Front Work Department. [5] Lin Biao, then commander of the 115th Division of the Eighth Route Army, was appointed by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China to negotiate with representatives of the Kuomintang in Chongqing from October 1942 to June 1943. [6] See note [4] on page 135 of this volume. [7] On May 22, 1944, Lin Boqu, a representative of the Communist Party of China, sent in written form the 20 opinions put forward by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on solving some urgent problems at present to Wang Shijie, Zhang Zhizhong, and Wang Shijie and Zhang Zhizhong, both of whom were representatives of the Kuomintang. The ten articles written in this way are tantamount to exposing the government's crimes as an excuse to refuse to accept and forward them to the Kuomintang government.On May 31, Mao Zedong called Lin Boqu to revise the 20 Articles proposed by the CCP, saying: "In order to respect the opinions of Zhang and Wang, to facilitate negotiations, and to show our sincerity in wanting to solve the problem, the content of the document is hereby revised. Please Submit it again to Zhang and Wang." "The twenty articles are all facts, and it is extremely necessary to ask the government to resolve them. In order to respect their opinions, they have been changed to twelve articles, and the remaining eight articles are oral requests, and the government is still requested to consider and resolve them." Amended The twelve articles are the three articles in the original twenty articles on national politics, the first to seventh articles, and the tenth and thirteenth articles on the outstanding cases of the two parties.The other eight of the original twenty opinions were put forward as oral requests.Twenty articles, see pages 131-134 of this volume.

[8] See note [7] on page 135 of this volume.