Chapter 83 The Sino-Japanese Issue and the Xi'an Incident

— Conversation with Smedley[1] (March 1, 1937) Smedley asked: Has the Communist Party’s current united front policy basically changed from what you talked about with Reporter Snow last fall? Mao Zedong: Basically speaking, nothing has changed.This manifests itself in the following points: 1. Our united front is against Japan.Therefore, it is not against all imperialism, but against Japanese imperialism, because Japanese imperialism is aggressing China.But we ask Britain, the United States, France, the Soviet Union and other countries to sympathize with China's anti-Japanese movement, or at least not to oppose it; on this basis, we are willing to establish friendly relations with these countries.

Second, our united front is national.That is to say, it includes all political parties and all classes in the whole nation, except traitors.Some people say that the Communist Party advocates the People's Front, which is wrong.The Communist Party advocates the National Front, which is much broader than the Popular Front in France or Spain. 3. Therefore, the main political program of the national anti-Japanese front should include the following items: (1) Peaceful reunification of the country; (2) War of Resistance against Japan; (3) People's democracy and freedom; (4) Transform the Nanjing government into a real national defense government, accommodate all parties and factions, and remove the pro-Japanese faction;

(5) The national system is changed to a democratic republic based on a parliamentary system of universal suffrage; (6) Improving people's lives; (7) Development of industry and commerce; (8) Unite with countries that sympathize with China's resistance to Japan. Question: To what extent are you prepared to sacrifice in order to complete the Anti-Japanese National United Front? A: It depends on the historical situation.Beginning in the summer of 1927, the Kuomintang abandoned the united front of the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, abandoned Dr. Sun Yat-sen's policy of alliance with Russia, the Communist Party, and agriculture and industry, and the political program of national independence, democracy and freedom, and moved in the opposite direction.This makes us have to shoulder the responsibility of the Chinese revolution alone, and implement the policies of the Soviet regime and the agrarian revolution, and stand in opposition to the Kuomintang.The policy we adopted at that time to oppose the Kuomintang was completely correct and necessary.However, after the September 18th Incident, the Communist Party issued a manifesto[2]: demanding the cessation of the civil war, and willing to conclude an agreement with the Kuomintang on three conditions for domestic peace and resistance to Japan.But at that time only the Nineteenth Route Army agreed with our proposition, while the Nanjing side completely disagreed and launched a large-scale "encirclement and suppression".When the North China issue[3] broke out and the national crisis was approaching an extremely serious moment, we issued a further declaration on August 1, 1935, organizing an anti-Japanese coalition army and a national defense government[4].In December of the same year, the party's resolution on the establishment of the anti-Japanese national united front was issued [5], and a specific program for the united front was proposed.After the announcement of this new policy, it was immediately approved by the general public, and many patriotic elements in the Kuomintang also agreed with this policy.This is because a bigger enemy stands before us, and only by stopping the civil war can we resist Japanese aggression, and this has opened up a new stage in Chinese politics.But the Kuomintang is not yet willing to abandon its old policies.In August of last year, we wrote another long letter to the Kuomintang[6], insisting that the target of hostility should be shifted from the country to the Japanese aggressors, that Sun Yat-sen's three major policies should be restored, and that the country should be changed into a democratic republic. Convene a universally elected Congress and ask them to repent of the past and reform with the people.We declare: the Soviet area is willing to implement the same democratic system as the whole country.The letter received broad sympathy from among the Kuomintang.However, the Central Committee of the Kuomintang did not answer us.When the Xi'an Incident broke out, the country was in great danger. The danger was that Japan would inevitably take the opportunity to attack. It was a blessing from heaven that it was resolved peacefully.In order to consolidate domestic peace and achieve rapid resistance to Japan, we sent an important telegram to the Kuomintang on February 10, the eve of the Third Plenary Session of the Kuomintang Central Committee[7], in which we stated the following points:

1. The Soviet government was changed to the Government of the Special Administrative Region of the Republic of China, and the Red Army was changed to the National Revolutionary Army, under the guidance of the Nanjing Government and the Military Commission; 2. Implement a thorough democratic system within the territory of the SAR government; 3. Stop the policy of overthrowing the national government nationwide (this policy was implemented last year, so I will repeat it now); 4. Stop the policy of confiscating land from landlords. These new expressions are entirely aimed at dispelling doubts from all walks of life, canceling the state of confrontation, and establishing an anti-Japanese national united front with the Kuomintang.As for the Kuomintang, they are required to fundamentally change their past policies and implement programs such as foreign resistance, internal democracy, and improvement of people's lives.

QUESTION: How are you going to implement your principles of the united front here and in other regions, for example, with respect to merchants, intellectuals, landowners, peasants, workers, the army, etc.? Answer: There is no difference between the past and the present in relation to merchants.We have always advocated the development of national industry and commerce, and wherever the Red Army went, they always protected businessmen.Recently in the Xi'an and Sanyuan areas, the Red Army not only protected the merchants, but did not even confiscate the land of the landlords. This has won praise from all walks of life. This is a well-known fact.As for the Soviet area, business is completely free.

Regarding the relationship with intellectuals, there has been a consistent protection policy in the past and now, giving preferential treatment to technical personnel, cultural personnel and artists, and adopting a respectful attitude towards them. As for landlords, as long as they do not oppose the anti-Japanese and national salvation policy, their land will not be confiscated, but the lives of farmers must be improved. As for the workers, they consider the situation and implement various measures to improve their treatment. Regarding the attitude of the Kuomintang army, any Chinese army, especially the Huangpu Army with a glorious history, should closely unite under the national front, fight against Japan in unison, and keep their guns out, so as not to cause civil war.Although the Red Army and the Kuomintang army have fought for ten years, we will never forget the old grudges. We are willing to walk hand in hand with them and fight together to defend the motherland under a unified command. We believe that they must have the same heart as us.

We are willing to discuss the above-mentioned policies with the Kuomintang and people from all walks of life to reach a consensus, and to attach them to the main provisions of the anti-Japanese policy, national system, etc., and put them into the program of the National Front, so that they can be implemented nationwide. implemented within. Question: Does the new United Front policy mean that Chinese Communists have turned into nationalists in order to build a national front, abandon class struggle? Answer: As mentioned above, the purpose of the various specific policies decided by the Communist Party is to truly resist Japan and defend China. Therefore, it is necessary to achieve domestic peace and cancel the confrontation between the two regimes. Otherwise, the War of Resistance against Japan will be impossible. of.This is called subordinating the interests of the part to the interests of the whole, and subordinating the interests of the class to the interests of the nation.Any political party and individual in the country should understand this righteousness.Communists will never bind their viewpoints to the interests of a class and the moment, but are very enthusiastic about the interests of the whole nation and their permanent interests.On the issue of class struggle, we advocate efforts from the following two aspects to properly resolve this issue:

First, landlords and capitalists are rich and powerful. First of all, they should respect the interests of the nation and try their best to improve the life and treatment of workers and peasants.Because if the landlords and capitalists continue to implement all kinds of inhumane oppression and exploitation of the workers and peasants, and only care about the interests of a part of them, the workers and peasants will not be able to survive, let alone resist Japan, the country will perish, and the landlords and capitalists will become subjugated slaves.Therefore, landlords and capitalists with a little conscience should arouse their patriotism, and in order to resist Japan and save the country, they should agree to improve the economic and political life of workers and peasants.We must not only allow ourselves to have food to eat, but the workers and peasants will have no food to eat; we have political freedom, but the workers and peasants will not have freedom.I think that unless the running dogs of Japan are the traitors, they would ignore the overall situation and the interests of the nation, and would try their best to oppress and exploit the workers and peasants at this critical moment of national subjugation and genocide.On behalf of the workers and peasants of the whole country, we have made this request to the Kuomintang. The Kuomintang should give a satisfactory answer to this for the sake of the overall situation and the interests of the nation.

Second, as far as the poor workers and peasants are concerned, they have no money or power, but they are the foundation of the country and the largest class.At this moment of national subjugation and genocide, their most important task is also to resist Japan and defend China, and they will be the main force in resisting Japan and saving the country, and it is impossible to resist Japan and save the country without them.After they have improved their economic and political life, their dissatisfaction with the landlord capitalists and the Kuomintang can also be reduced.But workers and peasants should also take into account the overall situation and national interests. Therefore, we also do not advocate making any demands that are not suitable for resisting Japan and saving the nation.It is for this reason that the Communist Party advocates improving people's lives and stops confiscating land.

There is no question that the policies proposed by the Chinese Communist Party are patriotic in nature.Some people say: The Communist Party is an internationalist, they don't care about national interests, and they don't want to defend the motherland.These are extremely silly words.The Chinese communists are internationalists, they advocate the World Harmony Movement; but at the same time, they are patriots who defend the motherland. In order to defend the motherland, they are willing to resist Japan to the last drop of blood.The struggle for national liberation led by the Communist Party for the past 15 years is a well-known fact.This kind of patriotism does not conflict with internationalism, because only when China is independent and liberated can it be possible to participate in the Datong movement in the world.

Question: If a Chinese National Front government is established, what are the terms of peace for Japan? Should there still be negotiations between China and Japan? Answer: If Japan is willing to make peace, we will not refuse to negotiate.Our terms of peace are the following: First, Japan cancels its aggressive policy towards China, that is, cancels its so-called Continental Policy[8] and the Hirota Three Principles[9], respects China's independence, and puts the two countries on a completely equal footing; Second, return the four northeastern provinces and the northern part of Chahar[10], abolish the "Manchukuo"[11], and cancel the Yin Rugeng and Jidong government[12]; Third, withdraw the troops stationed in North China; Fourth, stop the free flight of Japanese aircraft in China; Fifth, abolish the Japanese detective organizations in various parts of China, the so-called secret agencies; Sixth, to prohibit the violent and unreasonable attitude of the Japanese in China towards the Chinese; Seventh, smuggling is prohibited. Peace negotiations should only take place under the principle that Japan agrees to negotiate these terms.We must oppose all negotiations that sacrifice China's territorial sovereignty.But you have to know that it is possible to negotiate on these conditions only when the Japanese People's Government is established.Japan is now a warlord government, and this possibility does not exist. Question: Has war against Japan become inevitable? Answer: Unavoidable.Until the Japanese people overthrow the Japanese warlord government, Japan's aggressive policy will not stop, so war is inevitable.After the German-Japanese agreement[13] the threat of war intensified a step further. Q: The Japanese claim that the cooperation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China hinders peace in the Far East. How do you answer this theory? Answer: The so-called "Peace in the Far East" of the Japanese warlords means that Japan should occupy China, but China should not resist, let it occupy, and countries that have relations with China, such as Britain, the United States, France, and the Soviet Union, should not oppose it.This is the "country of perish without war" and the so-called "Peace in the Far East" that the Japanese warlords need.But there is another kind of peace in the Far East, which is to implement the method I mentioned above. Japan cancels its policy of aggression, returns the four northeastern provinces, withdraws its garrison troops, etc., so that the Chinese people can live in peace and the countries of the world can do business with China peacefully. It is another kind of peace in the Far East.But only this kind of peace is real peace. This is what the Chinese people need, what all peaceful countries in the world need, and what the Japanese people need.The only ones that do not need this kind of peace are the Japanese warlords and their aggressive allies, the two fascist countries of Germany and Italy.Therefore, we can say this: We are against "Peace in the Far East", which is the former kind of "peace"; we are in favor of peace in the Far East, which is to say the latter kind of peace.We advocate replacing the former "peace" with the latter peace.Because the so-called "peace" spoken by the Japanese warlords is just another name for war, it is just another name for making Chinese people slaves, it is just another name for making peaceful countries in the world feel threatened, and it is only another name for causing great harm to the Japanese people.This kind of "peace", in my opinion, should be "impeded" a bit. Question: Is there any contradiction between the Sino-Japanese War and world peace? Can a basis for reconciliation be found? Answer: Of course there is a contradiction between the Sino-Japanese War and world peace.Most countries and people in the world want peace, but the Japanese warlords want war.This contradiction cannot be reconciled according to Japan's policy.There is only one way to resolve this contradiction, that is, on the one hand, all peaceful countries in the world join China in opposing Japan's aggressive policy and force the Japanese warlords to submit to the world's public opinion; on the other hand, if war cannot be avoided, China should resolutely resist the war.Only these methods are compatible with world peace.The basis for peaceful reconciliation with the world can only be established on the policy of sanctioning and resisting aggressors. QUESTION: Do you think peace treaties like the Nine Powers Pact, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, and the League of Nations Pact[14] will stop Japan from fighting against China? What do you think these treaties will do in the Sino-Japanese War? function, what is the meaning? Answer: From today's point of view, these treaties do express a desire for peace. Therefore, the aggressor countries have expressed their firm opposition.However, these treaties are only a moral sanction force for an aggressive country like Japan, and it is impossible to prevent Japan from fighting against China.These treaties will never play much role in the Sino-Japanese War, so they will not have much practical political significance.To prevent Japan from fighting against China, there must be a new treaty, and this kind of treaty should include the specific matters of using force to deal with Japan's aggression and atrocities, such as the conclusion of the Pacific Collective Security Treaty.Only such a treaty can really prevent wars and, when wars break out, bring them to a swift end. Question: After the formation of the United Front government, will China be able to fight against Japan immediately? Or will it take a considerable period of preparation? A: It depends on the situation in Japan.When Japan attacks China, no matter when it attacks, China should stand up a war of resistance.But we do not advocate provoking Japan, our policy is a war of self-defense.Therefore, we should promptly and practically make preparations in all aspects so that China can cope with events at any time.We are not against preparations, but we are against so-called "long-term preparations" and against making compromises in the name of preparations. Question: Without international help, would the existing resources and financial resources of the Chinese people be sufficient to launch a victorious War of Resistance against Japan? Can China support the financial and economic burden of the war? Answer: Without friendly forces, China must resist the war, and with China's resources and natural conditions, it can support long-term operations.The ten-year combat history of the Red Army is living evidence.But we are looking for allies, and this is because Japan has her bandit ally, and China must not be isolated.Therefore, we advocate that China, Britain, the United States, France, and the Soviet Union should establish a Pacific United Front.This kind of united front is to aid China, and at the same time, it is also a mutual aid for all countries.Because Japan's aggression is not only a catastrophe for China, but also a catastrophe for the world, just like Germany is a catastrophe for the world.What's more, the two aggressor countries have now united.I thought that China, Britain, the United States, France, and the Soviet Union should unite as soon as possible, otherwise they might be defeated by the enemy one by one. Question: Under the current situation—the alliance between Japan, Germany and Italy, how will such a war affect Japan’s economy, finances, trade, etc.? Can Japan survive this war with the help of these two countries? ? Answer: Japan's aggression against China is of no benefit to the Japanese people at all.The final result of Japan's war against China will not be Japan's victory, but the collapse of Japan's finances, economy, and political power.Not only the Japanese people know this, but even the far-sighted people in the Japanese bourgeoisie know this, but the Japanese warlords do not know it anyway.The Japanese warlords have combined a world-wide aggressive alliance, hoping to get help and support from Germany and Italy.Not only do they hope to use this method to survive the war of aggression against China, but they are preparing to use this method to take over the whole world.Their dreams are certainly perfect, but in my opinion their results will not be so perfect.The Chinese should have the self-confidence to defeat Japan. Question: Why does the Communist Party advocate a peaceful solution to the Xi'an Incident? If anything happens to you, I would like an explanation. Answer: I am not surprised, I really noticed it, but everyone did not contact the political views of the Communist Party in the past.Since the beginning of the Japanese invasion, we have been willing to stop the civil war, because only domestic peace can resist the Japanese war.The declaration of the anti-Japanese agreement with the Kuomintang army under three conditions four years ago, the August 1 declaration of the year before last, and the letter to the Kuomintang last year all expressed our sincere desire to establish a new united front with the Kuomintang.During the Xi'an Incident, some people in the country tried their best to provoke civil war, and the danger of civil war was very serious.If Zhang Hanqing[15] hadn't sent Mr. Chiang Kai-shek back to Beijing on December 25, and if Mr. Chiang Kai-shek's method of dealing with the aftermath of the Xi'an Incident had not been followed, a peaceful settlement would have been impossible.A series of wars and disasters, no one knows how far it will go, will definitely give Japan the best chance to invade. China may be subjugated, or at least it will be greatly damaged.During the Xi'an Incident, the Japanese warlords and some Chinese in Nanjing, Shanghai, Ping'an, and Tianjin all said that the Xi'an Incident was a conspiracy by the Communist Party.This statement is completely untrue.The Xi'an Incident occurred within the Kuomintang due to differences in political views on the issue of anti-Japanese war and domestic reform. It was a completely sudden incident, and we didn't know it beforehand.After the incident, Ningshan confronted each other, so some people said: The Communist Party wants to turn Xi'an into Madrid[16], which is completely untrue.The political environment in China and Spain is fundamentally different. In Spain there must be a civil war, but in China today the only thing is the foreign war of resistance, and there must be peace at home.The fact that the Xi'an Incident was resolved peacefully has proved that what they said was pure speculation, and some of them were malicious rumors. Question: Many people not only say that the Xi’an Incident was caused by the Communist Party, but also that the red flag was hung high on the city wall, and that the Red Army captured young men and women in the Sanyuan area. What are the facts? Answer: About the things like planting the red flag in Xi'an, probably only the Japanese and the traitors saw it, but the people of Xi'an haven't seen it yet.The words about robbing young men and women must also come from the mouths of the Japanese and traitors, and this can only be understood by asking the young men and women in Sanyuan.In official documents, it is still said that the Red Army killed people and set fires, oppressed the people, and destroyed the countryside.They have been saying these things for ten years, but they are still not tired. They want to say it again. Although the speaker has the freedom to speak, all Chinese people also have the freedom to see the facts with their own eyes.Now the government has not made a law that prohibits the people from seeing the facts with their eyes. Anyone can go to the places where the Red Army walked or lived to see the real situation. I don't need to say more. Question: It is rumored that the current policy of the Communist Party is to surrender, surrender and repent to the Kuomintang.What is your opinion on this? A: I know that someone outside is saying that.However, it is worth noting that the Japanese are unwilling to say this. The Japanese only want the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to fight each other, and they absolutely do not approve of this policy of "surrender, surrender, and repentance." Although some people say it is "surrender, surrender and repentance", it actually dealt a serious blow to Japan's aggressive policy.There is one standard for observing China's problems, that is, the Japanese must oppose any revolutionary policy, and the Japanese must welcome any counter-revolutionary policy.To check whether any policy or action is correct, one only needs to look at the attitude of the Japanese.Now, just look at how the Japanese oppose the so-called policy of "surrender, surrender and repentance" to show how revolutionary our policy is.What the Communist Party asks of the Kuomintang is to ask them to end the old policy of the past ten years and change to a new policy of national revolution and democratic revolution.These requirements were reflected in the telegram sent by the Communist Party to the Third Plenum of the Kuomintang Central Committee, which was about convening a national salvation congress, people's democracy and freedom, improvement of people's lives, rapid preparations for the War of Resistance, and so on.Under such circumstances, the Communist Party is willing to change the names of the Soviets and the Red Army, cancel its confrontation with the Kuomintang, and stop confiscating land from landlords.There is no doubt that this step of the Communist Party is a big concession to the Kuomintang.But this kind of concession is necessary, because this kind of concession is based on a larger and more important principle, which is the necessity and urgency of resisting Japan and saving the nation.This is called both sides making concessions, uniting with each other, and fighting against Japan in unison.All the wise leaders and members of the Kuomintang understand this meaning.However, some people in China who carry the spirit of Ah Q proudly call our concessions "surrender, surrender, and repentance."Everyone knows that Lu Xun, who died not long ago, described a man named Ah Q in one of his novels[17]. This Ah Q, at any time, he is victorious, while others are defeated.Let them talk, there are many people like Ah Q in the world.In addition, there are some people who suffer from "Left" childishness, such people can be found everywhere. Sun Mingjiu who shot Wang Yizhe[18] is an extreme representative of this kind of people.They are patriotic out of enthusiasm, they are angry at the tragic history of losing power and land, and their hearts are pure.But they lack political experience, can't recognize the direction in major events, and don't know the difference and connection between part and whole, past and present, today and tomorrow.They opposed Mr. Jiang's return to Beijing at first, and later opposed a peaceful settlement.In Xi'an, there are some people who not only do not understand the Communist Party, but also do not understand Zhang Yang[19] and other peace leaders.They don't understand that although the Kuomintang is progressing very slowly, there is a future for a united resistance to Japan.The anti-Japanese sentiment in the Chinese National Revolutionary Army of the Kuomintang is growing day by day, and most of the leaders and party members are able to join us and the people in the cause of resisting Japan and saving the nation.It is true that the transformation of the Kuomintang policy has not been satisfactory so far, but it has already begun its transformation, and the resolution of the Third Plenary Session can be regarded as evidence of this beginning of transformation.They did not know how to distinguish the patriotic elements in the majority of the Kuomintang and those who might become patriotic from those who actually betrayed the country, the so-called pro-Japanese factions. They confused the two into one.They also don't know that the responsibility of all advanced elements in the country lies in persuading people who have not yet understood our views to understand them so that they can fight the enemy together.Patience is required during this period, and sometimes a step back is required, as long as it does not violate the general principle of resisting Japan and saving the nation, it can be discussed.With regard to this section of impetuous patriots who do not understand our policies, we can only dedicate them with the above-mentioned self-criticism.As for some people who only seek personal and partial interests and ignore national interests, no matter whether they are pro-Japanese or verbal anti-Japanese, then it is not self-criticism, nor is it just a matter of sarcasm, but to expose Their plots make it impossible to perform their tricks. Question: What is your attitude towards the Three People's Principles? Answer: We have long believed in the Three People's Principles, otherwise why would we have been able to join the Kuomintang from 1924 to 1927? Several people in our party used to be members of the Central Committee and provincial party committee members of the Kuomintang. It is one of them, including Lin Boqu, Wu Yuzhang, Dong Biwu, Xie Juezai, and Dong Weijian.Many people were once leading cadres of the National Revolutionary Army, such as Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai, Liu Bocheng, He Long, Lin Biao, Ye Jianying, and Xu Xiangqian.The task now is to strive for the true realization of the revolutionary Three People's Principles, that is to say, to achieve the nationalism of China's independence and liberation through the war of resistance abroad, to achieve the people's rights of the establishment of a parliamentary system by universal suffrage and a democratic republic through internal democracy and freedom, and to Improving the people's lives seeks to relieve the suffering of the majority of the people's livelihood.Such Three People's Principles are not inconsistent with our current political platform, and we are demanding these things from the Kuomintang.In his letter to the Kuomintang last August, he asked them to revive Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary Three People's Principles.We are the most resolute and loyal to strive for the realization of the Three People's Principles in China.Even in terms of the agrarian revolution policy we implemented in the past, it was nothing more than Mr. Sun Yat-sen's idea of ​​land to the tiller.As for our belief in communism, that is not in conflict. Mr. Sun Yat-sen once agreed that we believed in communism at the same time, and many members of the Kuomintang believed in capitalism, many also believed in anarchism, and some believed in communism. Confucianism, Buddhistism, and Christianism are all-encompassing and all-encompassing.As long as the current revolutionary political platform is unanimous, it constitutes the basis for uniting and saving the country, and all doubts can be eliminated, and we can embark on the track of fighting the national disaster together.The bright future of the Republic of China is based on this. Based on the 338th to 343rd issue of "New China News" published from March 16 to April 3, 1937. -------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ note [1] Smedley (1894-1950), American progressive journalist and writer. [2] Refers to the Declaration of the Provisional Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Republic and the Revolutionary Military Committee of the Chinese Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army against Japanese imperialist aggression on January 17, 1933.The manifesto stated that it is willing to fight against Japan with all armies across the country under three conditions: (1) Immediately stop attacking the Soviet area; (2) Immediately guarantee the democratic rights of the people (freedom of assembly, association, speech, strike, press, etc.); 3) Immediately arm the people and create an armed volunteer army to defend China and strive for China's independence, unity and territorial integrity. [3] Refers to a series of events in 1935 when the Japanese imperialists invaded North China and the Kuomintang government headed by Chiang Kai-shek betrayed the sovereignty of North China, commonly known as the North China Incident. [4] Refers to the Central Government of the Soviet Republic of China and the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, August 1, 1935, "Message to All Compatriots for Anti-Japanese and National Salvation", commonly known as the August 1st Declaration. [5] Refers to the "Resolution on the Current Political Situation and the Party's Tasks" adopted at the Wayaobao Meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on December 25, 1935. [6] Refers to the "Letter from the Communist Party of China to the Chinese Kuomintang" dated August 25, 1936, see page 424433 of this volume. [7] Refers to the Third Plenary Session of the Fifth Central Executive Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang held in Nanjing from February 15 to 22, 1937.The meeting mainly discussed policies towards the Chinese Communist Party and Japan.Due to the demand of the people of the whole country to stop the civil war and unanimously resist the Japanese, the meeting actually accepted the policy of the KMT and the Communist Party to cooperate to resist the Japanese, and determined the principles of peaceful reunification, revision of the election law, expansion of democracy, and release of political prisoners. [8] Continental policy refers to the aggression plan proposed by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiichi Tanaka in 1927 to annex China's northeast and Inner Mongolia, and then destroy China and dominate the world. It is also called Tanaka policy. [9] The Hirota Three Principles refers to the so-called "Three Principles for China" proposed by Japanese Foreign Minister Koki Hirota to the Chinese ambassador to Japan in October 1935.Its main contents are: 1. China banned all anti-Japanese movements and abandoned the policy of relying on Britain and the United States; 2. China recognized the puppet "Manchukuo" and established Sino-Japanese "Manchukuo" economic cooperation; 3. China and Japan jointly defended against communism. [10] Chahar, see note [3] on page 382 of this volume. [11] "Manchukuo" is a puppet regime created by the Japanese imperialists after they invaded and occupied Northeast China in 1931.It was established in Changchun in March 1932 and supported Puyi as the "ruler".In March 1934, it was called the "Manchurian Empire", and the "ruling" was renamed "Emperor". [12] Yin Rugeng Jidong government, see note [5] on page 434 of this volume. [13] On November 25, 1936, Germany and Japan signed the "Anti-Comintern Pact" in Berlin.The agreement concluded by Germany and Japan was actually an extension of the Berlin-Rome axis formed by the agreement between Germany and Italy on October 25 of the same year.On November 6, 1937, Italy joined Germany and Japan in the "Anti-Comintern Pact", and the anti-communist alliance of fascist countries (Berlin-Rome-Tokyo axis) was formally formed. [14] Nine-Power Convention, see note [7] on page 13 of this volume.The Kellogg-Briand Pact, also known as the Briand-Kellogg Pact, was initiated by French Foreign Minister Briand and U.S. Secretary of State Kellogg, and the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Poland, Representatives of the Czech Republic and other countries signed the "General Treaty on the Abolition of War as a Tool to Promote National Policy" in Paris on August 27, 1928 (also known as the Non-War Convention).However, at the same time as the signing of the agreement, countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France successively claimed that each country has the right to decide whether to "recourse to war" according to the situation.As of 1933, sixty-three countries, including China, had acceded to the Non-War Pact.The League of Nations Treaty refers to the treaty on the establishment of the League of Nations adopted at the Paris Peace Conference in France in 1919. [15] Zhang Hanqing, that is, Zhang Xueliang, see note [10] on page 371 of this volume. [16] Madrid is the capital of Spain.In July 1936, German and Italian fascists supported the Spanish soldier Franco to launch a rebellion and armed intervention in Spain's internal affairs.Under the leadership of the Popular Front government, the Spanish people waged a heroic war of resistance to defend democracy and oppose aggression.In this war, the defense of Madrid was the most intense.The war to defend Madrid began in October 1936 and lasted for two years and five months. [17] refers to "The True Story of Ah Q". [18] After the peaceful resolution of the Xi'an Incident in late December 1936, Zhang Xueliang was imprisoned in Nanjing by Chiang Kai-shek.On February 2, 1937, Sun Mingjiu, a young officer in the Northeast Army who did not understand the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident (then head of the Northeast Army Special Task Force), sent people to send people to the Sixth Northeast Army who advocated a peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident. Seventeenth Army Commander Wang Yizhe and others were shot dead. [19] Zhang Yang refers to Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng.Yang Hucheng, see note [13] on page 371 of this volume.