MAO TSE-TUNG
(December 28, 1936)
A STATEMENT ON CHIANG KAI-SHEK'S STATEMENT
In Sian Chiang Kai-shek accepted the demand for resistance to Japan put
forward by Generals Chang Hsueh-liang and Yang Hu-cheng and the people of
the Northwest and, as an initial step, he has ordered his civil war troops
to withdraw from the provinces of Shensi and Kansu. This marks the beginning
of Chiang's reversal of his wrong policy in the past decade. [1] It is a
blow to the intrigues conducted by the Japanese imperialists and the Chinese
"punitive" group [2] to stage-manage a civil war, foment splits and get
Chiang killed in the Sian Incident. Their disappointment is already
apparent. The indication that Chiang Kai-shek is beginning to wake up may be
considered a sign of the Kuomintang's willingness to end the wrong policy it
has pursued for ten years.
On December 26 Chiang Kai-shek issued a statement in Loyang, the so-called
"Admonition to Chang Hsueh-liang and Yang Hucheng", which is so ambiguous
and evasive as to be an interesting specimen among China's political
documents. If Chiang really wants to draw a serious lesson from the incident
and try to revitalize the Kuomintang, and if he wants to end his
consistently wrong policy of compromise in foreign affairs and of civil war
and oppression at home, so that the Kuomintang will no longer stand opposed
to the wishes of the people, then as a token of good faith he should have
produced a better piece of writing, repenting his political past and setting
a new course for the future. The statement of December 26 cannot meet the
demands of the Chinese masses.
However, it does contain one praiseworthy passage, in which Chiang asserts
that "promises must be kept and action must be resolute". This means that,
although he did not sign the terms set forth by Chang and Yang in Sian, he
is willing to accept such demands as are beneficial to the state and the
nation and will not break his word on the grounds that he did not sign. We
shall see whether, after he has withdrawn his troops, Chiang will act in
good faith and carry out the terms he has accepted. The terms are:
to reorganize the Kuomintang and the National Government, expel the pro-Japanese group and admit anti-Japanese elements; to release the patriotic leaders in Shanghai [3] and all other political prisoners, and guarantee the freedoms and rights of the people; to end the policy of "suppressing the Communists" and enter into an alliance with the Red Army to resist Japan; to convene a national salvation conference, representing all parties, groups, sections of the population and armies, to decide on the policy of resisting Japan and saving the nation; to enter into co-operation with countries sympathetic to China's resistance to Japan; and to adopt other specific ways and means to save the nation.
The fulfilment of these terms requires above all good faith, and also some
courage. We shall judge Chiang by his future actions.
But his statement contains the remark that the Sian Incident was brought
about under the pressure of "reactionaries". It is a pity that he did not
explain what kind of people he meant by "reactionaries", nor is it clear how
the word "reactionary" is defined in Chiang's dictionary. However, what is
certain is that the Sian Incident took place under the influence of the
following forces:
the mounting indignation against Japan among the troops of Generals Chang and Yang and among the revolutionary people of the Northwest; the mounting indignation against Japan among the people of the whole country; the growth of the Left forces in the Kuomintang; the demand by the groups in power in various provinces for resistance to Japan and for the salvation of the nation; the stand taken by the Communist Party for a national united front against Japan; and the development of the world peace front.
All these are indisputable facts. It is just these forces that Chiang calls
"reactionary"; while other people call them revolutionary, Chiang calls them
"reactionary" -- that is all. Since he declared in Sian that he would fight
Japan in earnest, presumably he will not resume violent attacks on the
revolutionary forces immediately after leaving Sian; not only does his own
political life and that of his group hang upon his good faith, but they now
have confronting them and obstructing their political path a force which has
expanded to their detriment -- the "punitive" group which tried to get him
killed in the Sian Incident. We therefore advise Chiang Kai-shek to revise
his political dictionary, changing the word "reactionary" to
"revolutionary", for it is better to use terms corresponding to the facts.
Chiang should remember that he owes his safe departure from Sian to the
mediation of the Communist Party, as well as to the efforts of Generals
Chang and Yang, the leaders in the Sian Incident. Throughout the incident,
the Communist Party stood for a peaceful settlement and made every effort to
that end, acting solely in the interests of national survival. Had the civil
war spread and had Chang and Yang kept Chiang Kai-shek in custody for long,
the incident could only have developed in favour of the Japanese
imperialists and the Chinese "punitive" group. It was in these circumstances
that the Communist Party firmly exposed the intrigues of the Japanese
imperialists and of Wang Ching-wei, [4] Ho Ying-chin [5] and other members
of the Chinese "punitive" group, and firmly advocated a peaceful settlement,
which happened to coincide with the views of Generals Chang Hsueh-liang and
Yang Hu-cheng and such members of the Kuomintang as T.V. Soong. [6] This is
exactly what the people throughout the country call for, because they
bitterly detest the present civil war.
Chiang was set free upon his acceptance of the Sian terms. From now on the
question is whether he will carry out to the letter his pledge that
"promises must be kept and action must be resolute", and strictly fulfil all
the terms for saving the nation. The nation will not permit any further
hesitation on his part or allow him any discount in fulfilling the terms. If
he wavers on the issue of resisting Japan or delays in fulfilling his
pledge, then the nation-wide revolutionary tide will sweep him away. Chiang
and his group should bear in mind the old saying: "If a man does not keep
his word, what is he good for?"
If Chiang can clean up the dirt created by the Kuomintang's reactionary
policy over the past ten years, thoroughly correct his fundamental errors of
compromise in foreign affairs and of civil war and oppression at home,
immediately join the anti-Japanese front uniting all parties and groups and
really take the military and political measures that can save the nation,
then of course the Communist Party will support him. As early as August 25,
the Communist Party promised such support to Chiang and the Kuomintang in
its letter to the Kuomintang. [7] The people throughout the country have
known for fifteen years that the Communist Party observes the maxim,
"Promises must be kept and action must be resolute." They undoubtedly have
more confidence in the words and deeds of the Communist Party than in those
of any other party or group in China.
NOTES
[1] Under the influence of the Chinese Red Army and the people's
anti-Japanese movement, the Kuomintang's Northeastern Army headed by Chang
Hsueh-liang and the Kuomintang's 17th Route Army headed by Yang Hu-cheng
agreed to the anti-Japanese national united front proposed by the Communist
Party of China and demanded that Chiang Kai-shek should unite with the
Communist Party to resist Japan. He refused, became still more active in his
military preparations for the "suppression of the Communists" and massacred
young people in Sian who were anti-Japanese. 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. He was forced to accept the terms of
unity with the Communist Party and resistance to Japan, and was then set
free to return to Nankiag.
[2] The Chinese "punitive" group consisted of the pro-Japanese cements in
the Kuomintang government in Nanking who tried to wrest power from Chiang
Kai-shek during the Sian Incident. With Wang Ching-wei and Ho Yiag-chin as
their leaders, they advocated a "punitive expedition" against Chang
Hsueh-liang and Yang Hu-cheng. Availing themselves of the incident, they
prepared to start large-scale civil war in order to dear the way for the
Japanese invaders and wrest political power from Chiang Kai-shek.
[3] Seven leaders of the patriotic anti-Japanese movement in Shanghai had
been arrested by Chiang Kai-shek's government in November 1936. ...
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