Forcing Chiang Kai-shek to Resist Japan

In order to establish the most extensive anti-Japanese national united front, the CPC took a key step to adjust its strategy and policy in time. The change of the strategy and policy of the CPC went through the process of resisting both Japan and Chiang Kai-shek, forcing Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan and uniting with Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan.

In 1935, the delegation of the CPC to the Communist International issued the "August 1 Declaration", which was the "message to all compatriots on resistance against Japanese and national salvation", and put forward the political proposition of establishing the Anti-Japanese National United Front. In December of the same year, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a conference in Wayaobu, which analyzed the changing situation of class relations in China, criticized the wrong view in the party that it was impossible for the Chinese national bourgeoisie to unite with the Chinese workers and peasants to resist Japan, and decided the strategy of establishing an anti-Japanese national united front.

Although the KMT ruling clique's attitude toward Japan had changed to some extent at this time, Chiang Kai-shek still adhered to the policy of non-resistance to Japan that "first suppress the bandits, then resist Japan", and continued to carry out large-scale military "encirclement and suppression" against the Red Army. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for the CPC to immediately abandon its anti-Chiang Kai-shek policy.

Although the Wayaobu Conference still adhered to the policy of "both resisting Japan and Chiang Kai-shek", it analyzed the possible internal division of the KMT under the increasingly acute national contradictions between China and Japan, and proposed that the Party should adopt an appropriate tactic according to the development of this contradiction. Obviously, this understanding had laid the ideological foundation for the later policy of "forcing Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan."

After the North China Incident in 1935, in the face of Japan's gradual advance, the KMT ruling clique headed by Chiang Kai-shek, on the one hand, intended to use the Soviet Union to keep Japan in check, and to this end its relationship with the Soviet government was improved; on the other hand, adhering to the principle of annihilating the CPC with military force, he also intended to use the banner of resistance against Japan to negotiate with the CPC under extremely harsh conditions, in order to achieve the goal of "dissolving" the CPC by peaceful means.

In response to the changes in the situation, on April 9, 1936, Mao Zedong and Peng Dehuai made contact with Zhang Wentian and proposed that no order should be issued to curb Chiang Kai-shek for the time being, and that our tactic should be an order to curb Japan and we should implement a tactic of united anti-Japanese resistance and raise the slogan of stopping the civil war.

On April 25, the Central Committee of the CPC issued the “Declaration on the Establishment of the National People's Front against Japan by All Parties and Factions in China”, which listed the KMT as the possible ally of the anti-Japanese national united front for the first time.

"Comminuque on Armistice, Negotiation for a Joint Resistance Against Japanese" published on May 5 no longer called Chiang Kai-shek a traitor, but only as "Chiang Kai-shek” without adding any qualifier. In fact, this was a public announcement that the Party's anti-Japanese and anti-Chiang Kai-shek policy began to change to the policy of forcing Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan.

On June 20, the Central Committee of the CPC sent a telegraph to the Second Plenary Session of the Central Executive Committee of to propose that "stop the civil war and form a united front against Japanese imperialism.”

On August 12, the Central Committee of the CPC in “The Telegram From Zhang Wentian to Zhu De and Others on the Issue of Future Strategic Approach” “evaluated Nanjing Government led by Chiang Kai-shek both as the necessary element and also main opponent for the realization of the united front" and put forward the policy of "continuing armistice negotiations and urging Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan."

On August 25, the Central Committee of the CPC issued the “Letter of the CPC to the KMT”, which proposed the second cooperation between the KMT and the CPC under the great goal of resistance against Japan and stressed that "only the re-cooperation between the KMT and the Communist Party and the general cooperation with all parties and all walks of life in the country can truly save the nation from subjugation and survive."

In order to make the whole Party understand the necessity of abandoning the anti-Chiang Kai-shek policy, on September 1 of the same year, the CPC Central Committee issued the "Instructions on Forcing Chiang Kai-shek to Resist Japan" to the party: "At present, the main enemy of China is the Japanese Emperor, and the slogan of ‘both resisting Japan and Chiang Kai-shek’ is also inappropriate.” “Our general policy should be to force Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan.”

On October 15 of the same year, the Central Government of the Soviets and the Military Commission of the People's Red Army unilaterally issued an armistice order, deciding that all Red Army troops should have stopped any attacks on the KMT army and took the necessary self-defense moves only when attacked.

On the 26th, Mao Zedong, Zhu De, Zhou Enlai, Peng Dehuai and other 46 people jointly wrote a letter to the senior generals of the KMT in Northwest China, proposing that the Red Army would "pledge to cooperate with you to the end" and promising that the Red Army would take up a certain role in the anti-Japanese front; and the Red Army was willing to obey the unified military command of the whole country; without the consent of the "friendly anti-Japanese forces", the Red Army would never enter the defensive areas of the "friendly anti-Japanese forces".

In order to implement the policy of “forcing Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan", the CPC Central Committee issued documents to adjust various policies, for example, in the “Resolution of the CC Concerning the New Situation of Resistance to Japan and the National Salvation Movement and the Democratic Republic”, the CPC Central Committee proposed the necessity of replacing "the People's Republic" with "the Democratic Republic" was put forward.

For example, on September 17, 1936, it was stipulated not to confiscate the land of the rich peasants, protect large and small industries and businesses, and not confiscate the land and property of the officers and landlords who actively resisted Japan. At the same time, with the efforts of the CPC, the situation of the cooperation between the KMT and the CPC in the Northwest China and the great anti-Japanese alliance was formed.

On December 12 of the same year, Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng launched the Xi'an Incident. The CPC helped to bring about a peaceful settlement, and Chiang Kai-shek was forced to accept the conditions for uniting with CPC to resist Japan.

The change of the CPC's strategy and policy from resisting Japan and Chiang Kai-shek to forcing Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan and uniting with Chiang Kai-shek to resist Japan provided a fundamental guarantee for the Party to establish the broadest anti-Japanese national united front based on KMT-Communist cooperation during the Anti-Japanese War and to promote the progress of the Anti-Japanese War of the Chinese nation.