Anti-Japanese National United Front

In China's war of resistance against Japan, in order to overcome the aggression of Japanese imperialism and save the nation from danger, the CPC first advocated and called on all parties, armies, classes and groups willing to resist Japan to unite to form a broad Anti-Japanese National United Front.

On August 1, 1935, the delegation of the CPC to the International issued the "Message to Compatriots on Resistance to Japan to Save the Nation" in the name of the Central Government of the Chinese Soviet Government and the CPC Central Committee, calling on all strata, parties and armies throughout the country to "stop the civil war so as to concentrate all the national strength (human, material, financial, military, etc.) to fight for the sacred cause of resisting Japan and saving the nation”.

On November 13th of the same year, the Central Committee of the CPC issued the “Declaration Opposing Japan’s Annexation of North China and Chiang Kai-shek’s Treason”, calling on the people of the whole country to unite against Japan. In December, the CPC led the December 9th patriotic movement, which set off a new climax of the mass movement of resisting Japan and saving the nation from extinction. On the 17th of the same month, the CPC Central Committee held an enlarged meeting of the Political Bureau in Wayaobu, Anding County, Shanxi Province. On the 25th, the conference adopted the “Resolution on the Current Situation and the Party's Tasks”, which determined the strategic principles of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. On the 27th, Mao Zedong gave a report on "On Tactics against Japanese Imperialism" at the conference of Party activists.

The above-mentioned resolutions and reports comprehensively clarified the Party's strategic principles and policies of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. The purpose of establishing a broad Anti-Japanese National United Front based on KMT-Communist cooperation was to organize thousands of people and mobilize the mighty revolutionary army to deal with the common national enemy of Japanese imperialism.

In order to promote the formation of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, on September 1, 1936, the CPC Central Committee issued instructions to the Party to clearly put forward the general policy of changing the slogan of "Anti-Japanese and Anti-Chiang Kai-shek" to "Force Chiang Kai-shek to Resist Japan", and announced that it was immediately ready to send representatives out, or accept the representatives of the KMT and Chiang Kai-shek to the Soviet Area, so as to negotiate and quickly conclude a specific agreement on anti-Japanese and national salvation.

So far, the CPC basically completed the transformation of its KMT policy. In December, the CPC sent Zhou Enlai and other cadres to Xi'an to promote a peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident.

In order to promote the cooperation between the KMT and the Communist Party in Anti-Japanese War, on February 10th, 1937, the CPC Central Committee called the Third Plenary Session of the Fifth Central Committee of the KMT to put forward five requirements and four guarantees. Five requirements were as follows: to stop the civil war, concentrate national strength and unite with the outside world; to guarantee freedom of speech, assembly and association, and to release all political prisoners; to convene meetings of representatives of all parties, all walks of life and armies, to gather national talents and save the nation together; to quickly complete all preparations for the Anti-Japanese War; and to improve the lives of the people.

The cable points out that if the KMT could resolutely determine this as a national policy, the Communist Party of China was willing to make four guarantees, namely: to put an end to the armed riots that overthrow the KMT government throughout the country; to change the name of the Soviet government to the Government of the Special Administrative Region of the Republic of China and the Red Army to the National Revolutionary Army; to implement a thorough democratic system in the Special Administrative Region; to stop the policy of confiscating landlords' land; and to resolutely implement the common program of the Anti-Japanese National United Front.

The above five requirements and four guarantees were the basic conditions for bipartisan cooperation put forward by the CPC Central Committee to the KMT.

In February 1937, the Third Plenary Session of the Fifth Central Committee of the KMT showed a marked change in KMT's domestic and foreign policies, and in fact, it accepted the correct proposition of the CPC on the cooperation between the two parties in resisting Japan, and on the Anti-Japanese National United Front based on the cooperation between the KMT and the CPC was initially formed.

The July 7th Incident broke out in 1937, and it marked the beginning of the whole nation's war of resistance against Japan.

On September 22, the KMT issued the "Declaration of the CPC Central Committee on the Cooperation between the KMT and the CPC” through the Central News Agency; on September 23, Chiang Kai-shek issued the “Speech on the CPC Declaration” in Lushan, which showed that he in fact recognized the legitimate status of the CPC in the whole country.

The above declarations and speeches marked the formal formation of the Anti-Japanese National United Front based on KMT-Communist cooperation. Mao Zedong highly praised it: "This opened a new era in the history of Chinese revolution. This will give China a profound and broad impact on the revolution and will play a decisive role in overthrowing Japanese imperialism.”

After the formation of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, the CPC adhered to the principle of independence and autonomy, adopted the general policy of "developing progressive forces, striving for intermediate forces and isolating stubborn forces", and implemented the policy of "uniting and struggling, striving for unity through struggle".

Relying on the magic weapon of the Anti-Japanese National United Front, the whole nation united in the War of Resistance and won the final victory of the Anti-Japanese War.