Leadership Is the Central Issue of the National United Front

Part of the Party Teaching Material "Basic Principles of the National United Front" written by Liu Shaoqi in November 1936 for the front policy education of the Anti-Japanese National United Front.

The textbook is divided into three parts, the first, the second and the third. The first and the second parts mainly discuss the necessity and possibility of establishing the Anti-Japanese National United Front, the relationship between tactical transformation and strategic tasks, and the relationship between national struggle and class struggle, etc. The article is its third part.

It was originally published in the internal publication of the Hebei Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, Fireline, No. 67, in Selected Works of Liu Shaoqi (Part I), published by the People’s Press in 1981.

The article analyzes the advantages and disadvantages and possible dangers brought by the participation of the national bourgeoisie in the revolution and points out that the central issue in overcoming and mastering this danger is the proletariat's struggle for leadership.

The article points out that before the national united front was formally formed, the “Left” deviationist thought of rejecting the united front was the main danger. But after the formation of the National United Front, the right deviationist ideas will gradually become the main danger.

The article holds that the so-called revolutionary leadership is who becomes the leader of the peasants and petty bourgeoisie, the bourgeoisie, or the proletariat? The article discusses how the proletariat becomes the leader of the peasantry and petty bourgeoisie, how to establish and strengthen its leadership in the revolution, how to raise revolutionary vigilance and support the struggle of workers and peasants and expand the united front, and how to carry out class struggle in the united front.

Finally, the article points out "the Chinese proletariat, guided by correct strategy and tactics, will concentrate all the revolutionary forces of the country around itself, defeat Japanese imperialism, defeat feudal forces and traitors, defeat bourgeois wavering and mutiny, and bring about the complete victory of the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal democratic revolution in China, and thus realize the noble ideal of socialism.”

The article's ideas on the leadership of the proletariat in the united front played an important role in arming Party members and the masses and realizing and ensuring the leadership of the proletariat in the united front.