Publication of May Day Slogans of the CPC

On April 30, 1948, the CPC issued the slogans of the Central Committee to commemorate May Day, calling on “all democratic parties, people's organizations and community leaders to quickly attend a political consultative conference to discuss and set up a People's Congress and a democratic coalition government.”

In the first half of 1948, the "two fates and two futures" facing China at the time of the victory of the Anti-Japanese War Aggression had become clear-cut: the KMT's war effort was at the end of its might, and Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorial and authoritarian rule was about to be overthrown; the new power of democratic coalition government, which the Communist Party had always advocated and committed to, was on the agenda with the rapid advance of the People's Liberation War. The tragedies planned and committed by the KMT, such as the Jiaochangkou massacre, the Shimonoseki massacre and the Li-Wen massacre (in Yunnan Province), and the development of the People’s Liberation War in particular, prompted more democrats to shift from the "Third Way" to resolutely oppose the reactionary faction of Chiang Kai-shek and to unite and cooperate with the Communist Party in the struggle to build a new China.

The International Labor Day of May 1, 1948 was approaching, and it was customary for the CPC Central Committee to make special decisions, issue proclamations and slogans, hold rallies and marches, and publish articles and editorials through the Xinhua News Agency, through the press and publicity department to commemorate the event at this time of the year.

The May Day of 1948, which was in the situation of rapid development of the revolutionary war, was certainly no exception. Liao Chengzhi, as the president of Xinhua News Agency, sent a very brief telegram to the central government, asking what important things the central government had to release as May Day was approaching. This brief call from Liao Chengzhi immediately drew the great attention of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai and other leaders of the Central Committee of the Party. The reactionary rule of the KMT was about to collapse, and a new, independent, democratic, peaceful and unified China was about to be born .It was time to announce the political views of the Communists to the power. Thus, the first draft of "May Day Slogans" was born at this historic moment. Mao Zedong made important changes to the first draft, amending Article 5 of the first draft of “May Day Slogans” to read: “All democratic parties, all people's organizations and all community leaders should quickly convene a political consultative conference to discuss and set up a People's Congress and a democratic coalition government.” And he crossed out the expression "Long live Chairman Mao, the leader of the Chinese people" in Article 23. He also changed Article 24 with the expression "Long live the liberation of the Chinese people". As a result, the revised “May Day Slogans” had 23 articles altogether. The revised and officially published “May Day Slogans” reflected the sincerity and commitment of the Communist Party to establish a democratic coalition government, indicated the birth of a new political party system, sounded the prelude to the establishment of a country through consultation, and marked an upcoming start of a new era of unity and cooperation between the Communist Party and the democratic parties. “May Day Slogans” received a warm response from the democratic parties and non-partisan democrats, who issued declarations, circulars and speeches and accepted the invitations to go to the Liberated Areas to discuss the great plan to found the People’s Republic of China with the Communist Party. This was a milestone event in the history of the development of the united front and the multi-party cooperation in China, marking that all democratic parties and people without party affiliation have openly and consciously accepted the leadership of the CPC and firmly embarked on the path of new democracy and socialism, marking the opening of a new page in the construction of China's democratic politics and political party system.