Press translations [Japan]. Political Series 0283, 1946-02-06.
Date6 February, 1946
translation numberpolitical-1150
call numberDS801 .S85
Persistent Identifier
POLITICAL SERIES: 283
ITEM 1 Chinese Communism and Democracy - Mainichi Shimbun - 4 February 1946. Translator: J. Weiller.
Full Translation:
With NOZAKA, Sanzo's return as a turning point, the movement of JAPAN's democratic
front is shoving sudden activity.
Concurrently, through the Political Consultative Conference, a firm cornerstone has
been laid for a democratic CHINA, and her
much strived for revolution is now nearing perfection after 35 years. The principal
factor which has guided CHINA's democratic
front to success was both the internal and external situation which constantly demanded
peace and democratization, but what
powerfully propelled the progress was the Communist Party's "New Democratic" policy.
The broad new de[illegible]ocra[illegible]of the Chinese Communist Party, adaptable to all, will be a guide to
JAPAN's democratic front.
What is the new Democracy? According to her theory, the Chinese Revolution can be
divided into two stages. In view of the
situation in that country which does not permit an immediate socialistic revolution,
the program in the first stage was while
resisting JAPAN's imperialistic and agressive war on one hand, to destroy internal
feudalistic influences, and reactionary
militaristic and bureaucratic politics on the other. This is necessary in order to
win "Independent and Democracy", and
realize "democratic politics by the federation of several revolutionized classes"
which will steer a middle course between
European or American democracy and that of the SOVIET pattern from which she will
move into the second stage of socialistic
revolution.
Having such a program in mind the Communist Party does not unreasonabl reject other
sects or parties nor do they deny Sun
YAT-SEN's "Three Principles" and they are willing to shake hands with all parties,
including their avowed enemy—-the
nationalists. With great objective like anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism before
them, all political parties must discard
their ego and combine this in the consistent motto throughout the new democracy. They
do not reject capitalism but go further
in admitting that feudalistic economics will develop into capitalistic economics.
This can be terned as constant "advances by
a half step" instead of "a step back and two forward". The present Chinese Communists,
in spite of being a revolutionary
party, have no bloody taint and here lies the people's affection for them.
POLITICAL SERIES: 283 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
Be that as it may, the party has a terroristic past. At the split of the First Nationalist-Comniunist
conference caused by
Chiang KAI-SHEK's anti-communistic cump[illegible]d'etat, the pary became involved in the YUNAN Riot. After
inciting the strike of the YU[illegible]A[illegible]Workmen's Federation and spreading a
storm of revolutionary activities as the farmers' riot, extending over HO-[illegible]N, HU-PEI, KIA[illegible]G-SI and KWA[illegible]G, they set up a provisional government of the Chinese Soviet
Republic at SUE CHANG KIAING-SI Province in 1931. During that period the people who
were massacred in the three provinces of
KIANG-SI, HO-[illegible], and HU-PEH were estimated at 540,000, while 8,000,000 were expelled from those
regions. A revolution by such brutal force became a red terror and incited the people's
extreme hatred toward the Communist
Party. Having thus lost popularity, in addition to being attacked by Chiang KAI-SHNK's
expeditionary forces, their Capital of
SUE CHING fell in 1934 and Mao TZE-TUNG, the leader of the Soviet Government (at present
the leader of the Central Political
Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party), with 250,000 dollars price on his head, escaped
to YE[illegible],
after traveling 6,000 miles through 12 provinces at the head of 100,000 thoroughly
beaten troops.
Since that calamity and until the [illegible]ARCO POLO Bridge Incident, which was instrumental in the
formation of the Second Nationalist-Communist Coalition, the party was at its lowest
ebb.
Taught by this bloody experience Mao TZE-TUNG made a sudden turn by telling his followers
"Be a Communist Party beloved by the
people, refrain from strife with the nationalists and adapt ourselves to the surrounding
situation, both internal and
external". Thus the "New Democracy" was born which was adopted, as a new thesis on
20 April 1940 under the name of "Mao
TZB-TUNG LO SIEN" (MAU TSU TUNG's" Route).
The characteristics in the structure of the New Democracy are marked by the fact
that it is an autocratic federation of
various revolutionary classes and the form of government is a concentrated democracy.
The local administration under the
communists regime is divided into five areas of KA[illegible]MTEN PIEN CEU ([illegible]KANGSI, KAN SUO, and NIUNG SHA Provinces), TSIN TSA CHI (SHANG-SI, TSAHALU, HOU-PEH
Provinces), TSINSUE (SHNY-SI and SUE
IUANG Provinces) TSI[illegible]CHI LOO YU (SHANG-SI, HOU-PEH, SHANG-TUNG and HOU-NA[illegible]Provinces) and CHI[illegible]NIE LIAU (HOU-PEH, NIE HOU and LIAU NIUIG Provinces).
Under each area (PIEN CEU) government, five sub-divisional governments in the order
of FUN CHU, SHEN, CHU, SHIANG and TSUNG
are placed. Apart from the local governments there are four units in the order of
SHIANG, CHU, SHEM and PIEH CHU, each one
provided with a democratic assembly; both the members and government committeemen
are popularly elected. Both sexes over 18
years old are enfranchised and they elect a village (TSUNG) representative ([illegible]ne representative for
each 20 villagers) who in turn elects SHLANG, CHU,SHEN and PIEHCHU representatives,
each class or sub-division forms its own
assembly, from which the leader of each local government and committeemen are elected.
The government committeemen and members of the assemblies embrace all classes and
occupations, women village leaders and
assembly members are not rare and even Japanese can participate in such functions.
In YEMAN, ballot boxes are hung at the
entrance of public houses and street corners, and, naturally, an intervention, bribe
or surveillance in connection with the
election is entirely unknown.
The seats of the government committee and members of assemblies of each class are
equally divided among the communists,
nationalists and non-partisans, each occupying one third. In this [illegible]anner, even the
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POLITICAL SERIES: 283 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
capitalist class is included in the revolutionary camp, in order to form the new
democratic front which is an "autocratic
federation of the various revolutionary classes."
A noteworthy measure taken up by the party is the land policy; landownership simultaneously
protects both owners and tenants.
In other words, by reducing rent and interest on loans, while protecting the landowners'
and farmers' rights, it protects the
tenants against the owners' feudalistic exploitation and promotes the tenants' life
end increase of production. On the other
hand, by ordering payment of rent and interest, it mates the tenants fulfill their
obligations to the owners. The rent just
before the CHINA Incident used as a standard from which 25 per cent is deducted, is
the rent payable to the owners. The
owners' income is limited to 60 per cent of all the crops (in case of staple food
less than 37.5 per cent Interest on loans
advanced before the Incident has been uniformly lowered to 15 per cent per annum (before
it was 20 to 40 per cent).
Superficially, the land policy seems to favor capitalism, but in practice, on account
of reduction in rent and interest and
also the uniformly graduated tax, the owners, giving way under the burden, gradually
let go of the land, so that ownership is
by degrees becoming balanced. This is done by raising poor farmers to medium ones
while rich farmers are being brought down to
the medium class, and consequently eliminating feudalism. The latest statistics of
32 villages of 12 SHE[illegible]s of TSIN TSA CHI clearly illustrates the above fact.
1937 | 1943 | |
% | % | |
Landowners | 3-69 | 2.56 |
Rich farmers | 6.69 | 6.00 |
Medium farmers | 31.57 | 44.41 |
Poor farmers | 46.67 | 39.55 |
Tenant farmers | 4.78 | 2.90 |
Others | 6.60 | 4.58 |
The uniformly graduated tax is collected in both cereals and c[illegible]sh by multiplying graduated tariff
on "wealth" which is fixed according to the respective incomes from land, farming,
commerce, etc. Taking into account
non-propertied classes the tax ratio is higher on the upper class than lower. The
taxation system of CHI[illegible]A was very complicated for she had over 30 types of taxes, but the Communist Party
has reduced them to
three.
Parallel with such policies they are making ardent endeavors to increase production.
There is the so-called agricultural hero
WU MANYU .Movement, which is a campaign for increased production after the pattern
of an industrious farmer of the name of WU
who made considerable success in increasing production. There is also the industrial
hero CEAO TSUNG KUE movement, which has
started from the example of a man who practicing eight hours of work succeeded in
attaining a record increase and shared the
profit equally between management and labor. In both cases the party's aim is, while
rejecting exploitation to strive for
increased production in a similar manner to the SOVIET', "STAHANOFF" Movement.
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POLITICAL SERIES: 283 (Continued)
ITEM 1 (Continued)
With the above mentioned policies in practice, the people in the communist region
are proud of the happiness of SAN WU
(T[illegible]Three no's) that is to they have no jobless, no idlers and no beggers. The party is
also
doing its best in popularizing itself as is manifested in the "SAN WU SUO TSU[illegible]" Movement (movement
regulating three morals). The SAN WU means the Morals of Learning, Party and Culture.
It warns the members against abstract
and empty theories or arguments or their taking pride in writing difficult literature
or making pedantic speeches or attacking
other parties or expelling the ig[illegible]oran It encourages members to exchange opinions and to be always
introspective and threatens those who disobey the rules with expulsion.
According to the acknowledged communistic formula the way the Chinese Communist Party
chose is a claim of conciliations and
concessions. It has achieved wonderful growth with these tactics.
Fighting against Japanese troops and being blockaded by the nationalist forces, it
has expanded so as to put under its control
the wide "Emancipated Area" with HOUA P[illegible]E as the center, extending over HOUA CHONG, HOUA-N[illegible]and MANCHURIA which contain over 400 SHENS and 88,000,000 people, defended by 600,000
regular soldiers
and 2,000,000 militia. Furthermore, having its legitimacy recognized by the occasic
of the Political Consultative Conference,
it is new guaranteed freedom of activity throughout CHINA to expand its strong organization.
The two stage revolution of the
Chinese Communist Party is now completing the course of the first stage of the New
Democratic Resolution. Now that a new
situation has raised as a result of the recent conference, it is worth our attention
for the future of a new CHINA as well as
JAPAN, in what formula the Chinese Communist Party will adopt for the course of the
second stage.
DISTRIBUTION "X"
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