Mao shouts “Long live Chairman Chiang” in Chongqing negotiations
While the Chinese Communist Party was seizing the fruits of victory in the war, the Republican government, which was defending itself against foreign invasion, was badly wounded: the economy in most areas was stagnant, Inflation was serious, and all industries were waiting to be revived; and the internal political corruption of the national government made the whole operation of the country sluggish and lost the hearts of the people. In order to avoid civil war and facilitate post-war recovery, Chiang Kai-shek invited Mao Zedong to Chongqing three times to discuss important international and domestic issues, and repeatedly appealed to the international community to mediate and help (e.g. by calling Stalin), hoping that the Chinese Communist Party would call a truce and participate in the post-war construction of a democratic and constitutional government in China.
In order to relieve Mao’s security concerns, Chiang Kai-shek also personally urged U.S. Ambassador Hurley to accompany Mao on the same flight between Chongqing and Yan’an. Under Soviet orders and domestic public opinion, Mao went to Chongqing for negotiations on August 26, 1945. However, on the eve of his departure, Mao continued to give the order that “the offensive should continue in the coming period”. It is conceivable that Mao never gave up his ambition to seize power, and his trip to Chongqing for negotiations was also a manifestation of his political tactics.
On October 10, the two sides signed the Minutes of Talks in Chongqing, also known as the Double Ten Agreement. From the twelve-sided agreement reached, the provisions on “political democratization”, “nationalization of the army” and “recognition of the equal legal status of the Kuomintang, the Communist Party and all parties before the law The provisions of the agreement on “political democratization,” “nationalization of the army,” and “recognition of the equality and legitimacy of the Kuomintang, the Communist Party and all parties before the law” were in fact of great progressive significance. This was undoubtedly a concrete achievement and a major accomplishment in the construction of a democratic constitutional government in China, and a political principle that must be followed in a democratic country.
After the negotiations, Chiang Kai-shek held a cocktail party, which Mao also attended. At the cocktail party, Mao toasted Chiang Kai-shek and Mao said, “Long live Chairman Chiang!” which drew the attention of the whole audience, both Chinese and foreign. Tong Xiaopeng, who has long worked beside Zhou Enlai as an eyewitness, wrote about this historical fact in his book “Forty Years at Zhou Enlai’s Side” published in 2015.
In addition, in 1980, at a meeting of 4,000 cadres at the central, local and provincial military levels held by the Communist Party of China, Writer Xia Yan criticized Mao for being “suspicious and fickle, and faithless in his words”, confirming this statement. He said that from August 13 to 16, 1945, Mao had sent three strongly worded telegrams and articles to Chiang Kai-shek, but after Stalin sent an envoy to Yan’an to give instructions, Mao immediately changed his attitude and issued a declaration in the name of the CPC Central Committee on August 25, putting forward the three slogans of “peace, democracy and unity”, namely “A New Stage of Peace and Democracy”. When the Double Ten Agreement was signed in Chongqing, he shouted “Long live Chiang Kai-shek!” in public. This astonished the leaders of the democratic parties present.
It is assumed that Hsia Yan interpreted “Long live Chairman Chiang!” as “Long live Chiang Kai-shek! as “Long live Chiang Kai-shek!” to avoid causing trouble, knowing that Chiang Kai-shek was not the “chairman” of the CCP.
Mao openly broke the agreement to provoke a civil war
However, after the peace talks were over and Mao had shouted “Long live Chairman Chiang!” After returning to Yan’an, he immediately issued an order to the army to “immediately launch an attack on Chiang’s administration”, openly sabotaging the “Double Ten Agreement”. Mao also said, “This Time we have done well to break the Kuomintang’s rumors that the Communists do not want peace and unity.” Obviously, Mao’s aim to deceive the nation had been achieved.
On January 10, 1946, a Political Consultative Conference was held in Chongqing, which included the Chinese Communist Party and all democratic parties, and an armistice order was issued at the same time at the request of Marshall. Undoubtedly, the convening of the Political Consultative Conference was of great importance in resolving the political and military problems among the various political forces after the war, especially between the government and the CCP, eliminating the civil war and advancing the process of democratic constitutionalism. However, according to Mr. Xin Hao-nian, a scholar in the United States, this is just another “political show” for Mao and the CCP, who have never given up on seizing the world. The purpose was still to dispel the Kuomintang’s “rumors” that the Communists did not want peace but only civil war; secondly, around the time of the Political Consultative Conference, when the CPC had seized the Northeast and had to consolidate it, Mao and the CPC needed time to stabilize their newly seized Northeast base.
After the conference, the Kuomintang troops strictly enforced the armistice order, while the CCP troops, under Mao’s instructions, took the opportunity to attack and plunder the city to expand their occupation area. In mid-March, the CCP captured Siping, surrounded Changchun, and seized Harbin and Qiqihar. The “Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference” ended in the civil war provoked by the CCP in the northeast. The Chinese Communist Party’s face of fake peace talks and real civil war was exposed.
Conclusion
Of course, there is also a view that the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the CCP were also fake, in order to gain time for the transfer of troops, and that the CCP was not wrong to make a pre-emptive strike. According to my personal opinion, Chiang Kai-shek wanted to avoid civil war after the war for the sake of the people and the country, so he put up with the CCP’s practices again and again.
The most important indication of Chiang’s sincere desire to avoid a civil war was the construction of a democratic constitutional government that began immediately after the war. Although the Chinese Communist Party continued to massively invade the Northeast and North China after the Chinese Political Consultative Conference, the ROC government, the Chinese Nationalist Party and Chiang Kai-shek adopted a policy of “not giving up peace before the final desperate period of peace” in order to avoid civil war. At the same time, he also expressed his expectation that the CPC would participate in the post-war construction of a democratic and constitutional government in China, and hoped to avoid the occurrence and expansion of civil war.
It can be seen that the efforts made by the government of the Republic of China and the Kuomintang to avoid a civil war were all wasted because the Chinese Communist Party faked peace talks but genuinely started a civil war. Not only did the Chinese people fall into the ravages of war again, but the Chinese Communist Party also took the opportunity to steal power and plague the land of China to this day.
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