ABSTRACT
With the purpose of carrying out our party’s policy of awakening the masses and realizing as quickly as possible the behest of our late Director General, the Second National Congress regards propaganda work as our most urgent task at this moment. Our plan for propaganda work is as follows:
Unify the actual propaganda work of the Central Executive Committee and all provincial executive committees.
To unify propaganda, it is necessary for the Central Propaganda Department and all provincial propaganda departments to devote themselves to explaining current policy. All of the party’s articles, magazines, newspapers, leaflets, notices, directives aimed at guiding the masses, and slogans drawn up for the demonstration movement should be centered around current policy.
The policy that this party urgently needs to carry out right now is clearly laid down in the will of the late Director General. Detailed resolutions concerning the methods of implementing this policy have already been adopted during the First and Second National Congresses. The Central Propaganda Department and all provincial propaganda departments must thoroughly introduce the will of the late Director General to the masses of peasants, workers, businessmen, and intellectuals, and help them understand its significance as well as the tremendous benefits to be gained by the masses all over the country once it is implemented. The Central Propaganda Department and its subordinates in all the provinces should base their propaganda work on the slogan, “The fulfillment of the Director General’s will means the success of China’s liberation.”
If a political party merely propagates theory and doctrine that are favorable to the masses, it will assurely be incapable of bringing the masses and the political party to adopt a unified attitude in action. Consequently, abstract propaganda cannot create a mass party; only when a party’s work for the people is concretely manifested can a mass party be created. Although sometimes the policies propagated by our party, such as the reduction of rent, the abolition of exorbitant taxes, the elimination of warlords, the increase in wages, the establishment 343of educational funds, the reform of business, and the development of industry, may not all be realizable overnight, we must convince the masses that our party can actually bring them some concrete benefits.
If we continue to present all the things that the party should do for the masses as the path toward China’s national liberation, this will surely be recognized by the masses. This is the only way to bring into being a party of the masses that can truly lead the popular masses to carry through the national revolution.
Therefore, the Central Committee of the party and all provincial party committees must carry out their propaganda work on the basis of the concrete interests of the masses, whether in schools and villages or in factories and shops in the city. To this end, the slogan for our propaganda work is “Accomplish the national revolution bequeathed to us by the late Director General in accordance with the needs of the masses.” Apart from this, there is simply no shortcut to the liberation of China.
Although each individual member of the masses has his particular needs based on his social status, there is no doubt that all of them cherish the same desire to accomplish the national revolution. The liberation and unification of China are what most people want. For this reason, the majority of the masses forms the foundation for the national revolution. All propaganda departments must clearly point this out. The Guomindang advocates a wage increase, but without hindering the development of industry in our country. Not only is the development of industry not hindered, but it is rather strongly enhanced. The same reasoning applies in the case of the strike movements launched by European and American workers during the nineteenth century, which rather than jeopardizing the development of industry, actually pushed it forward. To help the peasants by reducing rent and abolishing various exorbitant taxes is also a necessary policy for the Guomindang. Because the more the oppression of the peasants is relieved, the quicker the national revolution will be accomplished. At present, among those who are still exploiting the peasants, some are feudal landlords and some are counterrevolutionaries under the aegis of imperialism. If we want to turn the national revolution into a success, we must uphold the interests of the peasants. The Propaganda Department should formally issue a directive declaring that only those who endorse the liberation movement of the Chinese peasants are faithful revolutionary members of the party; if not, they are counterrevolutionaries. By doing so, the Propaganda Department may enable the Guomindang, which has the mission of accomplishing national revolution, to establish a solid foundation and translate the unfulfilled wish of the Director General into reality within the shortest time possible.
The success of a party depends on its center of gravity. The center of gravity of China’s Guomindang lies hidden among the vast majority of the exploited peasant masses. It is necessary for the Propaganda Department to remind every party member of this point, and moreover constantly to instruct party members to take the party’s center of gravity very seriously.
344Attention must be paid to extending the party’s propaganda to all parts of the country. No affairs, major or minor, whether occurring in villages, xian, provinces, commercial cities, or towns, should escape the party’s attention. The Central Propaganda Department and all provincial propaganda departments are our party’s agents for deciding on tactics for dealing with such issues. Each time an incident occurs, therefore, all the departments should first of all present to the party and the people all over the country an accurate report, explaining the cause of the incident and its impact upon the national revolution, and then offer suggestions on how to make use of the incident to further the party’s policies.
In the army, it is the department of military supplies that provides uniforms and armaments to all units. The Propaganda Department in the party performs a similiar function to that of the department of military supplies in the army. It provides party members as well as the masses with knowledge of politics and the strategy for action, enabling them to struggle hard through the arduous process of national revolution and to uphold the party’s stand amidst conflicting views and emotions. The Propaganda Department should instruct each party member on how to conquer the evil forces of the imperialists and counterrevolutionaries. More importantly, it should transform party members who are impulsive, pessimistic, or lacking in self-confidence into a sound and solid force for revolution.
The Propaganda Department should be the liveliest and the most quickwitted unit in the party. All party members who are able to write books and pamphlets, edit articles and commentaries, or draft declarations and slogans should take part in the work of the Propaganda Department. Authors or journalists who are not able to do so personally should devote part of their time and energy to the Propaganda Department’s work. From this perspective, the Propaganda Department is a general unit in the party, which assembles, employs, and directs the mental labor force inside the party to carry out the policy of the party.
Communication between the Propaganda Department and party members, as well as the masses, is extremely important. If the documents and directives issued by the Propaganda Department cannot be applied by the party members, or if they can be applied but do not meet the needs of the masses, then there is no point in doing any propaganda whatsoever and the Propaganda Department becomes utterly useless. Prompt delivery of propaganda materials can be guaranteed only by rapid transportation and a perfect organizational system within the Propaganda Department. The Central Propaganda Department should maintain, based on a predetermined schedule, close contact with all provincial propaganda departments, the various departments in the party, and various public organizations by means of correspondence, telegrams, and special courier.
All propaganda departments within the territory under our party’s control should devote themselves wholeheartedly to general propaganda work and win the support and sympathy of the popular masses for the government of this party.
