Look at how the "China Communicators" in the United States discussed that the CCP would win

Chairman Mao and Edgar Snow were together

Read the U.S. China Pass to discuss why the CCP won

Zhao Lianjun

More than 70 years ago, in early 1949, several American "China communicators" gathered to discuss what was happening in China, a distant ancient country in the East. They are all experts on the Far East, but represent a variety of different political views, and they were invited by the New York Star to discuss the question of why the Chinese Communist Party won. Judging from the topics discussed, the premise of the discussion is that the Chinese Communist Party is achieving and will eventually achieve a complete victory. Then, why did the Communists, who were chased by the Kuomintang troops and run all over the mountains, defeat their powerful opponents and win the final victory in building a new China and building socialism? Although those "China communicators" have different political views, the answers are generally similar. Look at their insights —

Edgar Snow, author of Journey to the West, said: "The Chinese Communists are winning victories because they put into action a program that meets some of the pressing needs of the masses of the people. In 1927, the Kuomintang won power on the slogan that the tillers owned their land and that democracy was practised in the government. Now, it has failed because it has never delivered on any of the promises it has made. The Communists were victorious because they exercised equal land rights and allowed the peasants to enjoy economic benefits in their struggles. It was on this basis that a political alliance was formed between them. Thanks to such an alliance, they launched a mass movement. A moral and cultural force grew up from the mass movement, creating a young and promising leadership team. A party with strict discipline and deeply loved by the masses. They are invincible because they draw strength from the majority of the masses of the people and seek answers to meet their urgent needs. It is on this basis that one of the most effective military organizations in modern China has emerged. ”

Irving Latimer, a former political adviser to Chiang Kai-shek and deputy head of the U.S. Information Service's Pacific Action Group, said: "The Chinese Communists won in part because of their good leadership. But more importantly, because of the Corruption, Incompetence, and Repression of the Kuomintang, even the infamous Greek government was inferior. In our country, in the words of Secretary Marshall, we have always associated communism with poverty, hunger, despair, chaos. Ironically, in China, everything depicted by this terrible formula is happening in areas under government jurisdiction. All the reports sent back by American journalists confirmed that the morale on the side of the government had completely collapsed, and the belief in fighting for the Kuomintang had disappeared. ”

Fairbank, a professor of history at Harvard University who has lived in China for more than 17 years, said: "The Chinese Communist Party is winning because it has organized the vast majority of poor peasants, who make up the vast majority of Chinese. The Kuomintang had 20 years to do it, but it did not seize the opportunity. The Communist Party does have a set of organizations for the peasants, which are spicy and resolute, but they are beneficial to the masses and extremely appealing. The success of the Communist Party precisely reflects the incompetence and failure of the Kuomintang in organizing the peasants to become the basis of state power. ”

During World War II, Jia Anna, a Chinese correspondent for time, life and fortune magazines, said: "The communists won victories because they let the peasants see why they were fighting, but Chiang Kai-shek couldn't do it at all." Chiang never consulted his people, he simply ordered them. He crudely intolerant of any opposition, whether conservative, liberal, or Communist. He and his party always suppressed peasant revolts and uprisings, never leaving a middle ground. Chinese forced to choose between not supporting him or opposing him, he could only choose the path of less calamity. All the military assistance we can provide cannot help Chiang Kai-shek to victory. ”

Agnes Smed, author of "The Battle Song of China" and "The Biography of Zhu De", said: "I think that the Chinese Communists won the victory because they were an ordinary group of Chinese who were engaged in a sacred war of liberation from the oppression of feudal reaction and imperialism. The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is a democratic army of workers and peasants, led by a number of proven first-rate military and political think tanks. This army, which grew up in the anti-feudal and anti-imperialist revolution, is a politically educated, disciplined, anti-corruption and wholeheartedly dedicated army. Its strategy and tactics developed during a 20-year bloody struggle against a dictatorship whose rule was brutal and corrupt even seen by its allies as more backward than in the Middle Ages, and every Chinese knew that the regime could not survive without the support of foreigners. ”

Christopher Rand, a China correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune, said: "The Communist Party has won victories because they are more concerned with the needs of the Chinese than chiang's government." Their military and regime work under the guidance of a clear ideology in the service of the public interest, more dedicated and efficient. The communist power comes from within China. The material assistance of the Russians is pitifully small compared to what we have given to Chiang Kai-shek. If the outside powers had ignored China's civil war, the Communists might have won a victory long ago. ”

This is the opinion of several "China communicators". Interestingly, they both contrasted the Communist Party with the Kuomintang, regardless of their personal feelings for the two parties, but the common conclusion they came to was that "the success of the Communist Party precisely reflects the incompetence and failure of the Kuomintang in organizing the peasants to become the basis of state power", because "the corruption, incompetence and high-pressure rule of the Kuomintang" have completely lost the hearts and minds of the people, the support of the common people, and at the same time the foundation of its rule; the Communist Party is "a party with strict discipline and deeply loved by the masses", and they are there "Under the clear ideological guidance of serving the public interest" and "letting the peasants see why they are fighting", thus successfully organizing the "poor peasants who accounted for the overwhelming majority of the Chinese", creating "the most effective military organization in modern China", and finally defeating the Kuomintang army armed to the teeth with American weapons with millet plus rifles and winning the victory in the armed struggle.

Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn a boat, and those who lose the hearts of the people will be defeated, and those who win the hearts of the people will win. More than 70 years ago, when discussing why the Chinese Communist Party would win, the "China Communicators" in the United States also inadvertently stated the laws of governance in China's history. Their discussion through their personal experience cannot but be convincing, and it has also alerted us Communists, reminding our party that when it becomes the ruling party, we must never forget our ruling foundation and must always serve the whole Chinese people wholeheartedly. To sum up the experience of our party in strengthening its own construction as a Marxist ruling party, one of the important points is to persist in always maintaining the flesh-and-blood ties between the party and the masses of the people. How to always maintain the flesh-and-blood ties between the party and the masses of the people and avoid the lesson of the Kuomintang losing power in those years is the biggest task of our party forever.