Along the long river of history, 76 years ago, in a small courtyard in Chengnanzhuang, Fuping County, a red radio wave was sent to all parts of the country, and the "May Day slogan" put forward by the Communist Party of China enabled the traumatized Chinese people to see the dawn of victory.
In the first half of 1948, the War of Liberation had turned into a strategic offensive stage, and the "two destinies and two futures" facing China had become clear: the Kuomintang was at the end of its war, and Chiang Kai-shek's dictatorial and autocratic rule would be overthrown. The Communist Party has always advocated and worked for the establishment of a new political power of a democratic coalition government, united and cooperative, and worked together to overthrow the Kuomintang dictatorship and establish an independent, democratic, peaceful, and unified New China.
In March 1948, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) held in Mizhi County, Shaanxi Province, decided that in order to win the national victory as soon as possible, the CPC Central Committee moved from northern Shaanxi to Hebei in order to facilitate the command of the national liberation war. On April 13, 1948, the Central Front Committee composed of Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, Ren Bishi and others arrived at Chengnanzhuang, Fuping County, where the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei Military Region Headquarters was located, via Shanxi.
The origin of the "May Day slogan".
According to the usual practice, every year on the eve of May Day, the CPC Central Committee will announce to the outside world through the Xinhua News Agency a special decision on the commemoration of May Day, or hold rallies and parades, or publish articles and editorials.
Before May Day in 1948, Liao Chengzhi, then president of the Xinhua News Agency, was leading the Xinhua News Agency to be stationed in Xixu Town, Shexian County. Liao Chengzhi's telegram requesting instructions aroused great attention from Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai, and other leaders of the CPC Central Committee. Taking into account various factors at home and abroad, inside and outside the party, and politically and militarily, the CPC Central Committee held that the present conditions are in place and the time is ripe for the time to openly put forward the CPC's political propositions! As a result, the "May Day slogan" came into being in the hot land of Chengnanzhuang.
Draft amendments
The first draft of the "May 1 slogan" was sent to Mao Zedong's desk, and he fixed his eyes on Article 5: "The working class is the leader of the Chinese people's revolution, and the working class in the Liberated Areas is the master of New China, and should take more active action to achieve the final victory of the Chinese revolution earlier," Article 23, "Long live Chairman Mao, leader of the Chinese people," and Article 24: "Long live the Communist Party of China, the organizer of the Chinese working people and the oppressed people, the leader of the Chinese People's Liberation War." The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a Marxist political party that takes saving the people from fire and water and pursuing people's democracy as its own responsibility, and has always opposed the autocratic dictatorship of one party and one faction and advocated the establishment of a coalition government of various revolutionary classes. Today, an independent, democratic, peaceful, and unified new China is about to be born, and it is also time for the Chinese communists to practice their ideals. Mao Zedong took up his pen and revised Article 5 of the first draft of the "May 1 Slogan" to read: "All democratic parties, mass organizations, and social elites should promptly convene a political consultative conference to discuss and realize the convening of a people's congress and the establishment of a democratic coalition government." Article 23 was crossed out, "Long live Chairman Mao, leader of the Chinese people," and Article 24 was changed to "Long live the liberation of the Chinese nation." In this way, there are a total of 23 articles in the revised "May 1 slogan."
The revision and promulgation of Article 5 of the "May 1 slogan" shows the CPC's sincerity and determination to establish a democratic coalition government, heralds the birth of a brand-new political party system, plays a magnificent movement of consultation and nation-building, and indicates that the unity and cooperation between the CPC and the democratic parties is about to enter a new era.
The "May Day Slogan" was released
On April 30, 1948, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China held an enlarged meeting in Chengnanzhuang, known as the "Chengnanzhuang Conference". This was the first formal meeting of the CPC Central Committee held by the secretaries of the Fifth National Congress of the CPC after it withdrew from Yan'an, and it was all about major issues related to the overall situation. The meeting lasted eight days and ended on 7 May. In addition to Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi, Zhou Enlai, Zhu De, and Ren Bishi, the five secretaries attending the meeting also included Peng Zhen, Li Xiannian, Nie Rongzhen, Chen Yi, Su Yu, Huang Jing, and Luo Ruiqing. During the discussion, Zhou Enlai pointed out: The name of the new CPPCC is to restore the name of the CPPCC in January 1946 in terms of form and content, but the nature and content are different, and the "May Day slogan" is an action slogan, not a propaganda slogan, which is the trend of today's development of the situation and the demand of the people of the whole country. During the discussion, Liu Shaoqi pointed out: The international and domestic situation for convening a new CPPCC is ripe, and we can first mention the slogan of the CPPCC, which can play a calling role, and we must win over 90 percent of the people and unite all forces that can be united; there is no problem for the CPC to win the support of more than 50 percent of the people of the whole country, and no other political party has this status as us. After full discussion, the meeting decided to issue the "Slogan of the CPC Central Committee to Commemorate May Day" in the name of the CPC Central Committee.
The CPC Central Committee and Mao Zedong attached great importance to and were cautious about the "May 1 slogan" to be announced to the outside world. According to Deng Tuo's recollection, the chairman personally handed him the manuscript and asked him to print it. Late at night on April 30, after Mao Zedong personally reviewed the proofs of the newspaper, the next day, May 1, the "May 1 slogan" was published on the front page of the Jinchaji Daily. At that time, the editorial office and communication department of the "Jinchaji Daily" were located in Xinfang Village, which was one kilometer away from Chengnanzhuang, so the building near the water became the first newspaper to publish the "May Day slogan". On May 2, the People's Daily published the full text on the front page. Major newspapers have also successively published the "May Day slogan."
Responding to the "May Day Slogan"
After the "May 1 slogan" was issued, it received an enthusiastic response from democratic parties and democratic personages without party affiliation, who issued manifestos, telegraphs, and talks, and accepted invitations to go to the liberated areas to discuss with the CPC the great plan for building the country. On 2 May 1948, Li Jishen and Shen Junru had a lively and extensive discussion with representatives of various democratic parties in Hong Kong on the "May 1 slogan." On 5 May, Li Jishen and He Xiangning of the Revolutionary Committee of the Chinese Kuomintang; Shen Junru and Zhang Bojun of the China Democratic League; Ma Xulun and Wang Shaojun of the China Association for the Promotion of Democracy; Chen Qiyou of the China Zhi Gong Dang; Peng Zemin of the China Peasants' and Workers' Party; Li Zhangda of the Chinese People's Salvation Association; Cai Tingkai of the China Kuomintang Association for Promoting Democracy; Tan Pingshan of the Three People's Comrades Federation; and Guo Moruo, a non-party personage, jointly sent a telegram to Mao Zedong, chairman of the CPC Central Committee, in response to the CPC's "May 1 slogan" and in support of the convening of the new CPPCC. On May 7, the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League issued a "Letter of Support for the CPC's May Day Call to Taiwan Compatriots." The China National Democratic Construction Association, which was underground in Shanghai at the time, also secretly held a meeting of its executive board of supervisors on May 23 and passed a resolution in response to the CCP's "May 1 slogan". In carrying out extensive activities to respond to the "May 1 slogan" and discuss the new CPPCC, the democratic parties have gradually accepted new democracy as their guiding ideology and recognized the CPC's leading position.
For the first time, the "May 1 slogan" concretely depicted the blueprint of New China and became a mobilization order for the founding of New China. It issued a call for convening a political consultative conference and establishing a democratic coalition government, which was warmly responded to by all democratic parties and democratic personages without party affiliation. This historical event is of great and far-reaching significance in the history of the development of democratic parties, the history of the development of the united front and multiparty cooperation, and the history of the development of democratic politics on the mainland. It indicates that the democratic parties and democratic personages without party affiliation have openly and consciously chosen the leadership of the Communist Party of China, firmly embarked on the road of new democracy and socialism, and opened a new chapter in the building of democratic politics and the political party system on the mainland.
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