What Is Going On In China?
alat much the peasants.
on which we we have letariat must by all means acquire the leading position. But the leadership can easily be captured by populist paros, which seek to make the peasants independent from the workers. The Stalinists are helping the development of such popullst parties. First, they attempt to organiva purely peasant Soviets under the slogan of the democratic dictatorship of the proletand peasantry. Secondly, they do not tell the peasants that the revolutionary situation has weakened, but play up to the narrow minded and prideful thoughts of the peasantry that the workers in China are more backward than Third, they do not develop the independent spirit of the proletarian struggle, but spread exaggerated news Red Army in their organ with the largest type as if its victory were the road out for the workers.
In a word, all the propaganda of the Stalinists obectively incites the populist Ideas of the peasant independence from the workers. From our point of view, the Stalinists in China are undergoing a process of Social Revolutionarization.
To want to eliminate such peasant Soviets and their struggle in no way coincides with the standpoint of the Opposition.
Despite the fact that they are not workers and peasants Soviets under the leadership of the proletariat. they are far better for us than the power of the landlords. In the future revolutionary rising wave, such peasants Soviets will be very turned into a workers and peasants Soviet power, preparing for the proletarian dictatorship. It is without doubt that during the reactionary period, the organization of workers and peasants Soviets is impossible; but the existence of isolated peasant war groups in so widespread a country as China is quite possible. It is the remaining spurt of the village revolution of 1925 27.
The duties of the present leadership are to agitate for the more extensive development of the city labor movement, to lead it and to prolong its existence before it is completely exhausted and destroyed by reactionaries.
the revolutionary اهم SHANGHAIpolicy will become more reactionary than Bai and Mif, after their arrival in China, The year 1982 29 may be described as Chiang Kai Shek The Centrists of the formally crticized the former policy of aga period of a certain economic revival of Kuo Min Tang like the socalled board of reement between Lee Li san and the reorthe Chinese bourgeoisie. Three conditions New Life will surely stand in opposition ganizationists. Nevertheless such a Left aided the bourgeoise to restore its econ to this bourgeois government under the attempt does not correct the fundamental mask of a Left turn. Or some of them principle error of the Party line, since with omy: a prosperous gain in agricultural harwill the ranks of the resplit from a course based on the bourgeois characvest in the second half of 1927 and the organizationists to oppose the policy of ter of the revolution, temporary agreefirst half of 1928; the ebb tide of the strike Wang Chin Wel and Co. This is the first ments with the liberal bourgeoisie are a movement as a result of the proletariat possible alternative.
natural conclusion.
defeat; the temporary cessation of the civil war and the restoration of inland com The other one would be more danger At present, the Party regime is still munication The Chinese bourgeoisle, tak ous to the proletariat. The Left bourgeoisie under the influence of the Lee Li sans.
ing advantage of this good situation, re with its existing organizations and under That the powerful Lee agrees to publish stored its economic power. Up to 1930, the the mask of an ultra Left turn will con the criticism of Chi Chiu Bai and Mit in bourgeoisie had wholly recovered in the the official Party organ is only a false factories destroyed by the war. The genThis letter represent the point of view demonstration to the Comintern. But it eral profit of the principal industry textile of the Our Wo: group of the Left Opdoes show that the ultra Right spirit of had surpassed the record after the war, position in China. The Militant disagrees Lee Li san has prevailed strongly in the while the import and export of merchant seriously with a number of statements and whole Party. For instance, the serious ships had increased by 20 percent higher opinions expressed by comrade Peter in struggle between Tchu Deh and Mu Tsethan before, and domestic and foreign trade present situation in the estimating the tong in the Red Army. Comrade Mu Tsehad increased proportionately. Prut the rise with particular regard country, Tong is more to the Left and may stand to the came to an end with the civil war and agmasses against warfare, on on the side of the Party the guerilla already rarian famine at 1930.
beginning Tchu Deh. But the Central Party regime ро written and will continue to write in fuIn 1929, the war between Chiang Kal ture issues. Nevertheless, the first hand of the ultra Right wing has decided to Shek and the Kwangsi clique broke out.
account of the situation in China which replace comrade Mu Tse Tong with the In 1930, the Chiang Yen Sih Shan war this letter offers makes it publication in follower of Lee Li san, Yun Taf in.
broke out. In the consideration of the latthe Militant of great interest and value. The history of the Russian revolution ter, there are two different opinions: the teaches us that in the ranks of Menshevism one of Lee Ll san, the present leader of there were many differences, especially on sent to the bourgeois democratic revoluthe Chinese Communist Party, the other is the question of relations with the constitution and to the democratic dictatorship of that of the Leninist Opposition.
tionalists. The Mensheviks were divided According to Lee Li san, this is a war the workers and peasants. to the slogan But on of the classes, that is, the Unite with the Soviet Union only under into cooperators and opponents.
the fundamental problems of the revoluhigh wave, because, according to his analthe condition that the property of the Chinysis. the participants in the civil war repese bourgeoisie is not confiscated.
tion they unanimously opposed the BolThen, sheviks. So does Chinese Menshevism. The resent different classes: Feng Yu Hsiang under this mask, the ultra Left bour. geoise will again be able to betray the reorganizationists are clearly other than represents the petty bourgeoise; Kwangai, the Chinese Constitutionallets, the most the landlords; and Chiang the national proletariat and get material support from the Soviet Union.
dangerous enemy of the proletariat. Therefore on the question of relations with the The National Action Committee of the Can it be considered that the revolu Chinese Constitutionalists, whatever differtion of 1925 1927 has at least partly satChinese Bolshevik Leninists (Opposition)
ences exist among the Chinese Mensheviks Isfied the basic interests of Chinese capital has already declared that such wars are unlike Chi Chiu Bai and Lee Li san the Bol veidable results after the fall of the prolet.
ism? said comrade Trotsky in his critishevik Opposition can never come to agreecism arian forces. The imperialists in China and of the Comintern program. No. ment with them. They are for the road Ching is now just as far from national their agents, the Chinese bourgeoisie are of the bourgeois characters of the revoluintoxicated with the desire to split up China unity and from customs independence as it tion and the democratic dictatorship still further because the local governments was prior to 1925. But as a matter of fact while we are for the proletarian dictatorestablished by these splits are the only the creation of one home market and its ship and nationalization of the means of safe guarantee for the excer protection from cheaper foreign goods 1s excoptional power for the Chinese bourgeoiste a production.
question of and interests of the imperialists and the life and death. It is a question only second The Red Army government of Chiang Kai Shek is the provisional in importance to that of maintaining the government supported unani.
basis of its class domination over the promously by the imperialists and the local The Red Army in China is an ever letarlat and the rural poor. But also for bourgeoisle as well in order to suppress disputed question. In the ranks of disthe revolutionary forces after the exhaustion the Japanese and for the British bourge guised Oppositionists in China, the attitude of the proletariat and the forces under its oisie, the maintenance of China in its co towards the Red army has been falsified lonial state is a question of no less imporleadership; but the full attention of the by saying that it is simply an unorganized imperialists and the whole local bourgeoltance than the question of economic in disturbance of bandits, vagabonds and vilis dependence sie is concentrated on the splitting up profor the Chinese bourgeoisie. lains (Tchen Du Siu and Liurze groups. cess: the civil war is only a means for the That is why the Chinese bourgeolele will The Stalinists are of the opinion that the purpose of splitt still display many zig zag moves towards Soviets of the occupied provinces are the Since the provisional government the Left in its future policy. For those proletarian power, and the Red Army the who like united fronts there will still be 100 percent military force of the latter. Nanking) has succeeded in its role and many chances in the future.
task of suppressing the revolutionary forces.
As a matter of fact, the present Chinese then its power must be weakened by civil The present task of the Chinese OpSoviets are not established on the basis wars to the level of the former Peking position is to avoid the two dangers men of the class struggle between landlords government, while the local powers must tioned above by all means. So that the and peasantry, not to speak of the leadermost important work to be carried out is also be reduced to the Tuchun perfod ship of the proletariat. The present Soviets before 1925. All these are natural phenom.
the slogan of a national stituent) Assembly through which we may sharply disare only the jobless grouped in the village ena under the regime of different imperin order to obtain a living. Their attitude ialists. The temporary (and only temporclose all the deceivers of the opposition towards the peasants at work takes the ary)
of the militarists from bourgeoisle. On the other hand, with the form of a conqueror, so that the Soviets civil wars is aid of this slogan, we must try our best possible only under the most are not considered by the peasant as his reactionary regime which suppressess the to carry on a propaganda for the dictatorown organization. The Soviets can make workers and peasants completely. But this ship of the proletariat and nationalization agreements with the upper classes in the is a temporary restraint which only means of the means of production, establishing village because of their separation from the preparation of new and more violent firmly the real program of the proletariat the sympathetic support of the peasant masswars.
The complete elimination of civil bourgeois democratie platform of the which will be contrary to the obscure es. In most of the Soviet districts, the wars among the militarists 19 concelvable leadership does not accomplish the division only through the selzure of power by the Stalinists.
of the land, confiscation of the merchant proletariat in the comfug, third revolution. In the Party shops, but, on the contrary, carries out ary uprising.
the slogan of Protect the merchant shops Under the condition of permanent civil In recent months, the official Communand money lenders. The leaders, further war the masses are impelled to recognize ist Party, with the opportunist program more, do not disarm the bandits in order the real political countenance of the Com adopted by its sixth congress under the to arm the poor peasantry, but permits munist Party and to turn towards the Left.
leadership of the ultra Right winger Lee them to rob freely.
It is inevitable that during this period Li san, came to an agreement with the re But although the Soviets under the bourgeois groups in opposition to the organizationists, compromising the struggle leadership of the Stalinists are not the between the poor peasantry and the Kulak.
one in power, will hide themselves more But under the Loft turn of Stalin, this power of the workers and peasantry, they cunningly behind the Left mask in order are peasant war groups, depending upon Here one may asultra Right policy was wiped out by diploto betray the masses.
the activities of their leaders, like sume two alternatives for the near future: matic decree of the Comintern. Chỉ Chiu group under Hong Siu Chuan, the Taipings Toinince The reorganizationsts and the West Hill leader. Such groups are able to exist even Conference group will put aside their own Theoretical organ of the Kuo Min in the period of the greatest consolidation reformist platforms in order to unite with Tang Centrists, whose task is to explain of the reactionary regime; militarist civil Yen Sih Shan, Feng Yu Hsiang, Kwangsi war their theories by a materialism and war makes their further growth possible.
lords, and organize a government whose Marxism of their own.
In these peasant war groups, the probourgeoisie.
The Chinese Bolshevik Leninists (Opposition) recognizes that the significance of the peasant war groups is quite different from that of the workers and peasants Soviets.
Ext our sympathy is wholly on the side of such peasant wars. We insintently protest against the shameless stories about them spread by the landlords and the bourgeoisie. We speak to the working classes that these Soviets are peasant war groups, much more advanced than those of landlords and that the workers should unite with them. Bet we do not betray the workers like the stalinists do by saying that these are the very Soviets of the future proletarian dictatorship.
The capture of Changsha, capital of Hunan province, by the Red Army has given a great impetus to the demonstration on August 1st in Shanghai. We distributed our leaflets with an Appeal to the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers of the Red Army for the capture of Changsha. There we declared that the capture of Changsha by the heroic militants in the peasant war de.
we serves the praise of the world proletariat.
The heroic Red Army should not only make further attacks on the bourgeois militarists but should also carry out the confiscation of property, Chinese and foregn, divide the land if the Kulak and landlords among tha the poor peasants in spite of the Stalinist opportunist line etc. etc. We hope to send you a report on the Changsha situation, the present strike movement, etc. within the next few days.
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