November 13, 1937 SOCIALIST APPEAL How Shall We Support China reason It Is the Duty of Every Worker to Support the Struggle of the Chinese People Against Japanese Imperialism, But the War for Liberation Can Be Won Only by Placing No Confidence at All in the Chinese Bourgeoisie and Placing All Emphasis on the Independent Class Action of the Masses.
By Every trade unionist and work. deliver China from one master and tens of millions of workers actively to his aid, Chiang Kai will create the best guarantee er in America and throughout the to another, not to fight for na and peasants were united in fight shek dares not take the chance that when tomorrow Chiang Kaiworld must support the struggle tional liberation.
ing against imperialism. Chiang of really mobilizing the masses shek seeks to betray, he will be for national liberation in China. When the automobile workers Kai shek was at the head of that whose strength alone could gua swept aside and the fight against The defeat of Japanese imperial. are fighting against Mr. Ford, movement, The organizations rantee victory. By placing Chen Japanese and all other imperialist aggression will be a decisive do we advocate that they call that should have expressed the Li fu, the organizer of the Blue isms will go on to its victorious step in the struggle against world upon Mr. Knudsen of General demands of the workers and shirts, at the head of mass conclusion!
imperialism, democratic and Motors to help in that struggle? peasants instead gave their com work, Chiang ensures continued The exact opposite of this is fascist, and the social system Yet that is precisely what we do plete and unconditional political rigid control over the mass move being done the ex Red Armies from which it stems, the system when we advocate that British support to Chiang Kai shek and ment.
which have become nothing but of capitalist exploitation. For and American imperialism take to his party, the Kuomintang, on The heroism of the Chinese military pawns in Chiang Kaithis the international over the task of fighting Japan. the grounds that all classes must soldiers is being exploited for the shek game. Their heroic fight working class has as its duty. Just as in a strike we do not unite and forget their special in sake of showing Anglo American against the Japanese in Shansi not only to the Chinese workers depend upon capitalist competi terests in order to defeat impe imperialism that the Nanking will come to nothing so long as and peasants but also to itself, tors of the particular boss we rialism. At the point when the government is worthy to send material aid to China, are fighting against but rely mass movement had swept him But those goldiers its aid. they remain without a political to refuse to load transport war upon the militant and indepen to a position from which he could sacrificed in a purely military responds to the real interests of are being program of their own that cor.
materials to Japan, to supple dent action of the workers. so command greater concessions struggle and no political steps the masses of the Chinese people.
ment and make effective the in the fight against Japanese from the imperialists for the consumers boycott against Japan imperialism we must place our Chinese bourgeoisie, Chiang Kai are being taken which would They had a program of confiscaese goods by refusing load, full faith in and give our full shek turned without compunction swing behind the army the real tion of the land which for half transport, or sell any products support to the workers and and established his counter re organized support of the workers a decade won them the active of the peasantry and of Japan, and to show solidarity peasants of China, and the work volutionary military dictatorship in 1927 swept the Northern mili enabled them to perform legendwith the workers and peasants ing class throughout the world.
at Nanking tarists like so much chaff from ary feats of valor withstandof Japan who are being ground No reliance on capitalist gounder the heel of the Japanese vernment! Independent action of for ten years. During all that That regime has been in power path of the Kuomintang armies. ing the repeated assaults of To this day Chiang Kai shek Chiang Kai shek armies. Now military machine.
the working class! These must be time, it has inflicted upon the has left every door open to a com they no longer are the vanguard our slogans.
Smash Japan workers and peasants the most promise with Japan. At the very of the peasant revolt. They have ghastly terror. Mere member height of the battle in August, renounced their program of land Low Living Standards ship in a trade union not certi his government paid Japan its confiscation and all forms of poJapanese imperialism must be smashed. The question is: will it These, too, must be the slogans fied and controlled by the gang regular installment of the Boxer litical struggle against the ruling be smashed as a result of im the Chinese masses, for the ship of a strike or even mere elementary that in the launching themselves to defeat. victory doing, they foredoom plunge the whole world into bar bourgeois government to carry participation in one, possession of a war against Japanese impe over Japan in these circumstances bari or will be smashed by through to its successful conclu of radical literature, and, between rialism that was really meant to would not mean the liberation of revolutionary forces aiming to sion the struggle for national he years 1931 1936, any attempt be the finish that such measures the masses but the victory of build a new Workers World? iberation, for the struggle against to organize resistance to the as the rupture of diplomatic re British and American imperialall forms of exploitation. Let us Japanese invasion, were sufficient Ilations, unilateral abrogation of ism.
Those who, like the Communist not forget that in China there warrant for imprisonment, tor all the robber treaties imposed The real victory will be won Party, advocate what they call are native capitalists who try to ture, and execution. During these upon China by Japan, confisca in China by the workers and collective security, those who compete with the foreigners by ten years, and most of all after tion of Japan. ese property, repu peasants fighting for their own gave their enthusiastic support sweating their profits out of the 1931 (the year of the Japanese diation of Chinese debts to Japan, interests. Yet already those who to President Roosevelt war backs of the workers. Let not invasion. Chiang Kai shek mo would all be taken as part of the raise their voices in defense of speech Chicago. those who forget that the Chinese workers, bilized his millions of soldiers mobilization for the war. But those interests are being denouncwant to invoke the Nine Power living perpetually on the brink trained by the German Fascist Chiang has done none of these ed as agents of Japan, just as the revolutionary workers are perhaps the General von Seekt, to wage a things.
guard the post war division of most brutally exploited in the pitiless war of extermination Spain are denounced as agents spoils among the Powers in the world. Let us not forget that the against the revolting peasants of Coming Compromises of Franco because they insist Pacific, are advocating a policy Chinese landlord is able to live Central China. Today Japanese that the real defeat of fascism which leads directly to imperialist luxuriously in the towns and airplanes and artilléry are com This tells us, more eloquently lies only in the victory of the war. They say, in effect, that cities only because he takes from mitting atrocities against Chinese than anything else, that Chiang workers revolution. Such slandJapanese imperialism will have 30 to 70 per cent of the peasants civilians which have aroused the is burning no bridges and hopes ers are not new in Chinese histo be fought by Britain and the produce as his rent. Let us not horror of the whole world. But ultimately to come to terms with tory. In 1927, when Chiang KaiUnited States and they go even forget that even in good years only yesterday Chiang Kai shek Japan it aid from Britain and shek sought to smash the workfurther: they declare in advance the Chinese peasant has barely airplanes, imported from not forthcoming ers organizations, he deliberately that they will support these im enough food to see him through United States, Britain, and Italy, quickly enough. The premature spread the rumor that the Comperialist powers in such a war from one harvest to the and Chiang Kai shek artillery, revelation of secret, although munist and trade union leaders fought purely for imperialist interests. They rely these On the other hand, because of manned by German fascist mili: inconclusive, dickerings with Hit were conspiring with the norththe semi colonial character of tary experts, were wiping out ler by Chiang Kai shek personal ern militarists and were acting powers, in other words on capi Chinese economy, the interests of. whole villages and whole districts representative in Berlin, General as their agents to break the talist governments, to stop in Central China. Beginning in Chang Po li, is only a foretaste united front of the KuominJapanese aggression just as they the Chinese bourgeoisie are inexcome in the tang. The slanders of today are relied on the powers in the Non tricably bound up with the inter 1984, Chiang organized a semi of what is likely ests foreign capital. The Chi hirts, to help in the suppression threat to use Hitler would seem ends. For the sake of unity At the moment, the just as false and serve the same the fascist robbers from aiding nese, bourgeoisie functions essen af all anti Chiang tendencies in to the designed mainly to being with the bourgeoisie, they shatter Franco.
capital in both Chinese and mar. Organizer of these Blue shirts, There is undoubtedly a lick of the other powers.
the unity of the working class.
Britain and the Chinese ruling classes are infini has been placed in charge of mass flame beneath all the smoke of For Independent Action There is, to be sure, a chance tely closer to the foreign exploit: propaganda for the fight against denials. Let us not forget that For our part, in this country, Chiang trained his army with that Britain the United ers than they are to workers and States will give more active aid peasants. Between the worker Why Chiang Fights fascist aid and is surrounded to we can help the victory of the Chinese and Japanese workers this day by German fascist mili through independent action by to the Nanking government than boss, between the peasant and they did to the loyalist govern the landlord, there is the basic Because he succeeded in crush tary advisers.
working class organizations. We ment in Spain. They will do this conflict between those who have ng the revolutionary movement The struggle for China libera will not help that victory by supfor one reason, and one reason not and those who have, the ex De means of this ruthless terror tion cannot rest on this thin reed. porting the aims of American imonly: to preserve the rights of ploited and the exploiters. Bet thus achieving the kind of Chiang Kai shek is fighting perialism, by giving ourselves up British and American imperial ween the Chinese capitalist and national unity needed by the Japanese imperialism today. We in advance to its war plans which ism to exploit Chinese markets landlord and the imperialist ex Chinese bosses and landlords say support that fight. But we are designed not to win real naand Chinese workers. Britain ploiters there is only the quarrel and because Japanese imperial also say to the workers and tional liberation for China but will not so easily give up her over the division of the spoils. sm now threatens the very cita peasants in China: Watch out for to substitute the American for valuable investments in Central When the Chinese bourgeoisie dels of his own personal power, tomorrow. Chiang Kai shek be the Japanese yoke China to the upstart in the family fights against imperialism it is and, finally, because he now thinks trayed you before. Until yester shoulders of the Chinese masses.
of imperialist nations who has in order to gain a larger share that at long last British and day he was murdering your best American imperialism is driving been so apt a pupil of imperial in the exploitation of the country. American imperialism will come brothers and sisters. You must straight and evermore swiftly toist methods. The strong stand When the workers and peasants organize your own unions, build ward a war to ensure its domitaken in Washington against fight against imperialism, they your own party, put forward nation of the Pacific. All the Japan indicates that the United fight for the possibility of a better your own demands. You must de well oiled machinery of war proPARTY States intends to preserve, by life, for freedom from all exploitamand that you be armed and you paganda is already at work. Our force of arms if necessary, her tion, native and foreign alike.
by yourselves. While future, like the future of our right to exploit the Chinese work. This has been amply demonstratASTORIA BRANCH yally and in the front brothers and sisters rs. either directly through the ed by the history of ranks against the invaders, you countries, is bound up in our wnership of industry or indirect fifteen years.
Dancing, Refreshments, must demand complete freedom successful resistance to this new through capital investment. The present government of Kibitzing of speech, press, organization, wave of jingoism, to the impendTo substitute for the direct ex Chiang Kai shek came to power and assembly. You must agitate ing imperialist war. Our best at home of Frances Wallach ploitation of Japanese imperial on the wave of a tremendous 50 23 61st St. Woodside for a genuinely democratic na service to ourselves and to those am the indirect, but no less anti imperialist mass mavement.
tional assembly elected by uni we support in China will be not horough, exploitation by British At that time, not thousands and Sat. Nov. 13 Adm. 20c versal suffrage. By mobilizing to forget that our enemy is in And American imperialism is to tens of thousands but millions your own forces in this way, you lour own country.
in the America is other.
on.
and on the must arm in all past