ON A STATEMENT BY CHIANG KAI-SHEK’S SPOKESMAN* August !^, !($%
A spokesman for Chiang Kai-shek, commenting on the alleged violation by the Communist Party of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek’s order to Commander-in-Chief Chu Teh, said at a press conference in Chungking on the afternoon of August 15 , “The orders of the generalissimo must be obeyed” and “Those who violate them are enemies of the people.” A Hsinhua News Agency correspondent states: This is an open signal by Chiang Kai-shek for all-out civil war. On August 11 , at the critical moment when the Japanese invaders were being finally wiped out, Chiang Kai-shek issued an order of national betrayal forbidding the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army and all the other armed forces of the people to fight the Japanese and the puppet troops. Of course, this order absolutely cannot and should not be accepted. Soon afterwards, Chiang Kai-shek through his spokesman proclaimed the armed forces of the Chinese people to be “enemies of the people”. This shows that Chiang Kai-shek has declared civil war against the Chinese people. Chiang Kai-shek’s plotting of civil war did not of course begin with his order of August 11 ; it has been his consistent plan throughout the eight years of the War of Resistance. During those eight years, Chiang Kai-shek launched three large-scale anti-Communist campaigns, in 1940, 1941 and 1943, 1 each time attempting to develop the attack into a country-wide civil war, and only the opposition of the Chinese people and of public figures in the Allied countries prevented its occurrence, much to Chiang’s regret. Thus he was forced to postpone the country-wide civil war until the end of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and so came the order of August 11 and the statement of August 15 . For the purpose of unleashing civil war, Chiang Kai-shek had already invented many terms, such as “alien party”, “traitor party”, “traitor army”, “rebel army”, “traitor 41
