Now we have already entered a period of improved relations between the Guomindang and the Communists and have revived negotiations between the two parties, restoring the legal status of the New Fourth Army and keeping up the resistance war. I have telegraphed Li Xiannian to try his best to avoid friction in the future and to find a way to improve relations with Guomindang troops in the surrounding areas. Please pay attention to the other troops. From the standpoint of propaganda, please make clear to propaganda workers that they should not talk about the bad points of the Guomindang or make value comparisons between the Guomindang and the Communists. The first two news dispatches by Fan Changjiang2 are very good, and they have been published in Liberation Daily, and they were broadcast as well. The third one is not appropriate and has not been published. Please explain to him our present policy and give him my best regards. Please take firm hold of the newspapers and periodicals in northern Jiangsu and ensure that their propaganda follows the current policy of the Party.
Mao Zedong
Our source for this text is Mao Zedong xinwen gongzuo wenxuan, p. 96, which is based on a manuscript copy of a telegram that Mao sent to Chen Yi.
1. This text appears in Mao Zedong xinwen gongzuo wenxuan with two others (which are translated according to their date, October 28, 1942) under the general heading: “Strengthen the Party Character of Press Propaganda.” This text however, carries the note “September 1942.”
2. Fan Changjiang (1909–1970) was a noted journalist whose writings were widely read in the 1930s. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1939.