MANIFESTO OF THE FIRST NATIONAL CONGRESS OF THE KUOMINTANG
(PASSED DURING 1924)
The Present Condition of China
The Chinese Revolution had its inception after the Sino-Japanese War(中日甲午戰爭) was brought to a head in 1900, and achieved its success in 1911, by which the Monarchical Government was eventually over-thrown. But a revolution cannot arise all of a sudden. Since the occupation of China by the Manchus(滿清) there reigned in the hearts of the Chinese race the feeling of injustice for a long time. After the country was thrown open to international commerce, foreign imperialism came like an angry tide. Armed plundering and economic pressure reduced the country to a semi-colonial status, and caused her to lose her independence. The Manchu Government not only possessed no ability to repulse foreign invasion, but also persisted in an increasing degree in the policy of subjugating the "slaves" at home, thereby courting favour with the foreign Powers. Under the leader-ship of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Kuomintang, the comrades of our party have realized that unless the Manchu Government was overthrown there would be no hope for the reconstruction of China. Therefore they rose valiantly to be the vanguard of the people and proceeded with great rapidity until 1911, when the task of overthrowing the Manchu Government was at last achieved. But it is clear that the aim of the Revolution was not confined to the overthrow of the Manchus, but that with their overthrow we shall be able to undertake the work of reconstruction. According to the circumstances then obtaining we ought to be able : — in the racial aspect to proceed from the dictatorship to the system of popular sovereignty ; and in the economic aspect, to proceed from handicraft production to capitalistic production. Proceeding in this way it cannot fail to change the semi-colonial China into an independent China, standing proudly in the world.
But the realities of that time were indeed contrary to our expectations. Although it was said that the Revolution had succeeded, what the revolutionary Government was able to effectively express was only the principle of racial emancipation. And in what a short time it was compelled by circumstances to compromise with the reactionary class of absolutism! Such compromise is indirectly a concession to imperialism, and was the basic reason for the first defeat of the Revolution. The representative of the reactionary class of absolutism at that time was Yuan Shih-kai(袁世凱). The Power that he possessed was not strong. But the fact that the revolutionary comrades were not able to crush him was due to their earnest desire to avoid a prolongation of the civil war in the country as well as to the lack of a party that possessed organization and discipline and understood its own mission and aims. Were such a party in existence, it would be able to defeat the plot of Yuan Shih-kai and achieve success. The leaders of the northern militarists were always conspiring with the imperialists, and all the reactionary classes of absolutism, su,ch as the militarists and the politicians, depended upon them for their livelihood." Since the revolutionary comrades had consigned the political power to them, it was small wonder that defeat was the outcome.
The death of Yuan Shih-kai did not change the fortune of the Revolution — in fact, it went from one defeat to another. The result was that the militarists of the country were able to play the part of executioners and the people the victims. Any political reconstruction based on the principle of popular sovereignty was out of the question. Furthermore, the fact that the militarists were not able to live independently drove them to establish connections with the imperialists, one and all. Even the so-called Government of the Republic was under the thumb of the militarists, and they utilized it to court favour with the imperialists so as to strengthen their own positions. The imperialists in their turn utilized them, furnishing them with loans to fill their war chests so that the civil war is prolonged, and the imperialists were able to fish in the troubled waters and carve out the country's vital interests into spheres of influence. From this point of view, it is clear that the internal warfare of China is conferring advantages on the imperialists. The imperialists in their conflicts of interests again sought the support of the militarists, to kill the people for their own interests. In addition, the chaotic condition of the country acted as a check on the development of the internal industries of the country, giving the foreign goods added opportunities to reign supreme in the market. So the Chinese industries cannot even compete with foreign capitalists on the home market. The cruelty of such a catastrophe is that not only our political life but also our economic life will be exterminated. Glancing around the country, it will be seen that the middle class, after the repeated reverses of the Revolution, is suffering increasing hardships. The small merchants are becoming bankrupt; the small handicraft workers are losing their work, degenerating into vagrants and bandits; and then farmers, unable to till their own land, are selling out at cheap prices, as the cost of living is becoming dearer and the taxes are becoming heavier. Such conditions of desolation are found on every hand. What can be said of these conditions except that they are signs of desperation ?
From this point of view, the condition of the country since the Revolution of 1911 had not only not progressed, but, on the contrary, it has retrogressed. The reign of arbitrary power of the militarists and the invasions of the imperialists are getting worse every day, causing her to sink deeper into the hell of a semi-colonial status. This condition is what makes the people of the whole country indignant and the thinking men of the country restless until a way out is found.
What is, then, the way out? Regarding this, every party in the country and every man, and even foreign residents, entertained different opinions. They may be grouped in the following categories, with our criticism attached.
First, there is the constitutional school of opinion. According to this group of men, China s trouble lies in the lack of law. If the country can be united under a constitution, then the chaotic condition will be remedied. The trouble with this school is that they forget that the effectiveness of a constitution is conditioned on the support of the people. Without such support, a constitution alone in black and white will not be able to guarantee the sovereignty of the people against the attacks of the militarists. We had indeed the Provisional Constitution since the first year of the Republic, bu.t even then the militarists and the politicians representing the remnants of absolutism usurped power and were able to institute a reign of crime. So long as these people are in existence, there will be no use for the constitution. In that case the constitution is but waste paper, and what good will it do to the sovereignty of the people ? One has not forgotten that Tsao Kuan(曹錕) was able to bribe himself into power only under the shadow of a constitution ; but what he did was entirely contrary to the constitution. Therefore the prerequisite question of the establishment of a constitution was whether the people were able to guard it. There is no use putting the cart before the horse. What is more, if the people are not organized, the presence of a constitution will not mean that they will be able to use it ; and in such a case , even if there is no militarist to attack it, it will remain a dead letter only. So the fault with this school is that they only know that a constitution is what is wanted without thinking what is the means of supporting and putting it into practice. This school is therefore without the organization, the means, and the courage to fight for a constitution. In conclusion, it is certain that the establishment of a constitution will not come until the power of the militarists and imperialists is overthrown.
Secondly, there is the federal school of opinion. according to this school, the chaotic phenomenon of the country is due to the over-centralization of power in the hands of the central government, and therefore, it must divide the power among the provincial governments. When local self-government is established, the central government will be powerless to do wrong. This school forgets that the power of Peking to-day is not conferred by the people under any law, but is snatched by the big militarists. The big militarists used their armed power to capture the central government, and in turn utilized it to expand their armed power. The suggestion of this school amounts to this much, that the power of the small militarists of the provinces shall be utilized to curtail the power of the central government, leaving the big militarists in control of it to perpetrate crimes. Where is the logic in this reasoning ? The inevitable result will be that the small militarists will be enabled to establish their governments in the provinces side by side with the big militarists, each for his own benefit, and the country will thus be in a partitioned state. This state of affairs is not characterized by any order or government. It is true that real self-government is the highest good and answers the demands and the spirit of our people. But such real self-government cannot be achieved until the country as a whole has achieved its independence. Now China as a whole has not secured its independence, and it would be impossible to secure first the independence of any of its parts. Therefore, struggle for self-government cannot proceed independently from the struggle of the movement for national independence. Only within a free China can there be free provinces. The political, economic, and social problems within a province are only soluble within the scope of the whole country. Therefore, the realization of real self-government of the provinces will only be possible after the success of the interests of the revolution of the whole country. We recommend this analysis to the consideration of the whole country.
Thirdly, there is the school of opinion favouring peace conferences. The country has suffered long from the civil war, and suggestions of holding peace conferences came as a natural result. These suggestions are not confined to the Chinese, but there are foreigners also. If we can achieve peace in this way, nothing can be better. But the trouble is that these suggestions defeat their own purposes. Let us see why. The civil war is created directly by the competing militarists. In seeking their own interests these militarists stand in absolute opposition to one another, and there was no ground for any compromise. Even if there were, it would not amount to more than the compromise between the interests of the militarists, and it had nothing to do with the interests of the people. It would be a union of the militarists and not the union of the country, and what will it bring to the people? The result of such peace conferences will in no way be different from the results of the peace conferences of Europe, where the peace of the small nation is sacrificed to the competing interests of the big Powers. The fact that China was not able to get unity was due to the interests of these Powers. If one knows the impossibility of peace, but entertains the illusion that the parties to this struggle will seek a sort of equilibrium and avoid conflict, thereby securing a temporary truce, it would be entirely a dream. The reason is that in fact there is no power to prevent one militarists attacking another; and since all militarists possess mercenary troops, the inevitable result is plundering and war. It is, of course, easier to plunder other provinces than to plunder one's own province.
Fourthly, there is the school of opinion advocating government by the merchant class. The originator of this opinion viewed the trouble as arising from the militarists and politicians, and therefore, the capitalists ought to rise to take their place. But if militarists and politicians incurred the hatred of the people, due do the fact that they do not represent the people, we must ask in the first place, can the merchants represent the interests of the masses of the people? In the second place, we must know that the militarist government incurred the increasing of the foreign Powers. The merchant government will also be under the protection of the foreign Powers, and in that case it is nothing different from the militarist government. Although one cannot be opposed to a merchant government as such, our demand is that the masses of the people will organize the government themselves, to represent the interests of the whole people, and not confine it to those of the merchant class. And that government must be one which is independent and does not seek the help of others. It must depend on the will of the whole of the masses of the people.
A brief survey of the above currents of thought has shown that some of them proceeded from a sincere desire to save the country but result only in chimeras, while others are the outcome of malicious criticism lacking in all sincerity.
The Kuomintang is always of the opinion that the only way out for China is to realize the Three Principles through the Nationalist Revolution. Reviewing the present situation of China, we are more confirmed in our view that the Nationalist Revolution cannot be delayed. We therefore submit to the people of the whole country a detailed presentation of the principles and the politicial platform of the Kuomintang.
