The people's republic will definitely not represent the interests
of the enemy classes. On the contrary, it will stand in direct opposition to
the landlord and comprador classes, the lackeys of imperialism,. and will not
count them among the people. In the same way, Chiang Kai-shek's "National
Government of the Republic of China" represents only the wealthiest, but
not the common people whom it does not count as part of the nation. As 80 to 90
per cent of China's population is made up of workers and peasants, the people's
republic ought to represent their interests first and foremost. However, by
throwing off imperialist oppression to make China free and independent and by
throwing off landlord oppression to free China from semi-feudalism, the people's
republic will benefit not only the workers and peasants but other sections of
the people too. The sum total of the interests of the workers, peasants and the
rest of the people constitutes the interests of the whole Chinese nation. The
comprador and the landlord classes also live on Chinese soil, but as they have
no regard for the national interests, their interests clash with those of the
majority. This small minority are the only ones that we break with and are
clashing with, and we therefore have the right to call ourselves the
representatives of the whole nation.
There is, of course, a dash of interests between the working class
and the national bourgeoisie. We shall not be able to extend the national
revolution successfully unless the working class, the vanguard of the national
revolution, is accorded political and economic rights and is enabled to direct
its strength against imperialism and its running dogs, the traitors. However if
the national bourgeoisie joins the anti-imperialist united front, the working
class and the national bourgeoisie will have interests in common. In the period
of the bourgeois-democratic revolution, the people's republic will not
expropriate private property other than imperialist and feudal private
property, and so far from confiscating the national bourgeoisie's industrial
and commercial enterprises, it will encourage their development. We shall
protect every national capitalist who does not support the imperialists or the
Chinese traitors. In the stage of democratic revolution there are limits to the
struggle between labour and capital. The labour laws of the people's republic
will protect the interests of the workers, but will not prevent the national
bourgeoisie from making profits or developing their industrial and commercial
enterprises, because such development is bad for imperialism and good for the
Chinese people. Thus it is clear that the people's republic will represent the
interests of all strata opposed to imperialism and the feudal forces. The
government of the people's republic will be based primarily on the workers and
peasants, but will also include representatives of the other classes which are
opposed to imperialism and the feudal forces.
