Translated by Onurcan Balcı

The Chinese Revolution holds a special place in the history of world revolutions both theoretically and practically. With the national democratic revolution led by Sun Yat-sen, a new door in history was opened, and this door was flung wide open by the Chinese Communist Party under the leadership of Mao Zedong.

The leaders of the Chinese Revolution, while saluting the Bolshevik Revolution, also analyzed and criticized the ideological regression of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU). Through the Three Worlds Theory, they presented a new method of alignment.

The Turkish War of Independence, one of the world’s first anti-imperialist struggles, as stated by Mustafa Kemal, had given birth to a revolution that served as a beacon of light for oppressed nations. Although Mustafa Kemal had established a vast alliance network with the USSR, he did not adopt a socialist path.

In the Kemalist Revolution, which reflects more characteristics of the French Revolution, there were practices that socialism could not accept or did not accept. While the Chinese Communist Party criticized these practices, the nationalist government Kuomintang strongly supported these steps. Every success of Türkiye was applauded in China. So much so that two books about Atatürk and the Kemalist Revolution were even published.

Even though it was a revolution against imperialism, the Kemalist Revolution was not warmly received by Chinese communists. As seen in the article published in the “Documents from Our History” section of our previous issue, bilateral relations could only be established in 1971.

In his work New Democracy, written nine years before the success of the revolution, Mao Zedong provided analyses of the internal situation in China and gave examples from Kemalism, offering various criticisms.

In the document dated May 31, 1949, sent by Türkiye’s chargé d’affaires in China, Mustafa Kenanoğlu, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is noted that Mao Zedong, the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, had referred to Türkiye in his 1940 book New Democracy.

Additionally, in this document where two files were submitted, it is seen that the English translations of the sections related to Türkiye were also sent, and it is noted in red ink that one of them was translated by the American Embassy. The secrecy of the documents, located in the Turkish Diplomatic Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the file number “7475-42659-1,” was lifted by decision number 32084017 dated 11.12.2020.

We share with you the translation of the documents.

Document 1
Republic of Türkiye – Nanjing Embassy
New Democracy – Mao Zedong
January 15, 1940
Section 7 – The Refutation of Plutocracy

(In the previous paragraphs, it was discussed why it is not possible to establish a plutocratic capitalist order in China.)

Under certain conditions — for example, in the aftermath of the first imperialist war and the October Revolution, when the capitalists had won a victory against the Greek invasion and the proletariat was rather weak — a small-scale plutocratic Türkiye emerged under the leadership of the Kemalists. But there will never be another Türkiye. Especially after the Second World War and at a time when the Soviet Union has completed its socialist construction, it is unthinkable to imagine a Türkiye with a population of 450 million.

Due to China’s unique conditions — the compromise of capitalists and the possibility of organizing the proletariat on a large scale — it is impossible for a situation similar to what occurred in Türkiye to take place in China. After the failure of the great Chinese revolution in 1927, Chinese capitalists began making a fuss about so-called “Kemalism.” But where is a Kemal in China? Where is a plutocratic government and a capitalist society in China?

Moreover, even the so-called Kemalist Türkiye eventually had to align itself with Anglo-French imperialism, gradually turned into a semi-colony, and became part of the imperialist-reactionary world.

Document 2
Republic of Türkiye – Nanjing Embassy
New Democracy – Mao Zedong
January 15, 1940
Section V – New International and National Situations

(… In this section, the historical defeat of capitalism and the rise of socialism are emphasized.)

This is a time of revolution and war; it is a matter of the definitive death of capitalism and the inevitable rise of socialism. Therefore, to assume that after China’s victory over imperialism and feudalism it will begin constructing a capitalist society in the form of a bourgeois dictatorship is nothing more than an illusion.

Türkiye, after the First Imperialist War and the October Revolution, under special historical conditions — such as the relative strength of the bourgeoisie following the victory against Greece and the weakness of the proletariat — was able to establish a bourgeois dictatorship. However, the end of this war and the victory of socialism now create new conditions.

Considering the conciliatory nature of the bourgeoisie and the increasing strength of the proletariat, the task facing China is much more complex and profound than that of Türkiye.

Didn’t the Chinese bourgeoisie start talking loudly about Kemalism after the failure of the 1927 Chinese revolution? But where is Kemalism in China? Where is a Chinese society in the form of a bourgeois dictatorship, and a capitalist system to match it?

Because even the real Kemalist Türkiye ultimately came under the influence of British and French imperialism, gradually became a semi-colony, and turned into a part of the imperialist-reactionary world.

Within the international situation of the 1940s of the twentieth century, all these heroes or “great men” in colonies and semi-colonies who shout in the name of Kemalism have only two options: Either they join the imperialist front as part of world reaction, or they move to the anti-Japanese front as part of world progressivism. There is no third way.

This article is retrieved from the Teori Journal.
Sources are retrieved from the Head of Government Archives in Turkiye

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