The Malayan Communist Party as Recorded in the Comintern Files

The CCP’s instruction was also said to have advised the Malay Party not to rely on the victory of
Chinese revolution but to be independent and act under the leadership of the Comintern. 14 And the
instruction also did not offer any advice to the Malay Party to change its violent, extremist policy.
That might mean that the change from the violent policy was not due to the CCP’s instruction but
the Comintern’s.
According to Anna Belogurova, the instruction dated 22 January 1929 was written by Li Li-san, the
then de facto CCP leader. In his diary entry for 1 January 1929, Li criticized the Nanyang
Communists for making a Chinese revolution. He advocated a ‘Nanyang revolution’, that is, a
revolution based on local conditions (indigenization). These conditions included the Nanyang’s
colonial status, the ‘many nationalities’ present and a more developed industry. The principal task
of our party [NCP] is to make all the oppressed unite and strive for the national emancipation.
Belogurova also comments that these points were discussed in the sixth congress of the Comintern
(17 July – 1 September, 1928) in Moscow, in which Li participated. Unwilling to assume full
responsibility, the CCP sent the draft to the Comintern for approval. She concluded that it was the
CCP leadership that first suggested the organization of a Nanyang party under Comintern
leadership. 15
3. NPC after the Plenum
No document on the PC conference held on 3 August 1928 was filed. Instead, the files included a
Chinese language report dated 15 March 1930 that was sent to the Comintern. Below is a summary
of the report:
(1) NPC received the resolution of the Comintern Tenth Plenum ( 全 体 会 议 ). After
detailed discussion at the 25th Executive Committee conference ( 会 议 ), the CC of
the NPC fully agreed with it and its line.
(2) Under the present international circumstances, besides opposing the Social
Democratic Party, especially its left faction, we have to oppose the rightists,
appeasers and opportunists. Because opportunistic elements in the Party of the
colonies intend to replace the communist organizations by the nationalist party in
these days.
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