by the Chinese revolution in its present stage of development. The difficulties are the following: on the one hand it is perfectly clear that the striking force of the Chinese people, the Kuomintang and the Communist Party, must direct its main blows against the foreign imperialists.
This is the main task: the struggle for the independent existence of China, the struggle for the national emancipation of the country. For the accomplishment of this task it is necessary to maintain the national revolutionary united front, which now consists not only of peasants, of workers, of artisans, nor only of the democratic and radical intelligentzia, but at the same time of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie, of merchants and industrialists. It need not be said that not every merchant and every industrialist is joining in the struggle, but solely those who are not connected directly with foreign capital, those who are not to be counted among the compradores, or intermediaries between foreign capital and China. That section of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie which is now playing an objectively revolutionary part, and with whom it is necessary to form a bloc at the present stage of development if the greatest possible combined force is to be directed against the foreign imperialists—this section of the bourgeoisie is connected, through the government, with the semi-nobility and the big peasant elements in the villages.
It must be observed that in China the system of underleasing is still greatly in vogue. Large joint stock companies take a lease of land and then sub-lease it. The new tenant sub-leases it again, and so the process goes on. If this land ownership is disturbed the wave thus set vibrating runs at once up to the commercial and industrial circles. It is characteristic that in the province of Kwantung, this main stronghold of the Canton government, a large section of the land is owned by large landowners, these being
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