‘Manifesto of the Congress of the Laboring Masses of the Far East’ from International Press Correspondence. Vol. 2 No. 4. February 21, 1922.

In January a Congress of the peoples of the Far East was held in Moscow. We shall later have occasion to deal with this Congress in more detail. The Congress addressed the following appeal to the peoples of the Far East:

Laboring Masses of the Far East! Workers and Peasants of China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Indo-China, the Dutch East Indies and of the Islands of the Pacific Ocean! Enslaved Peoples of the Far East!

For many decades you have to suffer the brutality and greed of European, American and Japanese buccaneers. Under Japanese rule Korea’s soil has been soaked with the blood of its best sons. Japanese, American, French and English plunderers have exploited the four hundred millions of the Chinese population and drawn their profits from the blood and the tears of the Chinese people. They do not consider suppressed peoples as human beings. They are merely looking for glittering gold, for profits; and if they crave an increase in profits, hundreds of millions of human beings are as nothing in their eyes. In the white quarters of Pekin, Shanghai, Hongkong, Tchemulpo Chinese and Koreans are forbidden like dogs to enter gardens and public buildings. In these quarters of the towns the bourgeoisie, which has grown rich on the blood and sweat of our people, rides about in rikshas to which men are harnessed and spurred to a faster gait by a rain of blows. The Chinese coolies, who are the most exploited and suppressed slaves, are being tormented to death by these parasites. The Chinese peasants work 16 to 18 hours a day, but the fruits of their toil are transferred to the pockets of the foreign usurers and their mercenaries. The Korean peasants possess no land for the growing of their grain. The land is in the possession of Japanese capitalists and farmers, who are forcing the peasants to work by means of bayonets and bullets. Every word of protest, every groan of despair is being suppressed by mass executions, as has recently been the case in the Philippine Islands, on Formosa, in Indo-China and the Dutch East Indies. The same state of affairs prevails in adjacent British India which has for a long time been a terrible dungeon for three hundred millions of people laboring on rice, cotton, coffee and other plantations. Mongolia has only recently been liberated from the grip of the Japanese White Guards.

In Japan where the governing class has been given the nickname “the Hangman of the Far East” the workers in the factories and the agricultural workers are worse off than the domestic animals. The sighs and groans of one hundred million slaves grow louder day by day. The oppressors shut their ears to all demands for human rights on the part of the oppressed nations. Only recently they met in the shade of the American Stock Exchange, at Washington, in order to discuss the further exploitation of the peoples of the Far East. Here the Treaty of the Four Vampires became an accomplished fact. Korea, the Russian Far East and Manchuria were delivered over to Japanese plundering while the powers granted each other equal rights in the exploitation of China. The American capitalists played the leading part in this crime. The Consortium proposed by America in 1918 intended to make China an American vassal state. In this case the Chinese peasants would have been forced to pay a tax on real estate to the American bankers while Chinese industry would have been transformed into an American workshop. This plan was prevented, however, by the differences between the usurpers and by the united protest of the Chinese masses.

Imperialism is now attempting to form another Consortium, an international association for the military, financial and industrial exploitation of China. Japan, America, Great Britain and France have for some time postponed the war for the domination of the Pacific Ocean. They have only postponed it, but not given it up. They have postponed it in order to rob in company for a short time. The world war has undermined their power. In Europe where their crimes had been committed, they were threatened by the proletarian revolution. For four years they waged war against the Soviet Republic and now they are obliged to recognize both the Soviet Government and their own stupidity.

They are now attempting to strengthen their tottering power in the Far East at the expense of our lives, our blood and our labor. They are determined to intensify our slavery. This must not and will not happen. We must be masters of our fate and no longer remain instruments of the greed of the imperialists. The Communist International has addressed a powerful appeal to the proletariat of all countries and to the oppressed peoples throughout the world. We shall give voice to this appeal in our wretched villages, among the enslaved workers on the plantations, in our schools and barracks. We have come to the capital of the Soviet Republic in order to raise our voice from this conspicuous tribune against the hangmen of the world, against the Washington Treaty of the Four Vampires. We, the representatives of the oppressed laboring masses of imperialist Japan, of Korea which is perishing under the Japanese yoke, of liberated Mongolia; of the toiling masses of the Dutch East Indies who are oppressed by English, American and Dutch imperialists, demand freedom, equality and independence. We call to this just struggle all those who have not betrayed their people, who stand for the interests of the oppressed, who are slaves but do not want to remain slaves. We know that we will not receive freedom as a present from the hands of our enemies; we know that the battle for our liberation will be hard and arduous. Yet, we want to live, and we shall take by means of force what belongs to us. We are the majority, we are hundreds of millions; our unity is our strength. We proclaim a life and death struggle against Japanese, American, English and French Imperialism.

We shall fight the battle against the venal authorities the lackeys of the oppressors of China, Japanese militarism and plutocracy, hypocritic American imperialism and the greedy English usurpers to the bitter finish. The sword of American imperialism will break in the hands of the Japanese proletariat. We are here binding an insoluble alliance of the laboring masses of the Far East under the banner of the Communist International. We shall struggle for our freedom. We shall overthrow our oppressors and establish a just system of labor. We shall take the land away from the idle and place the power into the hands of our workers and peasants. Organize! Enroll in our militant ranks! The workers and peasants must unite for the struggle against Capitalism and Imperialism.

Prepare yourselves for the great battle!
Down with the conspirators of Washington!
Down with the Treaty of the Four Vampires!
Long live the alliance of the laboring peoples of the Fast East!
Long live the Communist International!
Proletarians of all countries; oppressed peoples throughout the world, unite!

On behalf of the Chinese delegation: Huang-Li, In-Shian, Huang-Po, Wong-Chu-Po, Li-Kiang, Pin-Tong, Tchang-Bog-To, Tauchang-To, Ksi-Dse, Kong, Mendsumi.
On behalf of the Japanese delegation: Katayama, Nagamo, Yakowa, Katoyoboshu, Nogi.
On behalf of the Mongolian delegation: Dindib, Dinian, Chombo.
On behalf of the Korean delegation: Kosiluma, Pakaing, Keonkokan.
On behalf of the Dutch East Indian delegation: Simson.

International Press Correspondence, widely known as”Inprecor” was published by the Executive Committee of the Communist International (ECCI) regularly in German and English, occasionally in many other languages, beginning in 1921 and lasting in English until 1938. Inprecor’s role was to supply translated articles to the English-speaking press of the International from the Comintern’s different sections, as well as news and statements from the ECCI. Many ‘Daily Worker’ and ‘Communist’ articles originated in Inprecor, and it also published articles by American comrades for use in other countries. It was published at least weekly, and often thrice weekly. The ECCI also published the magazine ‘Communist International’ edited by Zinoviev and Karl Radek from 1919 until 1926 monthly in German, French, Russian, and English. Unlike, Inprecor, CI contained long-form articles by the leading figures of the International as well as proceedings, statements, and notices of the Comintern. No complete run of Communist International is available in English. Both were largely published outside of Soviet territory, with Communist International printed in London, to facilitate distribution and both were major contributors to the Communist press in the U.S. Communist International and Inprecor are an invaluable English-language source on the history of the Communist International and its sections.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/inprecor/1922/v02n014-feb-21-1922-inprecor.pdf