| The period of the Anti-Japanese War was a critical historical time when the Chinese nation gradually moved from modern hardships towards national independence and people’s liberation.The news propaganda work led by the Chinese Communist Party(CCP)made significant contributions to the victory of the Anti-Japanese War.The Party’s news propaganda policies guiding this period were not only an essential part of the history of the CCP’s news propaganda policies but also an integral component of the CCP’s news propaganda thought history.These policies absorbed the experiences and lessons of leading and managing news propaganda work since the founding of the Party and inherited the theoretical concepts of "the whole Party running newspapers" and "full-staff propaganda" guided by Marxism.To achieve the fundamental task of resisting Japan and saving the nation,the Party’s news propaganda policies during this period were comprehensively deepened,developing the Party newspaper’s theoretical system,improving and perfecting the news propaganda management system,and becoming an essential part of the Sinicization of Marxism.Studying the history of news propaganda policies during the Anti-Japanese War period has significant theoretical and practical implications.The problem studied in this paper is the practical unity of the news propaganda policy of the Communist Party of China,whose connotation is: the news propaganda policy of the Communist Party of China is a tool to unify the news propaganda and the revolutionary construction,and this unity is in essence the unity of the cognitive activity of the practice subject and its social practice.Through the investigation of the basis for the formulation of news propaganda policy of the Communist Party of China,policy implementation,policy’s function and influence and the party news theories formed in this period,we can have a clear insight into the practical unity.From the basis of formulation,the news propaganda policy has always adhered to the political consistency with the Party,closely linked to the revolutionary situation,combined with practical tasks,and targeted at practical problems;from the perspective of implementation,on the basis of adhering to policy principles,the channels and networks of policy implementation should be established to meet the needs of different subjective and objective conditions in different regions;from the perspective of theoretical construction,the policy promotes the construction,development and application of the theoretical system of the Party newspaper in the interaction of theory and practice,and becomes a tool to guide such practical issues as rectification within the Party,reflecting the practical unity contained in the news propaganda of the Communist Party of China.After a meticulous examination and compilation of 287 policy documents on news propaganda issued by the Chinese Communist Party(CCP)during the Anti-Japanese War era,this study employs a historical-theoretical approach alongside document and logical analysis methods to systematically investigate the specifics,developmental trajectory,and phase-specific characteristics of these news propaganda policies.Using these policy documents as the focal point,corroborated by relevant files,the basis of policy formulation is thoroughly analyzed.In light of policy execution,the propagation of policies,organizational safeguards for policy implementation,and policy adjustment are methodically portrayed,presenting the fundamental logic of policy coverage from the central to local levels throughout the extensive system of party,government,military,and civilian bodies.During the Anti-Japanese War,the CCP’s news propaganda policy took various forms,such as resolutions,notifications,directives,outlines,party newspaper articles,leader’s letters,speeches,telegrams,etc.,which can be classified into three categories: news propaganda policy documents,policy-related literature,and other policy documents related to news propaganda.A phased characteristic analysis reveals that from 1931-1935,the party newspaper’s shift to a political guidance role led to an increase in policy-related literature,with the concept that "the party newspaper is a collective propagandist and organizer" becoming the core theme of news propaganda policy during this period.However,under the influence of "dogmatism," the policy demonstrated disjunctions between theory and strategy,and strategy and reality.Following the Zunyi Conference,news propaganda policy transitioned to an organic integration of theory and practice.With the establishment of the United Anti-Japanese National Front,a strategic line mobilizing "all dynamic forces" was affirmed,marking an important phase in policy development.From the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee to the end of the Anti-Japanese War,both the quality and quantity of news propaganda policies underwent a staged transformation,preliminarily forming a policy theoretical framework centered on "party spirit,mass orientation,combativeness,and organization." Moreover,the erstwhile "thousand-word" "Party Eight-Legged Essay" style was eliminated,shifting towards a direct,concrete,and practical writing style.The primary basis for formulating news propaganda policies consists of policy-makers’ analysis of the revolutionary situation,the establishment of practical tasks,and the construction of ideological theories.The "Mukden Incident," the "Marco Polo Bridge Incident," and the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee are significant time-points in the policy shift,with policy-makers gradually rectifying the error of dogmatic interpretation of the Chinese revolutionary situation and forming an independent and proactive consciousness of analyzing the revolutionary circumstances.The CCP changed the policy focus from solely emphasizing opposition and class nature to highlighting anti-Japanese war and democracy,emphasizing nationality based on the domestic war situation,the situation of CCP-KMT relations,and the international political situation.Furthermore,historical tasks such as mobilizing for the Anti-Japanese War and the democratic struggle determined the three aspects of news propaganda tasks: mass mobilization,intra-party ideological education,and anti-enemy struggle.In addition,policy-makers progressively promoted the integration of Marxist theory with Chinese revolutionary practice,continuously enhancing the theoretical framework of news propaganda policies with evolving theoretical thoughts.The leadership group represented by Mao Zedong localized and concretized Marxist principles such as class analysis,materialistic dialectics,and mass viewpoint,becoming the theoretical guide for policy formulation.Emphasis was placed on discerning the revolutionary spirit of the policy target group via meticulous class analysis,thus crafting definitive yet adaptable strategies for mobilization.The focus was directed towards leveraging the contrasting relations amongst the "enemy,friend,and ourselves",taking a dialectically harmonious standpoint,while employing a combat strategy that melds political and public opinion assaults;this was done in adherence to the leadership approach characterized by mass line.Additionally,the policy’s subjects progressively amalgamated Marxist theory with Chinese revolutionary practices,continuously refining the theoretical framework of the news propagation policy with evolving ideological theories.The leadership collective,represented by Mao Zedong,localized and actualized the class analysis method,materialist dialectics,and mass viewpoint – all being Marxist principles – thereby,serving as the theoretical compass for policy formulation.Notably,they borrowed from the "party principle" and "party newspaper theory" found in the Soviet Union’s news propaganda work,which stood as theoretical pillars in policy creation.The Chinese Communist Party(CCP)promoted the execution of news propaganda policies in a unified manner across the entire party under policy leadership,employing various tactics.Initially,during the policy transmission process,they underscored policy education to dissipate any discrepancies in policy understanding;local party organizations took the lead in policy learning.Relying on the party’s organizational system,they expanded policy homogeneity diffusion through policy refinement.Subsequently,they fortified the "unified" leadership system as a disciplinary safeguard,underpinned by meeting,inspection,review,and reporting systems.Moreover,they paid heed to the adaptability of policy execution,building channels and networks for policy implementation based on the varying conditions of occupied areas and the territories under national control.During the war against Japan,the CCP’s news propaganda policy ensured the correct direction of news and propaganda,built a fighting force for the war against Japan,and gave full play to the organizational role of news and propaganda work.In addition,the CCP’s news propaganda policy had a profound impact on the war of resistance and the construction of base areas,not only promoting the integration of various tasks with propaganda work,but also expanding the party’s political influence,and guiding the press and propaganda work to launch a vigorous propaganda war against the enemy.The news propaganda policy has promoted the formation of the theoretical system of the CCP’s party newspaper from three aspects:he standpoints of initiation,methodology,and international perspective.It further developed the "pen" theory by clarifying theoretical connotations,enhancing the combativeness of the "pen",and fostering an organic integration with the "gun".Moreover,against the historical backdrop of revolutionary struggles,the party’s news propaganda policy,originating from revolutionary practice and fundamentally aimed at resolving practical issues,reflected a strong instrumental rationality,highlighting the distinct underpinnings of the CCP’s news propaganda policy. |
