Yesterday (7th), the leader of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, visited Shanxi to commemorate the Battle of Hundred Regiments, and the state media avoided the historical controversy surrounding it. During that time, the CCP passively resisted Japan while opportunistically expanding its influence. Peng Dehuai, who commanded the Eighth Route Army in the Battle of Hundred Regiments against the Japanese, was criticized within the party for prematurely exposing their strength.
According to a report from the official CCP media People’s Daily, on July 7th afternoon, Xi Jinping, the CCP leader, visited the monument square of the Battle of Hundred Regiments in Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, laid a wreath, visited the Battle of Hundred Regiments Memorial Hall, and so on.
However, the state media did not mention that the Battle of Hundred Regiments had been a controversial period in the history of the CCP.
There weren’t many significant battles between the CCP and Japan, and the “Battle of Hundred Regiments” that started on August 20, 1940, was not a combat plan formulated by the CCP Central Committee but by a commander of the Eighth Route Army. This battle was later criticized within the CCP for prematurely revealing its strength. Peng Dehuai, the specific commander of the Battle of Hundred Regiments and deputy commander of the Eighth Route Army, was one of the targets of criticism during the Cultural Revolution for his participation in the battle.
An article by Han Yu on the People’s Daily website on April 11, 2016, mentioned that on August 20, 1940, the Eighth Route Army, under the command of Peng Dehuai and other generals, engaged with the Japanese army. This battle became one of the most controversial military battles in the history of the Chinese Communist Party and its military. Peng Dehuai, who led this battle, faced severe criticism.
The article also highlighted Mao Zedong, Lu Dingyi, and Nie Rongzhen’s criticisms of the battle. During the “North China Symposium” in 1945, under intense criticisms, Peng Dehuai had to reassess the Battle of Hundred Regiments, admitting that it was a political mistake and had prematurely exposed their strength, diverting the main force of the Japanese army.
Furthermore, amid the series of criticisms against Peng Dehuai triggered by the Battle of Hundred Regiments, one of the most severe charges was that he had been accused of establishing an “independent kingdom” and launching the battle without prior approval from the CCP Central Military Commission. The article also claimed that when the order to start the battle was issued, Peng Dehuai did not have the approval of the Central Military Commission.
Publicly available historical documents show that during the Anti-Japanese War, the CCP used propaganda to falsely portray the Kuomintang’s lack of resistance against Japan while implementing an internal policy of “one-third anti-Japanese, two-thirds coping, and seven-eighths development.” They conducted rectification campaigns in Yan’an and engaged in opium cultivation. By the end of the war, the CCP’s military force expanded from 20,000 to 1.2 million troops, including the Eighth Route Army and the New Fourth Army.
While the CCP claimed to be a key pillar in the resistance against Japan, records show that during the eight years of the war, there were 22 major battles and 1,117 large-scale engagements between the National Revolutionary Army led by the Kuomintang and the Japanese forces. According to a report by the Ministry of National Defense of the Republic of China in 1946, 3,650,465 military personnel died in combat or from injuries, with the complete loss of all naval vessels and almost all personnel, and the Air Force lost 2,468 aircraft and most of its pilots. 206 senior military officers were among the deceased.
In contrast, according to CCP’s own statistics, their armed forces suffered over 610,000 casualties during the Anti-Japanese War, with only one senior leader, Zuo Quan, reported dead.
Recently, the CCP has intensified its propaganda about the Anti-Japanese War. On July 8 alone, the People’s Daily website published at least seven articles on the topic.
Chinese affairs expert Wang He previously stated to Epoch Times that the CCP’s high-profile promotion of the 80th anniversary of the Anti-Japanese War is driven by specific political ambitions. The existence of the Republic of China directly challenges the legitimacy of the CCP regime, so it must rewrite this history, linking the global victory in the war against fascism with the current pressure on Taiwan, manipulating public opinion to conduct a cognitive warfare worldwide.
Wang He highlighted that the historical research related to ROC archives is exceptionally rich. If the CCP’s lies continue to persist, many people will remain deceived. Revealing the truth of history, spreading it widely, and thoroughly exposing CCP’s lies are urgent tasks.