The reporters were impressed by the little-known war of resistance against Japanese aggression behind enemy lines and awed by the sincerity of Mao Zedong. Mao took the reporters' visit very seriously. He met with them, answered their questions, and held talks with many of them. When Forman asked, "Why don't you change the name — change it to 'Neo-Democracy,' or 'Democratism,' or some such — anything but 'Communism'?" He shook his head. "It doesn't matter to us or to our consciences what we or others call our system. And if we were to change suddenly to some other name, there are those in China today — and abroad, too — who would make capital of it, would accuse us of trying to cover up something. No — we cannot, we must not, change the name. Nor do we need to. It is the content and the practice that are important — not the label!" Facts speak louder than words. True gold fears no fire. With such steadfastness and confidence, when Stein asked what they relied on to direct the government and the army, Mao replied that they relied on the trust of the people, the 86 million people currently governed by the new democratic governments at all levels.
Mao wrote in an editorial for Jiefang Daily that "most foreigners and the Chinese in the rear area still do not understand what the CPC really is." "But facts speak louder than words, and the truth will prevail. At the end of the day, both foreigners and Chinese will become clear-eyed. In fact they are now beginning to know more about us." The rooster has crowed and all under heaven is bright. Thanks to the fair reports of the Chinese and foreign reporters, all the smear campaigns against the Eighth Route Army have been shattered by facts, and the blockade will no longer work. The real CPC, with its sincerity, candor, openness and confidence, has dispelled the dark clouds and stepped into the world stage.
