2. 3PLUS 3
Special Commemorative Issue
70th Anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance
against Japanese Aggression and the end of World War II
marking 70 years:
views from china’s v-day
celebrations
CHINA’S Theatre
of war
Inspiring Stories:
The Guerrilla Fighter
and the Ox Herder
THE FLYING TIGERS
INternational assistance:
a welcome helping hand
SANMAO:
THE CHINESE TINTIN
RANA MITTER, OXFORD UNIVERSITY
the forgotten ally
MEMORIES OF
BLOOD AND TERROR
UN GENERAL SECRETARY BAN KI-moon
on CHINA’s WARtime contribution
OPINION:
THE PARADE
OPINION:
SCHOLARLY VIEWS ON V-DAY
CHINA
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P10
P12
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P16
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P24
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3. 5PLUSCHINA4
FORWARD 70 YEARS
Images from China’s commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of the victory of the
Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the end of World
War II, the global anti-fascist war, held on September 3, 2015.
Chinese Z-10 (L) and Z-19 (R) attack
helicopters form the number 70 as they fly
in formation past a national flag during
a military parade in Tiananmen Square in
Beijing on September 3, 2015.
Photo: CFP
a young girl is
bathed in afternoon
sunlight as the
commemoration
ceremony comes to
a close.
Photo: CFP
Chinese soldiers
march in formation
during a military
parade in Tiananmen
Square in Beijing on
September 3, 2015.
Photo: CFP

4. 6 7CHINA PLUS 7
70 YEARS70 YEARS
Households across the
country tuned in to
the blanket coverage of
the military parade in
Beijing on September
3, 2015.
Photo: CFP
modern military hardware was on display
during the v-day celebration parade in
Beijing on September 3, 2015, including
several fly-overs of chinese aircraft.
Photo: CFP
Spectacular Fly Overs
from the country’s
airforce impressed
onlookers during the
commemoration on
September 3, 2015.
Photo: CFP

5. 8 9CHINA PLUS
A
ugust 15th, 1945, three months after
Nazi Germany’s final defeat, the world
heard the then Emperor Hirohito
conceding defeat, and announcing
that Japan would surrender to allied countries
unconditionally. “We have ordered our govern-
ment to communicate to the governments of the
United States, Great Britain, China, and the Sovi-
et Union that our Empire accepts the provisions
of their joint declaration.”
A surrender ceremony was held on USS Mis-
souri at Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. As
one of the main battlefields in World War Two,
China’s resistance war lasted longer, suffered
one-third of the world’s total casualties and
paved the way for a quicker defeat of Na-
zi-Germany and Italy in Europe.
For Europe, it was a war of almost six years since
the occupation and partition of Poland in Sep-
tember 1939. But for China, the war dragged on
for 14 years, starting with the occupation of its
northeast in September 1931, and then turning
to all-out war after the Marco Polo Bridge Inci-
dent in Beijing on July 7, 1937.
Rana Mitter, Professor of History and Politics of
Modern China at University of Oxford, (see page
), believes China played an important and sub-
stantial role during the war through its lengthy
resistance to Japanese aggression, stating, “Because
China did continue to resist Japan, it made it pos-
sible eventually for the allies to join it after Pearl
Harbor, and eventually win the victory in Asia.”
China’s
Theatre of War
Hu Dekun, President of the Chinese Association for the His-
tory of World War Two, also Professor at Wuhan University,
says China was the first country to fight against the fascists,
and it fought alone against Japan until 1941 at which point
the Pacific War broke out.
As Hu points out, “The Marco Polo Bridge Incident marks
the whole nation’s resistance against Japanese invasion.
China is the first battlefield against fascism in the world. The
Communist Party of China and Kuomintang both fought
against the Japanese invaders. In the following 4 years, Chi-
na fought alone. That was incredible.”
China’s efforts were indeed incredible, similar to those
of Britain which fought alone in the early years against
the German military machine after the fall of France;
until of course Adolf Hitler opened a second battlefront
against Josef Stalin’s Red Army. Japan struck Pearl Harbor
in 1941, and attacked British and US troops in Southeast
Asian nations at the same time.
Even then, China was still the main battlefield against the
Axis powers in the east. Among Japan’s 51 ground corps,
nearly 70 percent were located in China. Rana Mitter says
China’s resistance is of great strategic significance to World
War II. “They made sure that very large numbers of Japanese
troops… were held down in China rather than being rede-
ployed, sent away instead to the Pacific or elsewhere. And
that means that by making that contribution, China played a
significant role in the overall ally’s victory.”
It is in the words of the officials and leaders at the time
where China’s importance is truly acknowledged and
understood. Sugiyama Hajime, Japan’s then Chief of
Army General Staff once admitted, “It is actually im-
possible to move northward since massive troops have
been deployed in China.”
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt praised the Chinese
people’s efforts against Japanese aggression, publically
stating, “We are fighting on the same side as the brave
people of China - those millions who for four and a half
long years have withstood bombs and starvation and have
whipped the invaders time and again in spite of the supe-
rior Japanese equipment and arms.”
Former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill
underscored the importance of China to the allied
nation’s war effort, stating, “If the Japanese attack the
West Indian Ocean, all our positions in the Middle
East will be lost. Only China can help us to prevent
that from happening.” Meanwhile, former Soviet leader
Joseph Stalin outlined the strategic importance of
Chinese resistance, noting, “Only when the Japanese
invaders’ hands and feet are tied up, can we avoid
fighting on two fronts simultaneously when the Ger-
man invaders attack us.”
Pinning down the majority of Japanese divisions in
China helped ensure a quicker victory in Europe,
as China effectively delayed or prevented Japanese
troops from advancing elsewhere as planned. This
made it impossible for the three Axis countries
from joining hands in Euro-Asia, relieving Russia
of fighting on two battlefronts, while allied nations
could fight side by side on both theatres.By Hou Limei
For China, the war dragged
on for 14 years, starting with
the occupation of its northeast
in September 1931, and then
turning to all-out war after the
Marco Polo Bridge Incident in
Beijing on July 7, 1937.
Besides fighting at home, China also sent expedition
troops to Burma, known today as Myanmar, in 1942,
to fight alongside British forces and help secure vital
supply lines in Southeast Asia. But the cost of war, which
involved four million troops from both sides, was a bitter
pill to swallow. Approximately 35 million Chinese people
were killed or wounded, representing approximately one-
third of the world’s total casualties.
“We are fighting on the same side
as the brave people of China -
those millions who for four and
a half long years have withstood
bombs and starvation and have
whipped the invaders time and
again in spite of the superior
Japanese equipment and arms.”
“Only when the Japanese invaders’
hands and feet are tied up, can
we avoid fighting on two fronts
simultaneously when the German
invaders attack us.”
“If the Japanese attack the West
Indian Ocean, all our positions
in the Middle East will be
lost. Only China can help us to
prevent that from happening.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Winston Churchill
Joseph Stalin
HISTORY HISTORY

6. 10 11CHINA PLUS 11
Continued fighting in China
pinned down many of their
divisions, delaying or even
barring them carrying out the
strategies jointly designed with
Nazi-Germany
STORIESINSPIRING
I
n China’s northeastern provinces, a14-year
battle was waged against Japanese occu-
pation and colonial rule. For the entire
nation, it meant an all-out war spanning
eight years. National salvation depended on both
collective efforts and individual sacrifices. In
many cases, it seemed as if the fate of the entire
Chinese nation rested on the shoulders of certain
individuals. Whether those individuals were
guerilla fighters or simple livestock herders.
Soon after gaining full control of the Northeast
following the September 18th incident in 1931,
Japan set up a puppet Manchuria regime and
imposed colonial rule, seizing resources, and en-
forcing cultural invasion. As China withdrew its
regular army, guerrilla warfare became the main
form of resistance.
Areas along the Songhua River in Heilongjiang
Province, especially the vast mountains and deep
jungles, witnessed prolonged periods of this guer-
rilla warfare. 91-year-old Huang Dianjun is clear
as to why he chose to fight. “(People were being)
Oppressed by the Japanese, beaten and cursed by
them. We were furious and full of anger. We had to
stand up for ourselves.”
Huang joined the combats in the snowy moun-
tains. The group of men with whom he joined
forces were led by General Yang Jingyu. Writer
and historian Sa Su says General Yang was one of
the most heroic figures during this period; a brave
soldier with a vast military know-how.
“He was the master of guerrilla warfare,” explains
Sa. “He was 1.9 meters tall and was nimble. So, he
was regarded as a god by many Chinese people. His
troops were quick to attack and quick to retreat.
They often travelled long distances, leaving enemy
troops racing behind at a loss. If there was an op-
portunity for combat, he seized upon it.”
Heavily outnumbered by the enemy, the guerrillas
led by General Yang managed to inflict significant
losses to the Japanese, who in response mobilised
elite troops to catch the General.
In order to catch the famed General, a scorched earth strat-
egy was carried out, which saw the looting of rural harvests
in order to cut off any means of supply. In February 1940,
Yang Jingyu and his men were separated and surrounded by
Japanese troops. Yang managed to escape and ran for five
days, with no food or supplies. Outnumbered and out-
gunned, Yang was eventually killed by machine gun fire. But
during this monumental struggle, Sa Su says Yang Jingyu
even managed to win the respect of the enemy soldiers.
As Sa explains, “The Japanese media reported that their
soldiers couldn’t help but burst into tears as a result of
(Yang’s) braveness when they approached the dead body.”
Unable to understand how he could hold out for so long,
the Japanese ordered an autopsy, only to find tree bark,
cotton and grassroots in his stomach; items that he had
eaten in an effort to stay alive.
The Japanese commander at the scene, Ryuichiro Kishitani,
was shocked by Yang’s fortitude. After Japan’s final defeat,
Ryuichiro committed ritual suicide via hara-kiri. Ryuichiro’s
will read, “His Majesty might be wrong in launching this war.
China has steely soldiers like Yang Jingyu. It would not fall.”
Yang’s death inspired more people to fight and as a result,
during the 14-year occupation of the Northeast and the eight-
year national war, scores of young men joined the battles.
In the South, in Laiyuan County, about 210 kilometres
southwest of Beijing, a young oxherd’s story moved the
hearts of all those that heard it. On October 25, 1942,
Wang Erxiao was herding his ox on a mountain slope
when he saw dozens of Japanese soldiers approaching,
searching for wounded Chinese soldiers. The Japanese
troops threatened Wang’s life.
Aware that thousands of villagers were hiding in
the valley, the boy decided to lie to the Japanese
troops and instead lead them into an ambush
by the Chinese army. 85-year-old Shi Linshan
remembers how he worked together with
Wang to warn the Chinese soldiers that Japanese
troops were approaching.
Shi recalls, “A bayonet was pointed at his back
towards his heart. They forced him to show them
the way to the Chinese army base. He led them in
circles. He was stalling so that our soldiers could
retreat.” Upon being ambushed by the Chinese, one
angry Japanese soldier stabbed Wang and tossed
his body onto a mountain rock. The boy died. A
song depicting the sacrifice of 13-year-old Wang
Erxiao later became a national hit.
1942 was a tough year for people of North China.
Japan was eager to dispatch some of their troops
in China to other countries and even cross into Si-
beria to open a second warfront against the Soviet
Red Army. But continued fighting in China pinned
down many of their divisions, delaying or even
barring them carrying out the strategies jointly
designed with Nazi-Germany.
Frustrated, the Japanese troops intensified their
scorched earth policy, killing, burning and
looting, in order to tighten their grip of North
China. Meanwhile, China’s regular army were
engaged in major battles elsewhere. The task of
pinning down as many enemy troops as possible
was almost an impossible task, which they were
able to pull off; often relying on individual sacri-
fices, such as the case of Wang Erxiao.
Inspiring Stories:
The Guerrilla
Fighter and the
Ox Herder
By Min Rui
Yang Jingyu, the guerrilla General from
China’s northeast Heilongjiang Province.
The Japanese media
reported that their
soldiers couldn’t help
but burst into tears as a
result of Yang’s braveness
when they approached
(his) dead body.
Deputy Curator of the Museum of the Chinese People’s
War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, Luo
Cunkang, emphasises the distinguished contribution Chi-
nese people made to the global anti-Fascist war.
As Luo points out, “China was the main oriental battle-
field in the whole picture of the world’s anti-Fascist war.
However, some Chinese people have little awareness of
the important role that China played in this regard. The
international community has put little emphasis on this
fact.”
1.5 million Japanese soldiers were eliminated in China,
accounting for about 70 percent of Japanese casualties
in World War Two. This helped the allied troops achieve
overall victory, but this came at a huge cost of national sac-
rifice and individual pain, with China sustaining 35 million
casualties.
The task of pinning
down as many enemy
troops as possible was
almost an impossible
task, which they were
able to pull off; often
relying on individual
sacrifices.

7. 12 13CHINA PLUS
HISTORY HISTORY
13
By Li Linxi
I
n the early stages of the war, China fought
mostly unsupported, similar to the sit-
uation faced by Britain. Appeasement
lingered and there had been a lack of gen-
uine understanding of the true brutal nature of
fascism as a global menace. The world stood by
as a number of countries, including China, fell to
enemy hands one after another. The joint global
ambition of the trilateral Axis to carve up the
world was coming to fruition.
Things changed when German, Italian and Japa-
nese troops advanced to more warfronts – the So-
viet Union and North Africa on the western theatre
and Pearl Harbor and the Southeast on the orient.
The world now saw a real common threat and a
shared responsibility to fight back. The American
Volunteer Group, popularly known as the Flying
Tigers, was the only defensive force in the skies of
China between 1941 and 1942, to ensure material
supplies of desperate needs in defiance of Japan’s
superior air power.
In total, the Flying Tigers destroyed nearly 300 Jap-
anese aircraft, sustaining losses of 26 crew mem-
bers and 73 aircraft. As Daune Schultz, author of
“the Maverick War”, wrote, “For a time, the Flying
Tigers provided the only victories against the Japa-
nese anywhere in the Far East. The handful of men
had shown that the Japanese were not invincible.”
91-year-old J. V. Vinyard, who took part in the
operation, explained, “My assistance to the Chinese
was one of my greatest moments of my life that I
will never forget it.” The US also provided massive
aid in the form of aircraft, guns, medicine, and
military instructors. After 1941, assistance from the
US and its engagement in the Pacific War dramati-
cally improved the situation in China.
Earlier, between 1937 and 1941, when Japanese
troops rampaged across half of the Chinese
territory, the Soviet Union offered help and even
fought shoulder to shoulder with China to resist
the invaders’ blitzkrieg and shatter their dream of annihilat-
ing China within three months. In May, 2015, President Xi
Jinping awarded 18 representatives of Russian veterans with
commemorative medals, adding that the Russian veterans
made a huge contribution to China’s own victory.
Between 1937 and 1941, about 5,000 military experts were
sent to China from the Soviet Union. Moscow also offered
loans, as well as industrial and military assistance to rebuild
the battered Chinese army. The Soviet Volunteer Air Force
joined the war from the very beginning. They carried out
air operations over Nanking and the central city of Wuhan.
They even flew across Japanese-occupied areas and launched
bomb attacks on the Japanese airbase in Taiwan.
The Squadron destroyed and damaged almost 1,200 Jap-
anese jets, losing 236 crewmembers in the process. It was
a hard time for Shudlo Taras Georgievich and his fellow
pilots. The 88-year-old veteran recalls the help provided by
the Chinese people at that time. “The local Chinese helped
us a lot. It’s fair to say that they were supporting us with a
marvelous level of devotion, although they were actually
very poor at the time.”
A number of international organizations and individuals
also came in to support China’s struggle. One such indi-
vidual was Canadian Physician Dr. Norman Bethune, who
arrived in 1938 and joined the Eighth Route Army. Bethune
went to the frontlines for emergency operations and assisted
in training Chinese doctors and nurses. Bethune died of an
infection after an operation in late 1939.
For decades, he has been held up as a role model in China,
for his values, dedication and integrity. Bethune’s stories
are included in school textbooks and there are hospitals
named after him. Norman Bethune was one of many foreign
nationals who offered a helping hand to war-ravaged China
in this time of need.
There were also doctors, educators, industrialists
and journalists from around the world, including
overseas Chinese, such as Singaporean business-
man Tan KahKee, who organized campaigns to
raise awareness of Japanese atrocities and dona-
tions to extend financial and material support
to those that needed it. Many died when carry-
ing out their missions in occupied areas, along
transport routes, or at project sites, such as the
China-Burma Highway – the only international
supply line at the time.
3,200 overseas Chinese from Southeast Asia came
as drivers and mechanics. These people, referred
to as the Nanyang Volunteers, worked in harsh
conditions and more than 1,000 of them died as a
result of Japanese air raids and disease, or were lat-
er executed by the Japanese after the fall of Burma,
known today as Myanmar. Today, a monument is
situated alongside the road commemorating the
Nanyang transport volunteers who died as a result
of the war. Though these brave volunteers, from all
over the world, are now gone, their contribution
to the victory and future prosperity of China will
never be forgotten.
F
ormer members of the American volunteer
group known as the “Flying Tigers,” who
assisted China during the War, took the
time to reflect on their wartime experi-
ences. 92-year-old Roy Dillon and 94-year-old Wes
Ament are members of the “Flying Tigers”, official-
ly known as the American Volunteer Group of the
Chinese Air Force.
Since May 1942, the two veterans started to undertake
flying missions over the Hump, above the Himalayan
Mountains. The so-called “death route” was built to
transport military supplies to China, after the last
land route connecting southwest China’s Yunnan and
Myanmar was ruined by Japanese troops.
Dillon recalls the incredibly difficult flying conditions,
which constantly hampered their mission of assisting
the Chinese. “The Japanese at one time had control
of (Myanmar), and that’s why we had to move to
fly these northern routes. And the C-47 didn’t have
the altitude capability or the climbing ability or the
weight-carrying ability to fly these high altitudes.”
The “Flying Tigers” later used the more advanced transport
plane, the C-46, with a higher loading capability. But the flying
conditions in the high-altitude mountainous area and hazard-
ous weather still made the flight a challenge for pilots.
Wes Ament recalls that he started to fly theC-87 trans-
port plane that was refitted from a B-24 bomber aircraft
on January 6, 1945; going on to fly 185 hours in just two
months. Dillon flew over the Hump 174 times and for nearly
720 hours between 1944 and 1945, losing many compan-
ions during the process. As Dillon explains, “From June to
December of 1943, 153 airplanes crashed and 186 airmen
lost their lives. Altogether during the war there were 1,300
airmen lost and over 500 airplanes lost.”
Ament and Dillon now live in the Calaveras County of
California but due to their advanced age they were unable
to make the long journey to China on September 3, 2015,
which meant they were unable to attend China’s military
parade marking the victory of World War II.
But as Dillon says, “We’ve already waited too long to be
able to go over and participate in the celebration, but
our hearts will be there,” and he further adds, “We were
able to contribute to the victory over the Japanese during
WWII. As little as it was, it was still something that I’m
proud of and Wes is proud of. We consider it a privilege
to be able to contribute to that.”
The Flying
Tigers
International
Assistance:
A Welcome
Helping Hand

8. 14 15CHINA PLUS
SANMAO SANMAO
Sanmao’s bitter
experiences
and hardships
resonated with
many readers
during that time.
I
f one were to be asked what the most
famous cartoon character in their
country was, Americans would like-
ly nominate Mickey Mouse, while
Belgians would proudly point towards the
young adventurer Tintin. In China, that hon-
our goes to Sanmao, a skinny boy with only
three hairs on his head. Hailed as one of the
world’s longest-running comic strip charac-
ters, this tenacious orphan has captivated
and inspired generations for eight decades.
At 80 years of age, Sanmao, China’s most popular
comic strip hero, shows no signs of ageing. With
skinny limbs, a big head and three curly strands of
hair on the top of his head, Sanmao is regarded by
Chinese people as a brave and quick-witted hero,
comparable with Tintin. But unlike his western
counterparts, Sanmao’s tales are much darker as
they mirror some of the most turbulent moments
of Chinese history in the Twentieth Century.
Shao Jianqiu, a comic enthusiast born in the
80s, explains, “When I read the books as a kid,
I could only memorise the scenes. But as I got
older, I started to recognise the political conno-
tations and ironies of these comic strips. There is
a lot of historical background embedded in the
cartoons. In terms of the plot, style, and the inci-
sive reflection on society at the time, the Sanmao
series are true masterpieces.”
In 1935, Sanmao, literarily meaning “three hairs” in Chinese,
was devised by cartoonist Zhang Leping in Shanghai. By that
time, modern comic strips had already been popularised for
around ten years; but it was rare to see a comic strip featuring a
child as the protagonist.
Zhang Weijun, the cartoonist’s youngest son, recalls that when
the Sanmao stories were first serialised in 1935, “he hadn’t
roamed on the streets and joined the army yet. He was just
an average kid living in a Shanghai lane house. He was pretty
naughty and had a sense of justice.”
The birth of Sanmao filled a blank in the Chinese comic
industry. Adopting line-drawing techniques, Zhang Leping
avoided dialogue and instead used simple brushwork to re-
veal the complexity of one’s inner world and the chores and
trifles of living in old Shanghai.
But the real life situation in China deteriorated rapidly as
Japan levied its war of aggression against the China and the
Chinese people. Zhang along with a number of other car-
toonists left home and travelled around the country in order
to disseminate the message of resistance and patriotism.
During his eight-year rove, the artist witnessed how
bloodshed, violence and misery ravaged China.
Heartbreakingly, he also watched as ordinary people,
particularly young children, became victims of the
war. Zhang Weijun said that witnessing these atroci-
ties drastically transformed his father’s artwork.
As the younger Zhang explains, “I think his war-
time experience became his baptism and purified
him. From then on, he was determined to see the
world and reflect on its problems for the sake of
common people. He came back to Shanghai in
1945. One year later, he drew the comic ‘Sanmao
Joins the Army,’ which combined the happenings
that he went through. Once published, the re-
sponse was overwhelming. “
In this blood-soaked cartoon story, the homeless
Sanmao puts on an ill-fitting uniform to fight
against the Japanese army. Despite his short stature
and gaunt features, the boy is able to survive on
the bullet-ridden battlefield and uses his size and
intelligence to his advantage in order to defeat far
superior enemies. But there is a tragic element to
Sanmao’s efforts which more often than not end in
vain. But the message is clear: Never give up.
After the success of his first book, in 1947, Zhang
Leping created another classic work: The Won-
derings of Sanmao. This time, China’s beloved
urchin lingered on the streets alone and spent his
time hanging around with beggars, refugees and
orphans in post-war Shanghai.
Constantly being beaten and mocked, he looks on
hungry and helpless while the rich feast and cele-
brate. Sanmao’s bitter experiences and hardships
resonated with many readers during that time.
After the establishment of People’s Republic of China, Zhang
produced a sequence of comic strips illustrating Sanmao’s
new life under a new government. However, it is the first
two series of comic strips which linger long in people’s
memories.
Dong Xiaoyan, director of the Zhang Leping Museum,
which commemorates the artist’s contribution to the Chi-
nese cartoon industry, explains that, “Sanmao grew up with
generations of Chinese children. He is vivacious and tough.
That’s why we not only receive local visitors but also admit
people from all around China and the rest of the world. “
For decades, filmmakers, musicians and animators have
doted on this mischievous and good-natured young boy.
The famous Taiwan writer Chen Maoping empathised with
the character so much that she decided to change her pen
name to “Sanmao.”
Zhang Weijun, son of the cartoonist, believes that the reason
behind Sanmao’s everlasting popularity is that the franchise,
“In particular ‘The Wonderings of Sanmao,’ is not just for
children. The stories might better suit adult readers, since
they reflect the fickleness and inconsistency of society.
Generally speaking, cartoons are an art form representing
comedy and humour. There are no doubt humorous and
funny elements in my father’s books. But he illustrated them
in a tragic way. Compared to comedy, depicting tragedy
makes it much easier to strike a chord.”
三毛从军记
The chinese
tintin
By Li Shiyu

9. 16 CHINA PLUS
ANALYSIS ANALYSIS
16
R
ana Mitter, professor of the history and
politics of modern China at Oxford
University, is the foremost specialist
on Chinese history outside of China.
His 2013 book, “China’s War with Japan, 1937-
1945: The Struggle for Survival” is a meticu-
lously researched work, which took Mitter over
a decade to complete. This work, which has also
been published under the title “Forgotten Ally:
China’s World War II, 1937-1945,” provides a
comprehensive snapshot of the period and of a
field of historical study that many people in the
western developed world are unaware of.
As part of his extensive research for his book, Mit-
ter regularly visited the city of Chongqing. As Mit-
ter explains, “During the period from 1937 to 1946,
it was the temporary wartime capital of China. You
could say that Chongqing stood alongside London,
Washington and Moscow, as an important allied
capital. But this history in the name of Chongqing
is still not well known in the West today. So when
I explained that I wanted to try to restore some of
that history for a bigger audience, actually I found
the reaction of Chinese friends was very positive.”
Mitter cites May 4th, 1939 - the 20th anniversary
of ‘Wusi’ - as an important date in the city’s history.
“Even today most people in China will know that
May 4th was a moment when China decided to
renew its culture, create new culture, Mr. Science,
Mr. Democracy, (德先生 赛先生), all these ideas.
And exactly 20 years later to the day, May 4th 1939,
there was an attempt by the Japanese to obliterate
and destroy that legacy. So I thought the fact that
China and Chongqing had resisted that air raid on
that date was also an important symbol of the way
in which China rethought its own role and thought
about resistance during that time.”
As Mitter explains, though the Chinese people’s war against
Japanese aggression started earlier and lasted longest,
students of history in western countries have a very limited
knowledge of China’s role in World War II. “I think it’s very
important in the west that we don’t think that everything
began with Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939, and remem-
ber that China had been fighting almost alone, not quite but
almost unsupported, for some two years before the outbreak
of war in September 1939 in Europe.”
As for the reason why China’s role in World War II has not
received much attention in the west, Mitter believes this is
largely due to patterns that emerged globally in the years
immediately after the war which affected communications
between east and west. In turn, looking at the history of
China’s War of Resistance against Japanese aggression will
help western countries understand China’s development and
its relations with neighboring countries.
“People often don’t realize that many of the issues, including
the continuing tensions and difficulties between various
actors in the region, but also the desire to create a more
mutual and consensual structure of engagement within the
region, in some sense draws from the legacy of 1945,” Mitter
points out. “There was never a full peace treaty that includ-
ed everyone in Asia, unlike in Europe in 1945. So to some
extent, I think all of the major actors in the region are still
trying to finish the unfinished business of 1945.”
On September 3, 2015, China held a military parade to
mark the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese
People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression
and the Anti-Fascist War, otherwise referred to as the
Second World War. 70 years on, Mitter feels that individ-
uals in the west should do more to remember the Chinese
contribution to the war in Asia.
17
As Mitter explains, “It’s certainly fair to say
that China was an economically and militarily
much weaker power than either the British
Empire or the United States, or indeed the
Soviet Union. But that does not mean that
China’s contribution wasn’t important. In
terms of holding down a lot of Japanese troops
in China itself, this was a major drawback to
the Japanese. For instance, in 1938, if Chi-
na had surrendered to Japan in that year, the
whole history of Asia and even the rest of the
world might have been very different.”
As for the professor’s interpretation of the pe-
riod, which he goes into at length in his book,
he states that, “You can look at it as a battle; a
conflict between three paths for modern Chi-
na. One was of course the path of communism
under Mao Zedong. The second path is of na-
tionalism, but an anti-communist nationalism
under Chiang Kai-shek.
The third path was if China had been conquered
and became part of a Japanese Empire and Wang
Jingwei or other people who collaborated with
him might have taken over China. Now we know
eventually the communist party would win, but
people didn’t know that in the 1930s for sure; it
could have gone one of three directions. That’s
one of the reasons why I think that period is so interest-
ing. It’s not just about the war. It’s about different path-
ways for the future of modern China and the war gives
a really focused opportunity to understand what those
different paths were.”
During those tumultuous years, up to 20 million
Chinese lost their lives and approximately 80 million
to 100 million people became refugees. Despite the
intensity of the battles, the famine that resulted, and
its state of diplomatic isolation in the first few years of
the war, China was able to prevail. Rather than being
a third-rate power relying purely on the Allies’ assis-
tance, China stood out as a crucial player in the defeat
of the Axis. By the end of the War, China regained its
full sovereignty; a century after the establishment of
the unequal Treaty of Nanjing.
According to Mitter, the war with Japan shaped today’s
modern China. “The war against Japan gave rise to one
of the single most turbulent, traumatic and destructive
experiences that China has ever gone through. I think
one lesson that not just China but everyone in the region
should learn is that it’s important to work out a security
environment in the region that is consensual and stable.
It’s time for all the major players to learn the lesson of
the disaster of the war and get round together to work
out how they are going to work out a consensual frame-
work for the region that everyone could engage with.
An artist’s impression of Japanese troops entering the Zhabei
area in Shanghai. More than one million Chinese and Japanese
soldiers took part in the Battle of Shanghai in 1937.
Presenting
China as the
Forgotten Ally
Expert Analysis:
Rana Mitter
Professor, History and Politics of
modern China, Oxford University.
It’s time for all the major
players to learn the lesson
of the disaster of the war
and get round together
to work out how they
are going to work out a
consensual framework for
the region that everyone
could engage with.
PLUS

10. 18 19CHINA PLUS
HISTORY TODAY
I
n the freezing winter of 1937, the
Japanese army captured Nanking, today’s
Nanjing, and began a massacre exceeding
40 days. Within just six weeks, the then
Chinese capital became a city of terror where
300,000 innocent lives perished as a result of
the slaughter. An American missionary by the
name of John Magee was in Nanking when the
massacre took place. Magee secretly filmed
the killings and later presented the film as
part of his testimony during the International
Military Tribunal for the Far East in 1946.
Magee described the murders as a witness at the
Tokyo Trial in the following exchange with the
prosecutor.
Prosecutor: “What was the action of Japanese
soldiers towards the civilian Chinese men after
they had possession of the city of Nanking on
December 13, 1937?”
Magee: “The killing began immediately in sever-
al ways, often by individual Japanese soldiers or
up to thirty soldiers together going about. Each
one seemed to have the power of life or death.
And then soon there was organized killing of
great bodies of men. These people were being
killed by rifle fire and machine guns principally.”
In addition to the brutal massacre of innocent civil-
ians, Japanese troops also committed countless cases
of rape, looting and arson, and burned one third of
the city to the ground. According to the conclusion
from the latest research, Japanese troops committed
173 cases of organized killings in which the number
of casualties exceeded 800 in each instance.
Over the course of 14 years of war, China suf-
fered a total of 35 million military and non-mil-
itary casualties, accounting for a third of the
total casualties of all the countries in WWII. The
occupation of Nanking and the massacre was
the most-discussed war crime at the Tokyo Trial
where Japanese war criminals were convicted.
However, the trial did not thoroughly expose
Japanese militants’ overall crimes and the nature of
their invasion of China. To this day, right-wing Japanese
nationalists refuse to recognize the numbers of victims,
discredit survivors, and claim that the Nanking massacre
was partially or entirely fabricated.
Diana Lary, Emeritus Professor of History at the
University of British Columbia in Canada, says Ja-
pan’s denial of its wartime atrocities is an insult to
the international community. “The Japanese, official-
ly, they sort of come up with the idea that it’s not in
Japanese culture to apologize which I find ridiculous.
A lot of people (in Japan) would say we really suffered
more than anyone else because we were bombed by
the atomic bomb and by conventional bombing. To me
that’s irrelevant because they still have to recognize
what happened. In China, people always use the word
‘Bu Chengren’ (不承认), won’t admit’, and that’s very
insulting to China, Korea and the other places (that
Japan) occupied. It simply makes it very difficult for
Japan’s neighbors to deal with her.”
Aside from the killings, Japan also tries to conceal its
wartime medical crimes including those committed by
Unit 731, the Japanese army’s biological warfare division
headed by the infamous Shiro Ishii. But official efforts
have not stopped conscientious individuals from ex-
posing the truth of how illegal human experimentation
formed part of Japan’s military aggression.
Yutaka Mio was the first Japanese citizen to officially
testify on the Japanese army’s biological warfare program
in the 1930s. The former imperial police officer was sta-
tioned in Japan’s puppet state of Manchuria during World
War II. As Yutaka testified, “Those people transported
to Unit 731 were all used for experiments. I am
very sure about that. They could never get out of
there alive. I was on a transport mission specifi-
cally for Unit 731. We sent ‘Maruta’ there.”
“Maruta” was the name given to the experi-
ment subjects of Unit 731. They were civilians
and prisoners of war from China, the Soviet
Union, the Korean Peninsula and Mongolia. At
the base of Unit 731 in Harbin, these defense-
less individuals were killed through vivisec-
tion without anesthesia, bacterial experimen-
tation, weapons testing and other atrocious
experiments. At least 3,000 people perished at
the hands of Japanese “scientists.”
Memories of
Blood and
Terror
By Luo Wen
From 1931 to 1945, Unit 731 also waged germ
warfare in China along with Unit 1644. Studies
by Chinese and foreign scholars suggest that
the number of Chinese victims stands at around
270,000. In an effort to destroy evidence, the
retreating Japanese invaders blew up the base
when the Soviet army took Harbin in 1945. The
experiments remained secret for a long time af-
ter the war. Instead of being tried for war crimes,
the researchers involved in Unit 731 were given
immunity in exchange for their data.
But recently, more and more materials relating
to Japan’s illegal human experimentation in
World War II have been disclosed, including
the live dissections of American prisoners of
war revealed at the Kyushu University’s Mu-
seum. But a state of denial continues amongst
certain groups in Japan.
The world has every reason to be on alert at
a time when many Japanese politicians and
cabinet ministers pay respect to convicted war
criminals at least twice a year, when docu-
ments and school textbooks systematically wa-
ter down that part of history, and when Japan’s
government and parliament constantly push
for a greater military role overseas.
U
N Secretary General Ban Ki-moon made an of-
ficial visit to China from September 2 to 6, 2015,
during which time he was able to attend China’s
V-Day celebrations. Prior to the visit, Su Yi,
CRIENGLISH.com’s UN Correspondent based in New York
was able to put questions towards the UN Secretary General.
Prior to attending the V-Day celebrations, Ban spoke highly
of China’s contributions and sacrifices made during the war.
The UN chief said this year provides an important opportu-
nity for the international community to review that part of
history and look forward towards building a better world.
As Ban Ki-moon explained, “China’s contributions and sacri-
fices during the Second World War are very much recognised
and appreciated for all such sufferings and sympathised by the
world’s people. And on the brighter future, China has a very
important role to play. As the second largest economy and a
peace-loving country, there are a lot that China can contribute
to this rapidly changing and transformative age.”
During his visit to China, Ban met with Chinese leaders to
discuss a wide range of issues, including the 70th anniver-
sary of the founding of the UN, climate change and the key
UN sustainable development summit which also took place
in September. Ban Ki-moon says China has contributed a
lot to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals
that were set by world leaders in 2000.
The eight-point development agenda which covered several
key issues such as eradicating poverty and fighting against
HIV/AIDS is set to expire later this year. The international
community adopted a more ambitious post-2015 sustainable
development agenda at the UN development summit. The
UN chief is calling on member states to include these goals
into their own development strategies, adding, “I am con-
vinced that China can play a hugely important role in help-
ing these sustainable development goals (be) implemented.”
Prior to Chinese President Xi Jinping’s speech at this year’s
general debate, Ban Ki-moon had outlined his hopes for
the Chinese president to deliver a stronger message on
international security issues, peacekeeping operations and
South-South cooperation. This year also marks the 70th
anniversary of the founding of the UN. Looking back at
the seven decades, Ban summarises the achievements of
the world body as the end of colonialism and the success in
development issues.
300,000 victims died as a result of the Nanjing Massacre; Photo: cfp
UN Secretary
General
Ban Ki-moon on
China’s War Efforts
To this day, right-wing Japanese
nationalists refuse to recognize
the numbers of victims,
discredit survivors, and claim
that the Nanking massacre was
partially or entirely fabricated.

11. PLUS 2120 CHINA

12. 22 23PLUS
OPINION
C
hina has been celebrating the 70th An-
niversary of the defeat of fascist forces
throughout the year, with various
events paying homage to the surviving
veterans and cherishing the memories of those
brave Chinese who sacrificed their lives. Events
have also honoured those foreigners who sup-
ported China in its struggle to break away from
the chains of tyrannical Japanese occupation.
April 5 is observed as “Tomb Sweeping Day” every
year as people across China pay respect to the soldiers
and civilians who lost their lives in the war. It’s a great
tradition to honour the dead and pay homage to the
ancestors by visiting the tombs and memorials com-
memorating the sacrifice of the Chinese in liberating
their nation but this year it had a special meaning.
Earlier, the Railway Guerrilla memorial in Shan-
dong Province was visited by thousands of stu-
dents. During the Anti-Japanese War, railway
guerrillas in Shandong Province led by the CPC
attacked the enemy on trains and blasted bridges.
A heritage park honouring the Flying Tigers was
inaugurated in South China’s Guilin City. The Fly-
ing Tigers, officially known as the American Volun-
teer Group of the Chinese Air Force, were formed
in 1941, led by U.S. General Claire Lee Chennault
to help China drive out invading Japanese troops.
On September 2, 2015, the eve of the high-profile
V-Day celebrations, President Xi Jinping awarded
medals to 30 Chinese and foreign veterans and
civilians who fought for China in World War II.
Among those honoured with medals were Anna
Chan Chennault, wife of American pilot Claire Chen-
nault, mentioned above; Joseph W. Stilwell, grandson
of Joseph Stilwell, commander of China-Burma-In-
dia Theatre; and M. W. Bethune, the grandson of
Norman Bethune, a famous Canadian army surgeon
in China, who saved thousands of lives with his sur-
gical skills even to the peril of his own life. A female
medical soldiers’ formation at the parade was named
after Norman Bethune to honour his contribution to
Chinese people’s fight against Japanese aggressors.
China’s central government decided to grant such medals to
roughly 210,000 veterans or relatives. The front of the medal
is embossed with WWII soldiers, a pagoda from a revolu-
tionary base in Yan’an, the Yellow River, and an olive branch.
It symbolises the CPC’s decisive role during the war, China’s
drive for rejuvenation and its aspirations for world peace.
Symbolism, which plays an important role in Chinese
culture, was evident throughout the military parade that
took place on September 3. The parade lasted for seventy
minutes; military aircraft flew in formations depicting the
number seventy while 70,000 white doves symbolising peace
and 70,000 multicoloured balloons were released to mark
the end of the ceremony.
The white doves accentuated President Xi Jinping’s message as
he announced the massive cut of 300,000 troops in the Peoples
Liberation Army; stating that China was committed to peaceful
development. Xi Jinxing solemnly pledged that his country
would “never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict
its past suffering on any other nation”. His resounding words re-
iterated: “Let us bear in mind the great truth of history: Justice
will prevail! Peace will prevail! The people will prevail!”
Unfortunately, the strong message was those who chose to
stay away from an event that was more for healing wounds
rather than raking them. The Occident, which is propagat-
ing that the parade was an indication of China flexing its
muscles, remain oblivious to Japan’s amendment of its con-
stitution to build its armed forces again, which may actually
endanger the region and the world.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was extended an
invitation to participate, not only spurned the gesture but
was critical of the attendance by UN Secretary General Ban
Ki Moon. Japan could have taken a leaf out of the book of its
WWII ally Germany, whose leaders attend V-Day events in
France repeatedly.
The Parade
CHINA22
Analysis of the events surrounding China’s
V-Day parade and the wider issues that the
celebration presented.
By Sultan Hali
Retired Pakistan Air Force Group Captain

13. 24 25CHINA PLUS
OPINION OPINION
In fact, Abe missed a great opportunity to provide
closure to the subject, where he could have attend-
ed the proceedings and sought forgiveness from
not only the Chinese but its other neighbours who
suffered at the hands of Japan during the war.
Onthecontrary,inagesturetoburythehatchet,Chi-
nesePremierLiKeqiangandSouthKoreanpresident
ParkGeun-hye,representingcountriesthatwereboth
victimsofJapan’satrocities,expressedcommoninterest
inseekingcooperationwithJapan.Theballisagainin
ShinzoAbe’scourttorespondaltruisticallyorotherwise.
The military parade was thoughtfully choreo-
graphed. It has been 84 years since China was
dragged into war following Japan’s invasion of
northeast China in 1931. Of the 500 pieces of
military hardware displayed during the parade, 84
percent are closed as modern equipment and had
heretofore not been displayed by China.
The PLA guards of honour and 10 foot formations
were each named after a morale-boosting battle
fought by Communist-led troops or Chinese war
heroes and model combatants. Besides the 12,000
Chinese troops who goose-stepped past the Tian-
anmen Rostrum in 128 carefully measured paces,
each precisely 75 cm, 1,000 foreign troops from
17 countries also marched in step, drawing polite
applause from the spectators.
The message that came out loud and clear from the
militaryparadeisthatChinaanditspeoplecherishand
love peace but to safeguard that peace, they are willing
to build deterrents since weakness invites aggression.
A signatory of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons, China has repeatedly vowed to ad-
here to the policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons
and the policy that it will, unconditionally, not use or
threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nucle-
ar-weapon states and nuclear-weapon-free zones.
China’s latest white paper on military strategy issued
this year underscored its principles of “defence,
self-defence and post-emptive strikes.” The country
should be applauded for doing so.
F
or Hans Van de Ven, Professor of Modern
Chinese History at Cambridge, China’s Second
World War commemoration on Thursday was a
method by which China attempted to strength-
en its national identity among the general public. “The
War is presented as an effort by all of China to resist
aggression and that sort of eradicates the differences
between the Communists and the Nationalists and so I
think attempt to be inclusive was really there and many
people will see this as positive.”
Professor Van de Ven, who has also served as guest pro-
fessor at the Department of History of Nanjing Univer-
sity and was co-editor of “Negotiating China’s Destiny
in World War II,” says China played an important role
during the Second World War but its story has not been
properly told. By inviting foreign contingents to partic-
ipate in its military parade, China sees itself as part of a
broader alliance.
As Van de Ven, explains, “Had China sided with Japan,
which was not entirely impossible, then Japan would have
been able to utilise China’s resources and China’s man-
power for not only the occupations of South East Asia but
also to fight the Russians, and the whole World War II
would have been rather different.”
However, Professor Van de Ven did point out that Euro-
pean audiences often associate such military parades with
assertions of power and that is part of the reason as to
why China’s V-Day Parade is misinterpreted in some cas-
es. He explains that in Europe, war commemorations are
usually on the solemn side and adds that while national
scale commemorations are important, he would be glad
to see more local remembrances that engage people who
have survived the Second World War.
“By this I mean there are national commemorations in
the UK and across the European countries as well as the
United States, but we also have some local commem-
orations in universities, in schools, villages and in our
neighbourhoods, and people are telling their own stories.
I think it would really, really good if that could happen in
China as well.”
Jeffrey C. Kinkley, professor of history at St. John’s Col-
lege of Liberal Arts and Sciences, St. John’s University in
the US, believes that, “The military parade itself of course
conveyed an image of China’s strength and modernisa-
tion. President Xi Jinxing’s announcement (that) he will
be cutting the size of the Chinese military by 300-thou-
A Scholarly View
of China’s V-Day sand troops; this sends a message of peace I
believe.” In his speech, Xi Jinping announced a
reduction in the size of the Chinese military over
the next 2 years. It is the fourth time for China
to announce military cuts since the Reform and
Opening Up process first began in the early
1980s.
On September 3, 2015, 50 formations includ-
ing a total of 12-thousand troops took part
in the Victory Day parade. As many as 500
pieces of armaments and 200 fighter jets were
reviewed during the parade. This marked the
first time for China to hold a military parade
to commemorate the occasion.
Professor Kinkley says the Chinese government is trying to draw
more attention through these commemorative activities to its alli-
ances with other anti-Fascist forces during the Second World War.
“In recent international relations, the Chinese government has
been stressing the fact that the US and China were allies during
World War II. We were both dedicated to defeating imperial Japan
and its terrible policies of those days.”
KinkleysayswhenitcomestoChina’sinternationalimage,the
majorityofmembersintheinternationalcommunityseeChinaasa
risingeconomicpower.“China’sinternationalimageremainsinthe
middlethateverybodyrecognisesChinaistheworld’ssecondgreatest
economy.Thereforewewillhaveupsanddowns.Icanonlyspeakfor
Americans-mostAmericansseeChinaassomethinglikeaeconomic
rivalbutalsoverymuchaneconomicpartner.”
To safeguard that peace,
they are willing to build
deterrents since weakness
invites aggression.
抗 战 胜 利 7 0 周 年
Commemorating the 70th Anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of
Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the end of World War II

14. 26 27CHINA PLUS 27
70 YEARS 70 YEARS
Photo: cfp

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