Date of letter:1992-12-15
Address of author:Wuyi County, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province
Date of event:Not mentioned
Location of event:Wuyi County, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province
Name of author:Tang Qiangshen
Name(s) of victim(s):Tang Qiangshen, etc.
Type of atrocity:Air Bombings, Other Massacres, Slave Laborers, Rapes (AB, OM, SL, RA)
Other details:The Japanese bombed Wuyi and killed more than 50 people, with more than 100 people injured and severe property damage. They caused the death of more than 8,000 people through the most cruel means. More than 2,000 were forced on mining and repairing road from Jinhua County to Wuyi County. 500 people were raped, with 18 killed.
Comrade Tong Zeng:
How do you do!
I felt overjoyed when receiving you letter! Thank you for expressing the righteous demand for us survivors of the disaster. Without forgetting our victim compatriots, you are looking for the channels and rights of compensation for us. You uphold justice for us, you are the backbone of the compensation seekers which we rely on, and you are destined to succeed. Your grace benefits us all, your generous love is so deep and long, you run about for us each day, and we unanimously feel grateful for your efforts!
Comrade Tong Zeng, I have a request: I want to set up “Wuyi Compensation Agreement Center” based on our county, but we need some expenditure and activity scope, so please give us more instruction and assistance, (my personal income is not enough to cover the expenses) or there might be other methods, in such case please give us guidance.
The following is an outline of the atrocities committed by the Japanese invaders during the occupancy in Wuyi:
I. On April.13, 15, and 17, 1941, 27 aircrafts bombarded the county town, a simple military airport in Baihankou, destroyed cooperative bank, prison, school, relief institute, seniors’ center, and civilian houses etc; more than 50 people died, over 100 were injured, more than 2,100 houses were destroyed, the damage amounted to about 28.1 million yuan.
II. Atrocities committed by the 105 Infantry Independent Brigade of Japanese 70 Corps since first invasion into our country on April 23, 1942:
①. More than 8,000 people died from being buried alive, burning to death, freezing, boiling with hot water, cramming pepper water, poisoning, attacking by hounds, starving, body splitting by horses (all kinds), hanging, skinning, mutilation, (gang) raping, live targets of shooting and flesh carving (called Tonglu human slaughter ground 10,000 person pit). After the Japanese army retreated in May 1945, 25 shoulder pole loads of human bones were excavated, more than 2,700 skeletons were discovered across the area. (including fluorite miners, war prisoners etc)
②. More than 2,000 miners and rail road repairers who were treated as forced labor to repair the Jinhua-Wuyi simple railway (for shipping fluorite).
III. 18 women were raped (gang raped) before death, over 500 women were raped by brutal force; these women were stripped and raped in broad daylight, and “teased” before being raped, some even died from splitting the body with knife.
IV. Over 10 people died as living targets, and from poisoning.
V. The Japanese destroyed the only 200-meter long bridge in the whole county (Shuhan Bridge 2-level wooden bridge), destroyed pagodas and scenic spots in the area for the purpose of building gun turrets and leveled 14 villages.
VI. During the Japanese occupancy period, 16,716 households across the whole county were looted; they robbed merchandises worth 79.49 million yuan, and 3,780 tonnes of grain, burned 12,285 houses, plus 1,929 heads of farming cattle, 13,579 live pigs, more than 50,000 chickens, geese and ducks totaling 419.9 million yuan.
VII. In order to plunder China’s fluorite ore which accounts for 1/3 of the global reserve, they robbed 36,980 tonnes of fluorite ore.
Comrade Tong Zeng: The above is only an approximate summary, if you need a detailed list of (signatures) names, addresses, years and months and all means, survivors, we can supply them all one by one, or I can directly go to Beijing to give you face-to-face. I can provide everything you need. Thank you. I’m an old soldier without much education, my knowledge is limited, and my understanding is poor; so if there is any inadequacies, please feel free to correct me. I look forward to your reply.
Wish you
All the best
Healthy life
Tang Qiangshen
1992.12.15
Return address: 33 Xinxing Road, Wuyi County, Zhejiang Province
