Date of letter:1993
Address of author:Dao County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province
Date of event:1943
Location of event:Dao County, Yongzhou City, Hunan Province
Name of author:Li Yuanliang
Name(s) of victim(s):Li Yuanliang’s father’s former wife
Type of atrocity:Sex Slaves（SS）
Other details:My father’s former wife was from Dao County of Hunan Province. One day in 1943, she went to her sister’s home but was caught by the Japanese soldiers. She was raped by turns and then was send to the station of the Japanese soldiers where she suffered all kinds of insult. Seven months later, she was released because she had a boil in her body. After she returned home, she passed away less than two months later.
Mr. Tong Zeng,
Thank you for your hard work!
The other day, I read an article entitled Civil Claim for Compensation from Japan Is Underway in China from Hunan Women’s News of February 25, in which reporter Zhou Huiyu interviewed you. The article brought back my memory of how my father’s former wife died at a young age after being raped by the Japanese army. She was also a victim. Mr. Tong, please read the following article and tell me if I can claim for compensation and how much I can claim? Please help me.
My father’s former wife was born on lunar February 10, 1925 in XX Village, Shatian Town, Dao County, Hunan Province and married my father Li Yinshi (born on lunar June 12, 1924) on lunar October 9, 1943. On the 7th day after their marriage, my father’s former wife paid a visit to her older sister, who was married in XX Village, Lefukuang Town, Dao County. On the second day after she arrived at her older sister’s home, she was taken away by Japanese soldiers. My father told me, “My former wife had a reputation for beauty among the local people.” The thing happened like this. When the Japanese soldiers tried to take her away, she resisted, knowing that it was not a good thing for a beautiful girl like her. She would rather die than be taken away by the Japanese. Afterwards, the Japanese soldiers forced her by beating and kicking her until she bled. Then, they asked two porters to carry her away in a large basket in the night. When the 3 porters and 4 Japanese soldiers reached halfway, the Japanese soldier in the front waved to signal the porters to stop and asked a Japanese soldier to watch them. Then, the other 3 Japanese soldiers threw themselves at my father’s former wife like hungry wolves and raped her in turns. After that, she was carried to Daozhou where the Japanese army was stationed. After she arrived, the head of the Japanese army immediately ordered the porters to carry her to his room and raped her. Afterwards, he raped her every night for 10 days.
At first, the head of the Japanese army said he would take my father’s former wife as a concubine. But it was a lie. He simply used her for sex. After a period, other Japanese soldiers also began to use her for sex. She was raped for so many times and suffered a lot. Over 7 months later in 1944, as the Japanese army was about to retreat and my father’s former wife got rotting sores all over the body due to excessive raping, they released her back home. Thus, my father reunited with her. But happiness didn’t last long. In less than 2 months, the sores took away her young life. I firmly believe that her death was caused by venereal diseases due to raping by the Japanese army.
Mr. Tong, the Sino-Japanese war caused unimaginable losses to the Chinese people. I hope the Japanese government will apologize to the Chinese people and that we will succeed in getting compensation from Japan.
Please use your talent for the friendship between the Japanese and Chinese people.
Wish you healthy.
Citizen Li Yuanliang
1993
