Date of letter:1995-07-02
Address of author:Shenyang City, Liaoning Province
Date of event:Not mentioned
Location of event:Tieling County, Tieling city, Liaoning Province
Name of author:Hao Manhua
Name(s) of victim(s):Hao Wenbin, Hao Wenyong (family members of Hao Manhua)
Type of atrocity:Slave Laborers, Murders(SL, MU）
Other details:I am Hao Manhua, my native place is Xujiagou Village, Tieling County, Liaoning Province. During the Japanese Army’s invasion period, my father Hao Wenbin and uncle Hao Wenyong were captured by the Japanese Army to build bridge. It was cold winter and they suffered untold hardships; finally they were beaten to half death and thrown into hound’s den and were killed. The letter contains testimony materials of a number of people.
Tong Zeng,
The situations for claims have become better and the stance of central government leaders we read from the newspaper excites us more.
I’m anxious and eager to take a trip to Japan, where instead of traveling, I’ll fight face-to-face with legal weapons by representing the Chinese people.
Despite a low status, I am loaded with national and family hatred and determined to reach the goal. So, please make more efforts to win me a chance to go to Japan.
If my reputation was raised, it would be of bigger help to Liaoning. The Liaoning Preparation Team has set up an office at Professor Zhang’s home. I almost go there every day to plan our next move.
Professor Zhang is recently in a good mental condition and is strict with me. I’ve benefited a lot from him. The team has five members and we cooperate with each other well. I’m trying my utmost to do work properly and bring a new look to the work in Liaoning.
I am sending more materials to you. If Japanese guests come, please give me a call. I will go to Beijing immediately to meet with them and win their sympathy and support. Is that all right with you?
We are waiting for your good news!
Big sister Hao Manhua
July 6, 1995
Process of How My Slave Labor Father Hao Wenbin and Uncle Hao Wenyong Were Tortured to Death
Hao Manhua, teacher with No. 99 Middle School, Shenyang
Address: No. 16, Xibinhe Road, Heping District, Shenyang
Postal code: 110003
Tel: 3979615
Process of How My Father and Uncle Were Tortured to Death
I am Hao Manhua, female, 51, a teacher with No. 99 Middle School, Shenyang, Liaoning. I now live at 23-2, No. 23, Yiduansanli, Zhongxing Street, Shenyang.
I was born in Haojia Street, Xujiagou Village, Xiongguantun, Tieling, Liaoning.
Japanese imperialism’s aggression against China has caused a huge disaster to millions of Chinese people. My family is no exception. Just when Japanese imperialism was close to death, the Japanese army madly arrested Chinese men to labor for them so as to save their doomed fate.
That’s when my father Hao Wenbin and uncle Hao Wenyong were taken away to be slave labors and tortured to death. I was yet to be born at that time.
In the spring of that year, the Japanese arrested over 100 people at Kaiyuan, Tieling, tied them with ropes and sent them to Dache Motel, Fuchang, Nanguan, Changchun, where they stayed for a month for registration, photography and training. Then, they were sent by trucks to build bridges in No. 28 Hezi, Dongning, Heilongjiang. It was freezing cold in northern China. As my father and uncle were ordered to work in waist-high icy water, they suffered from serious nephritis. Besides, they ate steamed corn bread and lived in a ragged shed. The Japanese foreman then 25 years old who wore a pair of glasses, was extremely vicious. He always had a whip in his hand and would hit anyone he thought was working slowly. My father and uncle couldn’t stand the inhuman torture anymore, so they escaped several times, but each time they were caught back, cruelly beaten, and kept in the prison of the Japanese Kwantung Army, where they weren’t given anything to eat. They became so hungry that they ate all cotton in their clothes. Days later, they were released and forced to do heavy work. Once again, they were beaten and tortured, so they escaped for the last time, but were caught back, badly beaten and thrown into a dog cage, where they were bitten to death.
The above facts were seen by my fourth oldest uncle Hao Wenda with his own eyes and told by him after he returned home.
After the death of my father and uncle, there were only my old grandparents, aunt, older female cousin, mother and me who was just born. Later, to make a living, my aunt remarried and left our hometown with my cousin.
My grandparents and mother went through difficulties and sufferings to raise me up.
I will never forget the deep hatred throughout my life. I am determined to pursue justice and make the debt repaid despite pressure and obstacles.
July 4, 1995
Miserable Childhood, Memorable Hatred
Hao Manhua, teacher with No. 99 Middle School, Shenyang
Address: No. 16, Xibinhe Road, Heping District, Shenyang
Postal code: 110003
Tel: 3979615
Miserable Childhood, Memorable Hatred
I was born in Haojia Street, Xujiagou Village, Xiongguantun, Tieling, Liaoning. My hometown is a beautiful small village, about 15 km away from the city. The village is surrounded by rolling mountains, with a crystal clear brook flowing before it.
My hometown is beautiful and lovely, but I have a very unfortunate childhood there.
During Japanese imperialism’s aggression against China, the beautiful landscape in our country was ravaged and my hometown was no exception. Just when Japanese imperialism was close to death, a dreadful disaster hit my family. I was then yet to be born.
In March of that year, over 100 people were taken away from Kaiyuan and Tieling, tied with ropes and sent to Xinjing (now Changchun) in Manchuria. At first, they stayed in Dache Motel, Dongchang, Changchun, where they stayed for a month for registration, photography and training. Then, they were sent by automobiles to No. 28 Hezi, Dongning, a small county at the border between China and Russia, to build bridges.
Dongning was located in a valley of up to 70 km long, where the Japanese army built many forts and camps, blocked by iron wires. My father and uncle were ordered to work in icy water. It was so cold that their legs and feet became numb after working for half a day and their trousers became too stiff to be taken off. Soon, they caught nephritis. Besides, they ate steamed corn bread and pickles and lived in a ragged shed. The Japanese foreman then 25 years old who wore a pair of glasses, leather boots and breeches, was extremely vicious. He always had a whip in his hand and would severely hit anyone he thought was working slowly. My father and uncle couldn’t stand the inhuman torture anymore, so they organized other villagers such as Ma Shigui to escape. But they were caught back and kept in a prison where they weren’t given anything to eat. They became so hungry that they ate all cotton in their clothes. After being released, they escaped again. This time after they were caught back, they were severely beaten and thrown into a dog cage, where they were bitten to death.
Speaking of the Japanese dog cage, it is another cruel punishment that tortures the Chinese people. The Japanese would throw those Chinese people who refused to be tortured by them into a dog cage, where starving dogs would jump over to bite in their throat, or arm or leg, or stomach. They would be torn apart and die.
All of this was witnessed by my fourth oldest uncle who was also taken there and told by him after he had a narrow escape. He got sick because of fear after he returned home.
The bad news shocked the entire village. My old grandparents got sick in bed and my aunt and mother cried their hearts out. To make a living, my aunt remarried and left our hometown with my cousin.
There is a custom in northern villages that daughters-in-law who will remarry are not allowed to leave from the front door. As our house had tall walls made of stone and cement, my aunt had to use a ladder to cross the wall. On the morning of the day when my aunt was leaving, the whole family was too sad to eat. It was time for separation. My aunt climbed up the ladder, crossed the wall and turned back to look at the familiar house. She couldn’t help but crying. My seventh oldest grandfather, who was waiting on the other side of the wall with a vehicle, cried loudly and shouted, “The Japanese army has torn our family apart…”
My aunt kowtowed to my grandfather at the entrance to the village and told him to take care of himself. My grandfather gave the 50 silver coins, a ransom that my aunt’s family paid, to my aunt and said chokingly, “Take it. It’s not easy for you to bring up a child. You have to take care of yourself from now on. ”
My single mother went through difficulties and sufferings to bring me up and didn’t remarry because she didn’t want me to be treated badly by another family.
In spring, my weak grandparents and mother would sow seeds in the fields. In summer, they would remove wild grass from the fields in the baking sun. In autumn, they would be busy reaping the crops. Life was so hard without a strong man in the family. My grandparents and mother struggled in sweat and tears. I was entrusted to the care of my fifth oldest grandmother and I would be left in a baby carriage all day long, crying weakly due to starvation because my mother had no breast milk to feed me. So my mother and grandmother chewed up sorghum rice, spit them out and squeezed liquid out of them using a thin cloth. That was my only food-“Cloth Milk”. The chewing gave my mother and grandmother blisters in their mouths. Due to malnutrition, I was skinny and often got sick. I nearly died several times and was thrown in the back mountain (a place where kids were buried). For the continuation of the family, my grandparents and mother went through all difficulties to bring me up. When I was 4, my mother was forced to send me to her mother’s house. Thus, I left my lovely village and began a miserable childhood under other people’s roof.
Although it’s been half a century, the painful past memories have caused a major trauma to my mind that will never heal and I will never forget the deep hatred. The vicious circle has caused me pain and suffering through my whole life.
”A debt must be repaid.” This has been an established convention since the birth of humans. But for dozens of years after the war, the murders are still at large and the robbers have become wealthy. Even until now, Japan refuses to admit their crimes of raping, burning, killing and plundering.
Yet, God will always leave a door open. Just when the humiliating history is about to be washed away after 50 years, another great man emerges from China and that is Tong Zeng, a young international law scholar from Beijing. He has developed and translated the war reparations theory into millions of innocent people who were killed during the Japan’s war of aggression against China, slave labors who were tortured to death, comfort women who were raped and insulted and the victims of the 731 inhuman bacterial experiments. We now have a theoretical basis for pursuing justice against Japan.
It’s reasonable, just and fair to demand compensation against Japanese militarism. We should do this with confidence to defend the dignity of our people.
As Chinese descendants, we should never forget the humiliating history because that will mean betrayal.
July 2, 1995
Certificate
Page No.
Certificate
Page No.
Certificate
I am Hao Wenda, male, now 81
Before Japan’s surrender, over 100 people from Tieling were arrested as slave labors, including me. We first stayed in Dache Motel, Fuchang, Dongdaqiao, Changchun and were then sent to No. 28 Hezi, Dongning, Heilongjiang to build bridges. For over a year, we labored and ate as animals, and suffered inhuman torturing and abusing.
The Japanese foreman 25 years old who wore a pair of glasses, was extremely vicious. Hao Wenbin and Hao Wenyong, who were my brothers and also worked there as slave labors, couldn’t stand the inhuman torture anymore, so they escaped several times. But each time they were caught back and held in the prison of the Kwantung army, where they were severely beaten and not given anything to eat. They became so hungry that they ate all cotton in their clothes. After being released, they were beaten again, so they escaped, and were caught back, and finally thrown into a dog cage, where they were bitten to death. Now, their daughters are still alive. Hao Wenbin’s daughter Hao Manhua is a teacher with No. 99 Middle School of Shenyang and Hao Wenyong’s daughter Hao Yuzhi lives in the countryside without a job. The above facts are true because I see them with my own eyes.
Hao Wenda (Fingerprint)
Address: Haojia Street, Xujiagou Village, Xiongguantun, Tieling, Liaoning
(Villagers’ Committee seal)
May 14, 1995
Certificate
During Japan’s aggression against China, brothers Hao Wenbin and Hao Wenyong, villagers of Xujiagou, were first sent to Dache Motel, Nanguan, Changchun and then No. 28 Hezi, Dongning, Heilongjiang to build bridges. As they couldn’t stand the inhuman torture anymore, they escaped many times, but were caught back, held in the prison of the Kwantung army and tortured to death. Their death tore their family apart. Their parents, wives and children lived an extremely difficult life and suffered greatly. Now, their respective daughter Hao Yuzhi and Hao Manhua are still alive.
Hao Wenbin’s daughter Hao Manhua is a teacher with No. 99 Middle School of Shenyang and Hao Wenyong’s daughter Hao Yuzhi lives in the countryside without a job. The above facts are true.
Xujiagou, Xiongguantun, Tielung
Villagers’ Committee of Xujiagou, Xiongguantun, Tieling
(Villagers’ Committee seal)
May 14, 1995
