Oral History of Chinese Laborers Forced to Work for Japan During WWII - Volume 4: Spirits of Injustice Spread Across East Japan

Author: He Tianyi, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: This volume collects oral histories of Chinese laborers forcibly employed by the Japanese civil engineering and construction industry. The Japanese civil engineering and construction industry was one of the earliest sectors to propose the use of Chinese laborers. Due to the industry's original lack of fixed workers, with most being temporary or homeless, it employed the largest number of laborers. A total of 36 work sites used 24,837 Chinese laborers, accounting for 51% of all forcibly employed laborers during the occupation. Among them: 13 power stations and their affiliated facilities (4,571 people); 8 airport construction and quarry sites (3,239 people); 6 railway and port construction sites (2,144 people); and 1 other factory construction site, plus 2 railway snow-clearing sites. The most prominent resistance struggles in civil engineering and construction operations included the Ukagaya struggle led by Xu Qiang and Li Yulan, and secret struggles led by Yuan Shuchen and others. This volume includes the oral histories of 120 people, covering 10 companies and 17 work sites. The oral histories of Xu Qiang, Yuan Shuchen, Tian Ruisheng, and others provide detailed accounts of the laborers' resistance struggles.