Northeast Asian History Network

Liang Wangui (梁万貴) | Taken prisoner in 1944 and taken away for labor in September
Liang Wangui, from China's Shanxi Province, joined the anti-Japanese resistance army in 1938 at the age of 14. In 1944, he was wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Pinglu. He was imprisoned in the Datong Camp and forced to work. Following this, he was sent to the Beijing Prison Camp and organized into a squadron of 200 people. He was then sent to Tanggu, and to the Yahata Steel Works in September 1944. At the steel works, he was tasked with transporting coal, ore and steel at the port. In 1945, he was sent to the port of Fushiki in Toyama Prefecture where he transported coal, salt and soybeans. Seeing a fellow soldier from the Eighth Route Army being beaten by a Japanese overseer, he stepped in and told him not to abuse prisoners of war and thereby managed to stop the beating.

^{- Chinese Workers Under the Japanese Bayonet 4 - Chinese Workers in Japan (original Chinese title: 日軍槍刺下的中国労工4 中国労工在日本)』, Xinhua Publishing House, 1995}

Jia Shuangxi (賈双喜) | Forcibly taken to the Futase Coal Mine in Fukuoka in 1944
Jia Shuangxi was captured and tortured by the Japanese military police in 1944. Following this, he entered the Shijiazhuang South Barracks and then was sent via the Beijing Xiyuan Barracks to the city of Qingdao. Afterwards, he was taken to the Uruno Pit in Futase, Fukuoka. He was made to enter the pit to mine once his health had recovered, and was beaten with a stick by a Japanese who said he was too slow. His arm ended up fractured by a falling rock. Out of the 300 people forcibly taken to the Urano Pit, about 40 perished.

^{- Oral History of Chinese Workers Taken to Japan During WWII - 2 (original Chinese title: 二戦擄日中国労工口述史2), Zhailu Press, 2005}

Jin Jiurang (金九讓) | Forcibly taken to the Futase Coal Mine in Fukuoka in 1942
Originally from Shandong Province, Jin Jiurang joined the guerrilla army in 1937 and fought against the Japanese army. He was captured during the Japanese army's subjugation operations in 1942 and was tortured. He entered the Shijiazhuang South Barracks and was taken from Qingdao to the Centre Pit at Futase. There, he was organized into a formation of one battalion, two squadrons, six platoons, and twelve groups. He worked 12 hours a day where he had to mine 20 boxes of coal per day. No consideration for safety was given when working, and no salary or wages were given.

^{- Oral History of Chinese Workers Taken to Japan During WWII - 2 (original Chinese title: 二戦擄日中国労工口述史2), Zhailu Press, 2005}