Northeast Asian History Network

Chen Guiming (陳桂明) | Taken prisoner in 1944 and sent to the Miike Coal Mine
Chen Guiming was captured by Japanese troops at his home in Xushui, Hebei Province, and sent to the Tanggu Concentration Camp in Tianjin. Following the capture, he was taken aboard a cargo ship to the Mitsui Miike Coal Mine. In the coal mine, he worked stacking stones inside the shaft to keep the ceiling from falling in. Sometime around March 1945, the ceiling plate fell and his right index finger was cut off. There were no days off and he was left hungry. In despair, he attempted suicide with an electric cord but was prevented by a colleague. He struggled even after returning home due to being unable to find work.

^{- For an Asian History of Admitting Mistakes, Making Amends, and Walking Together - The Truth of Chinese Forced Labor Cases (original Japanese title: 過ちを認め、償い、共に歩むアジアの歴史を-中国人強制労働事件の真実), Fukuoka Lawsuit Plaintiffs Defense Team for Chinese Forced Labor Cases (中国人強制労働事件福岡訴訟原告弁護団), 2001}

Liu Qian (劉千) | Taken prisoner in 1944 and sent to the Miike Coal Mine
In spring 1944, Liu Qian was given a notice of forced labor in Laishui, Hebei Province, and was sent by freight train to the Tanggu Concentration Camp in Tianjin. Two months later, he was placed on a cargo ship and taken to the Miyaura Pit at the Miike Coal Mine. The camp was surrounded by planks and watched by guards, and he had to dig coal with nothing but fundoshi undergarments to wear. The overseer called the Chinese workers contemptuous names, called them idiots and told them to die, and beat them with a stick. His right femur was fractured after being beaten by the overseer with an ax, and he underwent surgery without anesthesia. His bones healed together in a deformed shape, and even after returning home he was unable to work.

In September 2001, Liu Qian participated as a plaintiff in a lawsuit in Fukuoka on Chinese forced labor cases, where he visited Japan and testified on the situation at the time. X-rays at the trial showing his deformed bones served as evidence of the harsh, violent conditions at the Miike Coal Mine.

^{- For an Asian History of Admitting Mistakes, Making Amends, and Walking Together - The Truth of Chinese Forced Labor Cases (original Japanese title: 過ちを認め、償い、共に歩むアジアの歴史を-中国人強制労働事件の真実), Fukuoka Lawsuit Plaintiffs Defense Team for Chinese Forced Labor Cases (中国人強制労働事件福岡訴訟原告弁護団), 2001}

Liu Junshu (劉俊書) | Taken prisoner in 1944 and sent to the Miike Coal Mine
Liu Junshu, from Jize in Hebei Province, participated in the Eighth Route Army at the age of 17. In November 1944, he was captured and tortured during a sweeping operation by the Japanese army, and was sent to Tangu via Handan. He was placed on a boat from the Tanggu Concentration Camp. People on the boat perished daily, and the Japanese dumped those that died into the sea. After arriving at Moji Port, they were taken to the Manda Pit at Miike in which they were organized into battalions, squadrons and platoons, and called by their number. Afterwards, he was sent to the Yotsuyama Pit. Many accidents and deaths occurred. He learned of Japan's defeat in the war by spotting the news on a newspaper owned by a Japanese, and returned home by a US military ship in October.

^{- 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}