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Chinese Laborer in W.W. II Dies
Before the Japanese court made a final judgment over the 13-year-torture he had borne in Japan, Liu Lianren, a forced Chinese laborer during the World War II, died in his hometown in Shandong Province over the weekend. He was 87.
Liu, born in 1913 in Gaomi County, in east China's Shandong Province, was captured by Japanese invaders in 1944 and was forced to be a laborer in a mine in Hokkaido.
Liu escaped into the mountains in Hokkaido in July, 1945. There he spent 13 years in a cave eating wild herbs in summer and kelp in winter.
Liu had almost lost his linguistic ability when he was found by local hunters in January, 1958. Three months later he returned home via Tokyo with the help of the Chinese government and some friendship organizations of Japan.
Liu was received by top Chinese leaders at that time, including Mao Zedong, Liu Shaoqi and Zhou Enlai.
Liu was invited over 1,800 times to give reports on his sufferings in Japan. He visited Japan six times to expose the crimes committed by the Japanese invaders.
Shandong Television and a television station from Japan shot a TV film of Liu's experience.
In 1995, Liu became the first Chinese civilian to ask for compensation from Japan when he began a suit in the Tokyo local court. He was believed an "unarmed hero".
The final judgment of the case was scheduled to be announced early next year.
Liu Huanxin, the eldest son of Liu Lianren, said that his father's health severely deteriorated due to the hardship he had experienced as a laborer and his 13 years of cave life.
Liu Lianren suffered from a gastric ulcer which led to cancer in 1998. He died of canner on September 2.
Historical data showed that more than 40,000 Chinese youth and prisoners of war were transported to Japan by Japanese invaders during World War II. They were forced to do hard labor for 35 Japanese companies in 135 workplaces. Of the prisoners, 6,769 died from either the rough voyage or hardship.
Zhang Yibo, a professor with the War Research Institute in northeast China's Liaoning Province, said that the Chinese laborers have instituted legal proceedings during recent years.
None of them has won any of the 46 cases they have initiated.
On May 19, two former Chinese laborers for Mitsubishi and Mitsui filed a suit in the supreme court in California, the United States, on behalf of themselves and 8,200 other Chinese laborers.
This was the first time that the WW II Chinese laborers asked for compensation outside of China and Japan.
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