The sinking of the Lisbon Maru, an extraordinary second world war story in which 384 British PoWs were saved from a bombed Japanese cargo liner by Chinese fishers, has recently been excavated in an exhaustive, emotional documentary. In Dongji Rescue, co-directed by Zhenxiang Fei and Guan Hu, this staggering tale gets a blockbuster makeover that involves Imax cameras and an $80m budget. The film opens with the stunning vista of the eponymous island, then under Japanese control. The seeds of discontent are there, as the local Chinese population are forbidden…
Tag: Second world war
China and Britain shared a mission to fight aggression and fascism. And we can work together today | Zheng Zeguang
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese people’s war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the world anti-fascist war. On Friday, there will be a two-minute silence at noon in the UK to honour the 80th anniversary of VJ Day. This is a moment not only for solemn remembrance, but also for reflection on the enduring bonds forged in the crucible of history – bonds that continue to resonate in our world today. At the darkest hour of the second world war, China and the…
China and Russia pledge to deepen ties as they criticise US on Victory Day
China and Russia pledged to further deepen their already “no limits” partnership in a joint statement published ahead of Russia’s military parade on Friday, as the two sides stressed the importance of maintaining the “correct view” of second world war history. In a lengthy statement published during Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the end of the second world war, which Russia celebrates on 9 May as Victory Day, Xi and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin said “certain countries … are attempting to…
Doreen Gibbons obituary
My mother, Doreen Gibbons, who has died aged 96, was a civil internee in Shanghai, China, during the second world war. In 1942, soon after Japanese soldiers took over Shanghai, her father, Frank Cook, who worked for the city’s municipal council, was taken to Haiphong Road camp as a “political prisoner”. Doreen described furiously pedalling her bicycle through Shanghai behind the lorry, tears streaming down her face. Doreen, who was then 16, her younger sister Joan and their mother, Dorothy, were given a date to report to the Civil Internee…
Japan approves biggest military buildup since second world war amid China fears
Japan has approved its biggest military buildup since the second world war, warning that China poses the “greatest strategic challenge ever” and outlining plans to develop a counterstrike capability funded by record defence spending. The plans, announced by the government on Friday, reflect growing alarm over a more assertive Chinese military and a North Korean regime that continues to improve its nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities. But the changes have also triggered criticism that Japan is abandoning more than seven decades of pacifism under its postwar constitution. Japan aims to…