Home>>China
Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, March 15, 2004

American missionary recorded Japanese atrocity in China

During the 140-year history of the International Red Cross Movement, an American elder is well known to the Chinese people and held in high esteem by the members of the Red Cross. It was him who risked his life in recording the atrocity of the Japanese imperialist invaders during the Nanking (Nanjing) Massacre. He is the early activist of the International Red Cross Movement - John Magee.


PRINT DISCUSSION CHINESE SEND TO FRIEND


During the 140-year history of the International Red Cross Movement, an American elder is well known to the Chinese people and held in high esteem by the members of the Red Cross. It was him who risked his life in recording the atrocity of the Japanese imperialist invaders during the Nanking (Nanjing) Massacre. He is the early activist of the International Red Cross Movement - John Magee.

Magee was born in 1884 in Virginia of the United States. He was a missionary of the Protestant Episcopal Church who spent more than 30 years in China. During the Nanking Massacre Magee was doing missionary work in Nanking and was at the same time the chairman of Nanking Committee of the International Red Cross Organization. During the dark period when hundreds of thousands of defenseless Chinese were ruthlessly slaughtered by the Japanese army, Magee was appalled by the atrocity of the Japanese invaders. Regardless of his own safety he ran out of the Nanking International Safety Zone, going through streets and lanes, and took part in rescuing more than 200,000 Chinese solders and civilians who were facing being slaughtered. Magee shot several hundred minutes film with then the most advanced 16mm movie camera, which filmed at 6 shots per second. These films recorded men being beheaded by the Japanese army, women raped, and babies who lost parents with corpses lying all over in villages. They are the earliest and the most complete photo evidence of the massacre.

In 1938 when Magee published 10 of the photos in Life magazine the whole world was shocked. Some people wanted to buy Magee's original film with large sums of money for political purposes, yet he was not budged. He said he wanted to give the historical materials to the right person without charge at a right moment. In 1946 while standing at the witness seat of the Tokyo War Tribunal for the Japanese war criminals Magee disclosed the irrefutable evidence that proves the crimes of the Japanese invaders.

In 1963 Magee left the 16mm camera and the film to his son David who had accompanied him in Nanking. In 2002 when David heard of the news that China was going to build a museum in memory of the people who were killed during the Nanking Massacre, he came to Nanking in defiance of the great ocean, which he had left for 60 years. According to his father's last wish he offered the historical materials without charge. To remember the special contribution that Magee had made to the Nanking people a library was built in the name of Magee.

By People's Daily Online


Questions?Comments? Click here
    Advanced






Japanese WWII bomb discovered in east China harbor

Japanese PM's remark on shrine visit leads to long-term cold relations with China: Kyodo



 


Indian navy to have two aircraft carriers by 2011 ( 4 Messages)

What's the meaning of Bush & Blair nominated as candidates for Nobel Peace Prize? ( 31 Messages)

Study: Americans eating themselves to death ( 7 Messages)

Japanese PM's remark on shrine visit leads to long-term cold relations with China: Kyodo ( 10 Messages)

French Presidents' China complex ( 4 Messages)



Copyright by People's Daily Online, all rights reserved