China names massacre victims on 70th anniversary
BEIJING, Dec 4 (Reuters) - China has published an eight-volume list of 13,000 victims of the Nanjing massacre in which it says invading Japanese troops killed 300,000 civilians, state media said on Tuesday.
The Chinese publications, released to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", include the names, ages, sex, occupations and residential addresses of the victims, which Japanese army unit was responsible and how the victims were killed.
"The books are the most complete name lists of the known victims of the slaughter to date," the China Daily said.
"The publication of name lists is just a start. We will continue collecting information about the victims," the newspaper quoted Zhang Xianwen, editor-in-chief of the compilation, as saying.
The lists are part of a 27-volume series of historical materials on the massacre and were released before Dec. 13, the day in 1937 when Japanese troops took over the city, then known as Nanking and the capital of Nationalist China.
China, where many people still harbour deep resentment over Japanese wartime atrocities, says Japanese troops killed 300,000 men, women and children, many of the victims raped or otherwise tortured.
An allied tribunal put the death toll at about 142,000. Some Japanese historians say the numbers are exaggerated, estimating as few as 20,000 soldiers and civilians were killed.
Japan does not present any figure, although it acknowledges that many civilians were killed by invading Japanese troops. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom, editing by Nick Macfie)
The Chinese publications, released to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the massacre, also known as the "Rape of Nanking", include the names, ages, sex, occupations and residential addresses of the victims, which Japanese army unit was responsible and how the victims were killed.
"The books are the most complete name lists of the known victims of the slaughter to date," the China Daily said.
"The publication of name lists is just a start. We will continue collecting information about the victims," the newspaper quoted Zhang Xianwen, editor-in-chief of the compilation, as saying.
The lists are part of a 27-volume series of historical materials on the massacre and were released before Dec. 13, the day in 1937 when Japanese troops took over the city, then known as Nanking and the capital of Nationalist China.
China, where many people still harbour deep resentment over Japanese wartime atrocities, says Japanese troops killed 300,000 men, women and children, many of the victims raped or otherwise tortured.
An allied tribunal put the death toll at about 142,000. Some Japanese historians say the numbers are exaggerated, estimating as few as 20,000 soldiers and civilians were killed.
Japan does not present any figure, although it acknowledges that many civilians were killed by invading Japanese troops. (Reporting by Beijing Newsroom, editing by Nick Macfie)
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