Tong Zeng
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Tong Zeng (Chinese name: 童增, born June 3, 1956) is a Chinese scholar, peace activist, and businessman. He is chairman of the China Federation of Demanding Compensation from Japan, and is chairman of Zhongxiang Investment Co., Ltd. Tong Zeng wrote a paper in 1990, later known as Tong Zeng's "Book of Ten Thousand Words", which triggered a civil movement to safeguard the dignity and rights of victims of Japanese atrocities during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Early on, Tong Zeng was restricted by the Chinese government. Reports by
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
in 1994 and 1996,
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
in 1995, and the
US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
in 1995 and 1996 mentioned that Tong Zeng was unfairly treated. He was a
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
candidate in 2015 and 2017. He speaks for the voiceless and seeks for justice and peace in an uncertain world. Tong was also the first to question the "
Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both a ...
". In 1998, he publicly opposed the collection of blood samples of the elderly in China, and by some institutions in both China and the United States, for the so-called purpose of studying the model and analysis of the mortality of the elderly.
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also participated in the interview report. In 2003, he published the book ''The Last Line of Defense'', in which he proposed that "
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might be produced in a laboratory or a genetic weapon aimed at the Chinese". In the preface of the book, Tong wrote: "Though the cause of the SARS virus has not been found, this book gives people a new thinking," the AP, ''
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'', ''
China Youth Daily The ''China Youth Daily'' ( zh, s=中国青年报, t=, p=) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. It has been the newspaper of the Communist Youth League of China since 1951. It has occasional ...
,'' and other media reported. On July 6, 2019, Tong wrote to suggest that the United Nations should learn from the historical lessons of
Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
and other scientists who failed to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons after the war, and must prevent the militarization and weapons of biological genetic research in some countries. At the end of 2019, when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, he raised his concern to the Chinese government that the virus may have originated from laboratories, and sent a letter to the Secretary-General of
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and the
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, asking them to conduct thorough inspections of all biological, viral, and genetic laboratories around the world.


Early life

Tong Zeng's father, Tong Qiangmeng, graduated from the mechanical department of
Chongqing University Chongqing University (CQU; ) is a public university in Chongqing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. Chongqing University ...
in 1956. His mother, Mu Huifang, graduated from accounting at a technical secondary school. Tong was born in
Chongqing ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, on June 3, 1956. Chen Zongshun (pseudonym: Liu Bai), a Chinese biographer, has published four books about Tong Zeng over the past 20 years, three of which record Tong Zeng's early life. The titles of three books have also been included in bibliographies such as the
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, the
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of the United States, and the
National Diet Library The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...
of Japan. In particular, the book ''Tong Zeng: the hero of our times,'' published in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
in 2015, is still on the sales list of the publishing house. Chinese freelance writer Guan Mingqiang wrote a long documentary report on Tong Zeng in 1998, which also detailed his early life. In these works, Tong Zeng's early life is written in detail. Tong 's childhood was greatly influenced by his grandfather. In 2016, another modern Chinese writer, Guan Jie, published another biography of Tong Zeng in China. The book also described Tong Zeng's early life in detail, and described Tong Zeng as having been born with a pair of black and bright eyes. After graduating from high school, 19-year-old Tong Zeng went to the countryside to work in agriculture and opened up wasteland to grow tea, like many of his peers in China at the time, but he did not forget to read and study. At the age of 20, Tong Zeng taught temporarily in local rural elementary schools and middle schools, teaching
Chinese Chinese may refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people identified with China, through nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **Han Chinese, East Asian ethnic group native to China. **'' Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic ...
,
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,
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, and other courses. At the age of 22, he was admitted to
Sichuan University Sichuan University (SCU) is a public university in Chengdu, Sichuan, China. The university is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. I ...
in China, and studied economics there. In 1982, he was assigned to teach at the Beijing Industry Management Institute. In 1985, he signed up for the international law professional examination for overseas graduate students funded by a Hong Kong foundation, but was not admitted. In 1986, he was admitted to
Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...
for a master's degree in law.Diaoyu Island and my 42 years, beiqing.com (Chinese), 2012-08-26
Since 1987, Tong Zeng has published several articles in various Chinese newspapers. He once proposed "the theory of the new period", and put forward four major civilizations: "spiritual civilization", "material civilization", "environmental civilization", and "institutional civilization". Among them, he mentioned environmental protection to civilization construction for the first time. During his postgraduate study at Peking University, "the theory of the new period" put forward by Tong Zeng was funded by the foundation established by
George Soros George Soros (born György Schwartz; August 12, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist. , he has a net worth of US$7.2 billion, Note that this site is updated daily. having donated more than $32 billion to the Open Society Foundat ...
in China at that time. Then Tong Zeng was once again funded by the foundation and established the student social group Peking University Taiwan Research Association. Tong Zeng wrote "Where is the World Going" with his peers in 1989, in which he specifically discussed the development trends of poverty and hunger, military competitions, population crisis, lack of resources, and
environmental Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
degradation.


Activism


The origin of Chinese folk claims against Japan

After the end of World War II,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
was divided into two until 1990, when East and West Germany achieved unification. East and West Germany successfully signed the ''"
Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (), more commonly referred to as the Two Plus Four Agreement (), is an international agreement that allowed the reunification of Germany in October 1990. It was negotiated in 1990 betwee ...
"'' with the four victorious nations of
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,
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, the
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, and the
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. The treaty ensured the unity and sovereignty of Germany, but there was no war compensation mentioned in this document. On April 17, 1990, China's "Newspaper Digest" published a 300-word translated essay, "Europe revisited war reparations". It attracted the attention of Tong Zeng, who was 34 years old. He wrote an essay--"The Enlightenment of
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
Revisiting War Reparations for China", which was later revised to "China Demands Japan's Compensation for War Victims without Delay", which was sent to China's National People's Congress in March 1991. Media from
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
and
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
reported on it. Twenty years later,
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
published: A Case Analysis of the Chinese War Reparations Movement. In 1991, Tong Zeng, a legal scholar, submitted a "Book of Ten Thousand Words" to some representatives to the National People's Congress, petitioning to ask reparations from Japan. In particular, Timothy Webster, a professor of international law and comparative law in the United States, in the ''
Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law The ''Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law'' is a legal journal produced by student editors at Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1968, and published three times per ...
'', introduced in detail the views put forward by Tong Zeng in that year and the early actions to claim compensation from Japan. For the first time, Tong distinguished "war compensation" from "civil compensation", and he was the first person to propose that "Chinese civilian victims have the right to claim compensation from the Japanese government and enterprises", raising the issue of protecting the human rights of war victims to a theoretical level. It laid the legal foundation for the Chinese people to demand compensation from
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. At the same time, a large number of volunteers gathered around Tong to start the movement of demanding compensation from
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. At the end of 1992, according to the AP, the ''
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,'' and other reports, Tong had been supported by 300,000 signatures.


The awakening of the victims of World War II

On August 7, 1991, Tong Zeng and 108 Chinese citizens submitted letters to Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu, who was visiting
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, demanding that
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
apologize and compensate the Chinese for the losses caused by the invasion of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. For the first time in the post war period, the Chinese people asked the Japanese government to apologize and compensate for the war crimes of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. On January 8, 1992, South Korean comfort women demonstrated for the first time at the entrance of the Japanese Embassy in South Korea and filed a claim for compensation.
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
also reported that Tong Zeng led 600 senior Chinese intellectuals to petition relevant Chinese departments, saying that the Chinese government had abandoned Japan's war compensation, but the individual Chinese victims did not give up their rights. Subsequently, more and more people have demanded Japanese war compensation, and Tong is widely regarded as the leader of the war reparations movement. Tong initiated and promoted a non-governmental compensation campaign against Japan after being disseminated by the media. From 1991 to 1995, he received nearly 10,000 letters from victims of World War II from all over China. Those who wrote to seek Tong Zeng's help included survivors of the
Nanjing Massacre The Nanjing Massacre, or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly Chinese postal romanization, romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians, noncombatants, and surrendered prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army in Nanji ...
, "
Comfort women Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...
" in China and South Korea, family members of the victims of human tests conducted by Japanese
Unit 731 , short for Manchu Detachment 731 and also known as the Kamo Detachment and the Ishii Unit, was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that engaged in lethal human experimentat ...
, Chinese people injured in Japanese
germ warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Biol ...
, victims of
forced labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...
, and victims of "indiscriminate bombing". There are also letters signed by victims' organizations in support of Tong Zeng, and so on. A reporter of China ''
South Reviews ''South Reviews'' () is a centre-left biweekly politics and economics magazine based in Guangzhou, China. A subsidiary of Guangzhou Daily Press Group (广州日报报业集团), the magazine was established in April 1985. With a circulation of 66 ...
'' magazine described this phenomenon as: "if the psychological activities of a society in a certain period can be counted, then from 1992 to 1994, Tong may have been the one that made the most Chinese think of day and night". Many victims of World War II came to Beijing from all over China to seek help from Tong Zeng. He called on the victims of World War II to write to the Japanese Embassy in China for an apology and compensation. In October 1992, the
Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...
visited China for the first time. Tong publicly expressed his request for the Emperor of Japan to apologize for the invasion of China during World War II and compensate the Chinese victims. During the Emperor of Japan's visit to China, Tong was sent away to Chongqing by his work unit for a "business trip", AP reported. In March 1994, Tong asked the visiting Japanese Prime Minister Hosokawa to apologize and pay compensation to the Chinese victims of World War II. He also called on the victims of World War II to protest in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, as
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
took the lead in reporting many times. The Chinese government stopped Tong and he was detained for three days. China has released more than 100 elderly activists after two days of questioning. In March 1995, Tong Zeng was warned not to cooperate with national legislators and consultants and asked for individual compensation from Japan. On the other hand, the police banned protest bids by victims, and the Chinese official agencies also asked Tong Zeng to stay away from World War II elders. In August 1995, Tong Zeng organized a news conference for comfort women and World War II victims in a hotel in Beijing, which was halted by the Chinese police. Tong Zeng led the Chinese victims to Japan to file a lawsuit, United Press International reported. As a result, his passport was confiscated. The ''
Reformatorisch Dagblad The ''Reformatorisch Dagblad'' (; "Reformed Daily") is a Dutch Protestant newspaper with a circulation of around 60,000, headquartered in Apeldoorn. The conservative newspaper was founded in 1971 and is associated with the Reformed Political Party ...
'' of
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also published the AP news. In 1995, the Fourth World Women Conference was held in Huairou, Beijing. Tong was an NGO representative approved by the United Nations and participated in the "Comfort Women Forum". He participated in many preparatory meetings for it in Beijing. ''
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'' and the ''
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'' also reported that police warned Tong Zeng not to hold a press conference or cause any trouble until the end of the women's conference, to be held on September 9 under the auspices of the United Nations. However, a few days before the meeting, Tong was sent to a remote area of China. The ''
Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). '' ...
'' newspaper in the
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''and
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'', a newspaper in
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,
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, United States,  forwarded the AP news, saying that Tong Zeng was arrested and had a hunger strike. The
Trouw ''Trouw'' (; ) is a Dutch daily newspaper appearing in compact size. It was founded in 1943 as an orthodox Protestant underground newspaper during World War II. Since 2009, it has been owned by DPG Media (known as De Persgroep until 2019). '' ...
again used
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news to confirm that Tong was arrested.
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in the United States also mentioned in a report that the Chinese authorities briefly detained the famous Chinese war victim compensation activist Tong Zeng.'' Le Monde diplomatique'' (France) made a summary, on August 7, 1995, when the police dissolved the press conference demanding compensation from Japan. In recent years, Tong Zeng has become the main spokesman for hundreds of thousands of Chinese victims, who were arrested by the police and prohibited from contacting the media. His passport was confiscated. In 1995, US
President Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the att ...
raised the issue of human rights before meeting with Chinese President
Jiang Zemin Jiang Zemin (17 August 1926 – 30 November 2022) was a Chinese politician who served as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 1989 to 2002, as Chairman of the Central Mil ...
. It also mentioned that Tong Zeng was "invited" to leave the city before the UN World Conference on women. Subsequently, ''
Dagens Nyheter (, ), abbreviated ''DN'', is a daily newspaper in Sweden. It is published in Stockholm and aspires to full national and international coverage, and is widely considered Sweden's newspaper of record A newspaper of record is a major nationa ...
'' of Sweden reported on Tong Zeng's situation. Since then, ''Dagens Nyheter'' has repeatedly reported that Tong Zeng was mentioned in Sino-Japanese relations. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
reported how Tong Zeng persisted in his beliefs and pursuits: Official China Retreats in Tone on War Against Japan: "Almost every family was affected by the war, so the government fears our work will influence all society," said Tong Zeng, a researcher on the aging who started the compensation campaign nearly six years ago. "They also fear it will affect relations with Japan, especially economic relations."  Having been previously pressured to curb his efforts, Tong knew that the 50th anniversary of the war's end would not dramatically alter China's official attitude. But he remains committed to getting the Japanese government to pay for the sufferings it caused. "The government abandoned" retribution, Tong said. "But we as a people shouldn't. We cannot abandon it." For the past six years, Mr Tong has devoted much of his time to the war reparation campaign. But he often ran into trouble with the authorities. Unexpectedly, Tong Zeng's personal passport was confiscated for six years. Twenty years later, Jessica Chen Weiss, American political scientist, the "Comparative Politics: Chinese Politics International Relations" published by
Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...
in 2014 recorded the 1995 Tong Zeng barred from international conference in Beijing; Police broke up foreign press conference and other encounters. ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' (France) commented from another angle in a report: "Tong Zeng is the leader of a pressure group" In 1997, Linda Yeung, a reporter of the ''South China Morning Post'' in Hong Kong, had a long report on the civil claim against Japan initiated by Tong Zeng. In 2001,
Albert Ho Albert Ho Chun-yan ( zh, c=何俊仁; born 1 December 1951) is a solicitor and politician in Hong Kong. He is the former chairman (2014–2019) and vice-chair (2019–2021) of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement ...
, the Hong Kong legislator, mentioned in the Legislative Council that Mr. Tong Zeng's early activities were suppressed. Chinese WWII elderly wrote to President Jiang Zemin, "We old people victimised by the war all see Tong Zeng as our guide, as our benefactor."


Strive for the legitimate rights and interests of "comfort women" victims of sexual violence in World War II

Tong Zeng mentioned in his "Book of Ten Thousand Words" written in 1990 that sexual violence against women is a war crime and there should be compensation for the victims. On July 25, 1992, Tong received materials from seven comfort women in Shanxi, China, requesting claims from Japan. On August 7, 1992, he went to the Japanese Embassy in China to submit the Chinese comfort women's claim, and the Japanese embassy staff signed for his materials.
UPI United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...
reported this in detail, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' also reported it. In 1992, three Korean
comfort women Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...
went to Beijing to find Tong. The uterus of the three elderly women had all been removed by the Japanese army. They also showed Tong Zeng the scars left by them. Tong sent them to the South Korean Embassy in China. One of the Korean comfort women named Hong Aizhen also wrote a letter of thanks to Tong. On August 7, 1995, Tong Zeng organized a press conference for comfort women victims in Beijing, demanding compensation from Japan. Tong Zeng, as a "NGO" representative of the fourth women's conference held in Beijing in 1995, would participate in the "comfort women" forum, but he failed to participate in it. Because of the sensitivity of Tong Zeng, Chinese semi-official organizations also avoid the issue of comfort women at the World Women's Congress. A documentary film made by Japanese volunteers also describes Tong Zeng's difficult journey in safeguarding the human rights of Chinese comfort women in his early years. In 1995, Tong Zeng organized Japanese lawyers to collect evidence from Chinese comfort women in China. In 1996, Tong Zeng appealed to the Hong Kong media that the Chinese authorities should issue passports to two Chinese comfort women. Since then, comfort women from China,  the Netherlands,  and others have sued Japan one after another. In October 2002, Tong Zeng wrote court testimony for Chinese "comfort women", which was submitted by Japanese lawyers to the Tokyo High Court of Japan. Since 2007, Tong Zeng has organized economic assistance activities to Chinese comfort women survivors many times. Tong feels that the issue of comfort women in 2015 has become an issue of concern to the Chinese and Japanese governments. In February 2015, Tong Zeng introduced Lucy Hornby, a senior reporter from the ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'', to Shanxi, China, to interview Japanese military comfort women during World War II.
Folha de S. Paulo ''Folha de S.Paulo'' (sometimes spelled ''Folha de São Paulo''), also known as simply ''Folha'' (, ''Sheet''), is a Brazilian daily newspaper founded in 1921 under the name ''Folha da Noite'' and published in São Paulo by the Folha da Manhã co ...
(Brazil) also reposted it in full. Zhang shuangbing, a teacher in Shanxi, China, has followed Tong Zeng to safeguard the rights and interests of comfort women to this day. The movement of World War II comfort women in China, South Korea, the Netherlands, the Philippines and other countries to ask Japan's apology and compensation for more than 20 years has been recorded in detail from
the UN The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
report. Tong Zeng entrusted a Japanese lawyer to represent the victims of Chinese comfort women in the Japanese court to sue Japan, which is very meaningful.The doctoral thesis of Xiaoyang Hao,
Kyushu University , abbreviated to , is a public research university located in Fukuoka, Japan, on the island of Kyushu. Founded in 1911 as the fourth Imperial University in Japan, it has been recognised as a leading institution of higher education and resear ...
, Japan: Chinese "Comfort Women" Reparation Trials in the 1990s and 2000s.Conclusion and significance: The proceedings of the reparation trials also carry implications for other civil litigations elsewhere adjudicating sexual violence, in a world fraught with sexual and gender-based historical injustice and ongoing sexual violence in armed conflict. On December 29, 2015, Japan reached an agreement on apology and compensation for South Korean comfort women.
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...
immediately interviewed Tong Zeng for comment. He said it was a good start, but he also expressed regret. Daily Star (United Kingdom) reposted the AFP report, Beijing-based activist Tong Zeng told AFP that the agreement between Seoul and Tokyo was "a really big shock" for China. "Japan to this day has not given an apology or compensation to comfort women in countries like China and the Philippines," he said. As the war's "biggest victim," he added, China "needs to continue to strive to compel Japan to apologize as soon as possible." "Otherwise, it won't be good for history or regional peace." Some mainstream media in Southeast Asia
NDTV New Delhi Television Ltd is an Indian news media company focusing on broadcast and digital news publication. It was founded in 1984 by economist Prannoy Roy and journalist Radhika Roy. NDTV began as a production house for news segments, ...
(Indian), '' Republika'', ''
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'' (Singapore), etc. have also reprinted. ''Les Echos'' (France) specifically mentioned Tong Zeng's attitude when synthesizing AFP and Reuters news. As the "biggest victim" of the war, China "must continue to strive for Japan's apology," ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' said that Tong Zeng was the closest professional agitator in China, and his long-term campaign successfully put the issue of
comfort women Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...
on the agenda of the Communist Party. On April 28, 2018, the statue of comfort women in Manila, the Philippines, was demolished at night. Tong Zeng said that this behavior was an indulgence of crimes against humanity. However, the statue of comfort women is still erected in some places in South Korea, China, the United States, Germany, Australia and other countries because it symbolizes the end of wartime sexual violence. At the end of 1995, Tong Zeng received a letter from Cheng Fei, the adopted daughter of Yuan Zhulin, a former Japanese army comfort woman in Wuhan, China. Tong sent Yuan Zhulin to Hong Kong in 1998 to make it public. Li Bihua, a famous writer in Hong Kong, wrote a book ''The Cloudy and Misty March'' with her life experience. Zhulin has repeatedly complained about the sex slavery system of Japanese comfort women in World War II in the international community. In 2007, Tong Zeng went to Wuhan to attend the memorial service of Zhulin. At this time, Tong Zeng advocated in Chinese society the care and economic assistance for the elderly victims of World War II, including "comfort women", so that the victims of World War II can enjoy their old age.
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...
resolution of 13 December 2007 on Justice for the 'Comfort Women' . Japan must do more for WWII 'comfort women': UN. The
Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...
's Verdict on Japan's Comfort Women. The last Chinese comfort woman who sued the Japanese government died. Why is it so hard for Japan to say sorry? On the 2021 International Women's Day, peace activist Tong Zeng, together with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...
, the Secretary General of the United Nations
António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
and others, congratulated on the happy Women's Day on the website of the Urban Economic Forum!


For countries that have committed the "holocaust" to civilians, they must apologize and compensate

From 1990 to 1997, Tong Zeng was a wanted man. Seven years after he vowed to pursue reparations for thousands of mainland victims of Japanese atrocities during the 1930s war in China and World War II, in October 1998, Tong Zeng, a 42-year-old associate researcher, was dismissed from his work unit. On April 29, 2002, Zhang Weiguo, a reporter from China's ''World Economic Herald'', wrote a commentary on Tong Zeng. "China usually only has the government monopolize the voice of speech, especially in the field of foreign policy including relations with Japan. The outside world can hardly hear the voice of the people. Tong Zeng and some human rights activists have carried out compensation activities against Japan in recent years. It must be vivid and colorful, and it has opened up a new world for public opinion". After more than 10 years of efforts, Tong Zeng has gradually expanded his space for activities, and has been reported by China's mainstream media. Since 2004, he has advocated suing Japan and Japanese enterprises in Chinese courts. On April 4, 2006, Tong Zeng planned to file a lawsuit in Chinese courts, and five Chinese law firms accepted the entrustment. In addition, Tong Zeng published a signed article in ''
China Youth Daily The ''China Youth Daily'' ( zh, s=中国青年报, t=, p=) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China. It has been the newspaper of the Communist Youth League of China since 1951. It has occasional ...
''. His view is that it is in line with international law and practice to regard Japanese government loans as compensation for war victims He did not expect to arouse the common dissatisfaction of Chinese and Japanese officials. Japanese ambassador to China, Keiji Inouchu, wrote a special article against Tong Zeng's point of view. In May 2004, ''Nikkei Asia'', Japan's English-language newsweekly, said that Tong Zeng is the first Chinese activist advocating wartime compensation from Japanese companies. In 2014, Tong Zeng estimated that only 100 workers survived; He actively promoted the victims to submit claim materials to courts across the country. In May 2014, China's World War II victims submitted claim materials to China's Shandong court and sued Japan's Mitsubishi company. Tong Zeng told Reuters at the time, dozens of wartime compensation suits had been filed in Japan against the Japanese government and companies associated with the country's wartime aggression in the first half of the 20th century, including World War II. Almost all of them have been rejected by Japanese courts. This case of suing Japan's Mitsubishi company has also attracted the attention of the media in some Southeast Asian countries. On July 15, 2014, an area in Hebei Province of China entrusted Tong Zeng's NGO to sue the Japanese government. 1298 villagers were killed and 96 were injured during a massacre by Japanese troops on January 25, 1941, in the Panjiayu Village of North China's Hebei province. On August 11, 2014, Tong Zeng delivered a letter to Japan's Ambassador and asked the Emperor of Japan to return Chinese cultural relics. Chinese state media also reported Chinese NGO seeks return of ancient relic from Japan. The AFP issued a news report for this purpose, especially quoting a sentence by Tong Zeng "What we try to recover is not just the relic itself, but also a symbol of international justice." Jane Perlez is the president of the Beijing branch of
the New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, specializing in interviews with Tong Zeng and others, and providing more extensive coverage. An art website forwarded the news and got 390000 people's praise. On November 22, 2022, thanks to the cooperation and promotion between Tong Zeng and Japanese lawyers for many years, the Japanese civil society appealed to the Japanese government to return the Chinese cultural relics seized during the war to China. On June 8, 2023, Mr. Tong Zeng wrote a letter to the Japanese government requesting the return of Chinese cultural relics in front of the Yasukuni Shrine in Japan. On December 8, 2014, Chinese NGO represented by Tong Zeng asked Japan to apologize for the 1937
Nanjing Massacre The Nanjing Massacre, or the Rape of Nanjing (formerly Chinese postal romanization, romanized as ''Nanking'') was the mass murder of Chinese civilians, noncombatants, and surrendered prisoners of war by the Imperial Japanese Army in Nanji ...
. The
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reported Tong Zeng's action in detail ''Japan Today'' media also reprinted the news that the Associated Press reported that Tong Zeng sent a letter asking the Japanese government to apologize for the 1937 massacre. In an interview with a reporter from ''China Youth Daily'', Tong Zeng said: "In the long run, solving historical problems is to promote Sino-Japanese friendship. Only when these problems are resolved Sino-Japanese relations will be able to easily face the future." Japan and South Korea have also reported on Mr. Tong's actions. On August 15, 2015, Ms. Xia Shuqin, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre who knew Tong Zeng since 1995, asked the Japanese government to apologize for the "Nanjing Massacre" in an interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reporter. On December 12, 2016, Tong Zeng revealed to a reporter from ''
China News Service China News Service (CNS; ) is the second largest state news agency in China, after Xinhua News Agency. China News Service was formerly run by the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, which was absorbed into the United Front Work Department of the ...
'' that he had recently sent a letter to the Japanese government and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe through the Japanese Ambassador to China, asking the Japanese government to apologize for the 300,000 deaths in Nanjing caused by the Japanese army. Tong Zeng's activity was reprinted by the most official mainstream media of China for the first time. On December 11, 2017, Tong Zeng, on behalf of his NGO in China, once again asked the Japanese government to apologize for the Nanjing Massacre. On December 11, 2018, Tong Zeng wrote to the Japanese government: "I hope the Japanese government can seriously reflect on the war crimes and apologize for the Nanjing Massacre." It has been reported and reprinted by many Chinese mainstream media. December 13 is the memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. In the news reports reprinted on the website of Xinhua News Agency, Tong Zeng was specifically mentioned as a non-governmental figure, and was praised for his unremitting efforts for more than 20 years to recover justice and dignity for the victims. On December 12, 2019, Tong Zeng sent another letter to ask the Japanese government to apologize for the Nanjing Massacre. On December 9, 2021, The Eighth Letter from Tong Zeng to the Japanese Government Demanding Apology and Compensation for the Nanjing Massacre. On December 12, 2022, Tong Zeng wrote to the Japanese ambassador and the Japanese government for the ninth consecutive year, requesting the Japanese government to apologize and compensate for the "Nanjing Massacre" war crime committed 85 years ago.


Strive to apologize and compensate wartime forced laborers

In the "Book of Ten Thousand Words" written by Tong Zeng in 1990, it was specifically mentioned that one of the war crimes was forcing civilians to work as
laborers A laborer ( or labourer) is a person who works in manual labor typed within the construction industry. There is a generic factory laborer which is defined separately as a factory worker. Laborers are in a working class of wage-earners in whic ...
. In 1992, he began to receive letters from Chinese labor survivors and survivors' families who were caught by the Japanese army to perform hard labor throughout Japan during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, some letters were from the relatives of those who died in Japan.  Some forced laborers dug mud in Hokkaido, Japan, some dug caves in Gunma County, Japan,  some built reservoirs in Kagoshima, Japan, etc. There were also some Chinese who were forced to do hard labor in the areas controlled by the Japanese army in China, they all hoped to entrust Tong Zeng to claim compensation from Japan. From 1992 to 1994, Tong Zeng told forced laborer survivors and their families to write to the Japanese Embassy in China to claim their rights and interests. At the same time, Tong Zeng was also entrusted to disclose historical documents in Tianjin archives show. Tong will release Tianjin archives to the outside world through the media. THE Japanese Army forced Chinese women into prostitution and enslaved about 9.2 million laborers and their families in northern China during World War II. In August 1994, Tong Zeng commissioned Japanese lawyers to sue the Japanese government and Japanese companies in courts across Japan. Chinese forced laborers of World War II began to sue the Japanese government and Japanese companies in Japanese courts. On May 7, 2018, China's most open mainstream media "China Youth Daily" published an entire page (which was very rare) of Tong Zeng's experience, as well as a detailed report on the records of Tong Zeng's process of entrusting a Japanese lawyer in 1994. In August 2000, due to the strong demands of World War II forced laborers from the United States, Israel, Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia and other countries, Germany agreed to establish the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future to compensate them. In March 2003, five Chinese forced laborers commissioned American lawyers to sue Japan's Mitsubishi and Mitsui companies in the U.S. court. On September 18, 2003, Tong Zeng went to the Sapporo Court of Hokkaido, Japan, to testify for Chinese forced laborers of Mitsubishi, Mitsui and other companies. In 2007, Tong Zeng initiated economic assistance campaign to support 586 Chinese laborers of World War II. In 2014, China World War II Labor Association commissioned Tong Zeng's organization to promote the prosecution of Japanese Mitsubishi and other companies in Chinese courts. Tong contacted and assisted some lawyers, and successively filed cases against Japanese companies in Beijing, Hebei and other local courts.
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' and other media interviewed labor plaintiffs and their families. Tong has always believed that Chinese victims of World War II have the right to sue the Japanese government and Japanese companies in Chinese courts. In an interview with
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
, he emphasized that ''"the families base their claim on the belief that Beijing did not forfeit the rights of individual war victims to seek compensation in the agreement signed between China and Japan in 1972"''. In May 2014, the U.S. District Court also began to file a case in which U.S. laborers sued Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation. The US "
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
" magazine also participated in the report. On October 26, 2014, Tong Zeng, in the name of the chairman of the China Federation of Demanding Compensation from Japan, wrote to Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan, asking the company to apologize and compensate Chinese laborers. On July 19, 2015, Japan's Mitsubishi finally apologized in the United States for the atrocities against American war laborers of World War II.
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,
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and other mainstream media have reported it. Tong Zeng noticed that in the media reports, it was mentioned that Japanese Mitsubishi executives were very concerned about the victimized labor in China. On July 25, 2015, Tong disclosed to the outside world the manuscript of the letter of apology from Mitsubishi Japan to Chinese forced laborers. On one hand, Tong Zeng urged Mitsubishi Japan to apologize and compensate the Chinese forced laborers as soon as possible. On the other hand, Tong Zeng said Mitsubishi's apology should be given positive comments, saying that he hoped other Japanese companies can follow suit. British PR magazine ''
PRWeek ''PRWeek'' is a trade magazine and news website for the public relations and wider communications industry. It is published by Haymarket Media Group. History ''PRWeek'' was originally launched as a private venture in 1984 and was acquired b ...
'' praised, Mitsubishi: A gallant apology! After Tong published the Mitsubishi apology letter, a media commented on Mitsubishi: Too Little, Quite Late . Unexpectedly, the website of the Chinese Consulate General in New York also forwarded Tong's news. On June 1, 2016, Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan officially reached a settlement with Chinese laborers. Mitsubishi apologized to Chinese laborers and agreed to pay 100000 yuan per person to more than 3000 people as an apology and build monuments in several places in Japan. The representative of Mitsubishi, Japan, signed a reconciliation agreement with the representatives of three Chinese victims. The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', and other mainstream media reported it. That afternoon, three representatives of the victims of Mitsubishi visited Tong Zeng, expressed their gratitude to Tong Zeng and presented him a banner "kindness as heavy as a mountain"; they also gifted Tong a banner "National Hero", but Tong Zeng did not accept them . On June 6, 2016, ''
The Diplomat A diplomat is someone who represents a government in its relations with other governments. It may also refer to: Diplomat, the Diplomat or the Diplomats may refer to: Media * ''The Diplomat'' (magazine), a Washington, D.C. online foreign affa ...
'' reported on Mitsubishi's apology to Chinese forced laborers that it is particularly implicit that not everyone agrees with Tong Zeng's views. On August 13, 2016, Tong Zeng disclosed to the media all the contents of the Mitsubishi and Chinese laborers settlement agreement. Tong said, "The process is very hard because it involves China's domestic law, Japanese law and international law." Today, 71 years after the war, it is better late than never. Compensation payments are successively distributed to the families of victims in China. On June 13, 2016, Tong Zeng sent another letter to the Japanese government in the name of civil society, asking for an apology and compensation for 40000 Chinese forced laborers. On November 27, 2017, Tong Zeng, together with Japanese lawyers, called on the Japanese government to apologize for the labor policy of that year. South Korean laborers are still suing Mitsubishi, waiting for an apology from Mitsubishi and other Japanese companies. There is a victim who was forced into doing hard work for Japan's Mitsubishi as a 15-year-old girl, who was 92 years old in 2016 and still sincerely hoping Mitsubishi will apologize. Tong Zeng has been asking the Japanese government and Japanese companies to apologize and compensate the Chinese forced laborers for 30 years. The process has gone through three stages: "writing to the Japanese Embassy", "legal proceedings" and "reaching a settlement." Tong Zeng helped Liu Lianren, a Chinese laborer by commissioning a Japanese lawyer to sue the Japanese government in 1995. The second year after his death, on July 12, 2000, the Tokyo District Court of Japan ruled that the Japanese government should compensate Liu Lianren. The Japanese government filed an appeal. Tokyo High Court denied Compensation for Forced Laborer, Liu Lianren was not compensated. Chinese forced laborer Li Liangjie joined the litigation team immediately after meeting Tong Zeng in 1994. In 2007, Li Liangjie was elected president of the World War II Labor Association. On July 22, 2017, Tong Zeng and Li Liangjie introduced the history of Chinese civil claims against Japan to historians, history teachers, lawyers and community leaders in the United States and Canada. Li Liangjie died on February 12, 2019. Tong Zeng expressed deep condolences on Li Liangjie's death. Tong Zeng said: ''"as a labor plaintiff of World War II, Li Liangjie sued the crimes of Japanese militarism through legal means, which reflected the dignity and determination of Chinese people to resolutely oppose war and support peace!" ''


Families of the victims of the "human experiments" and survivors of the bacteriological war

In Article 4 of Part II of the "Book of Ten Thousand Words" written by Tong Zeng in 1990, he proposed that the manufacture and use of toxic, chemical and bacteriological weapons as means and methods of warfare are
war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
s in accordance with international law. In World War II, the Japanese army took living people as test objects, manufactured and produced chemical bacteriological weapons, and carried out chemical bacteriological warfare in China. Since 1992, Tong has received letters from victims of the Japanese army's chemical and bacteriological warfare in China. The Japanese army spread
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
bacteria, resulting in the death of five people in one family. Some villagers died abnormally from live
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
bacteria injected by the Japanese army. Some became lifelong victims of
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
. Some Chinese forced laborers in Japan have also been used in unethical human experiment. Some were collective letters from a village accusing the Japanese army of many atrocities, including bacterial warfare. Some victims of bacteriological warfare entrusted a newspaper to send a letter to Tong Zeng. In particular, a letter from a descendant of a plague victim was transferred to the local association for aging through the newspaper, then sent to Tong Zeng. Tong Zeng received a letter from Wang Yibing and Wang Guilan in March 1994. Their father was sent to the Japanese
Unit 731 , short for Manchu Detachment 731 and also known as the Kamo Detachment and the Ishii Unit, was a covert biological and chemical warfare research and development unit of the Imperial Japanese Army that engaged in lethal human experimentat ...
as a human experiment object. Tong Zeng introduced them to Japanese lawyers at the end of 1994 as typical representatives of the 731 case. In 1995, a lawsuit was filed in the Japanese court. Although in 1999, the Tokyo District Court of Japan rejected Wang Yibing's request for the Japanese government to apologize and compensate on the ground of "the state has no responsibility", the court recognized the fact of inhuman persecution by Unit 731. The gendarmerie who personally arrested Wang Yibing's father into Unit 731 personally apologized to Wang Yibing, "My guilt is as serious as of the leader of bacterial warfare
Shiro Ishii Shiro, Shirō, Shirow or Shirou may refer to: People *, leader of the Shimabara Rebellion *, Japanese boxer *, Japanese football player 1923–1925 *, Japanese composer *, Japanese weightlifter *, Japanese microbiologist and lieutenant general * ...
I apologise to you all, and all family members of the victims. I will regret this for my entire life." The former Japanese gendarmerie also testified for the descendants of the victims of the human experiments of Unit 731 in a Japanese court. Ms. Guo Jinglan, whose husband was forcibly sent to the Unit 731 of Japanese army and disappeared, disclosed her misfortune in an interview with the Associated Press in 1993. In 1994, Tong Zeng learned about Guo Jinglan's misfortune and entrusted others to find her. Guo Jinglan and her daughter immediately went from Harbin to Beijing to meet Tong Zeng and insisted on claiming compensation from Japan. Tong Zeng introduced her to a Japanese lawyer and filed a lawsuit in a Japanese court. She testified in court in 1997. In 1999, the Tokyo court of Japan ruled that the court recognized the fact of murder, but rejected her claim for an apology from the Japanese government. In 2005,
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for the first time reported that the Japanese court rejected her claim again. This final judgment has attracted extensive media attention. Guo Jinglan said she would not give up and fight to the end. Tong Zeng received a letter from Wang Huanbin from the Jinhua area of Zhejiang Province who had experienced the bacterial warfare by the Japanese army, telling Tong Zeng that the plague had caused many of his relatives deaths. The lawsuit was filed in a Japanese court with the support of Japanese lawyers, and scale of the action was the largest. "Yesterday, a Tokyo court for the first time acknowledged that Japan had engaged in
biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or Pathogen, infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and Fungus, fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an ...
, slaughtering thousands of Chinese civilians in one of the worst atrocities of the second world war". On March 16, 2010, the reference part (34) of a document published by
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...
pointed out that senior Chinese diplomatic officials had a vague attitude on the issue of the victims of World War II demanding compensation from Japan. In 2007, Tong Zeng launched assistance activities for victims of chemical and bacteriological warfare and victims harmed by chemical weapons left over by the Japanese army in China. On January 26, 2018, Tong Zeng sent a letter to the Japanese government in the name of a non-governmental organization, asking the Japanese government to apologize and compensate for launching the bacteriological war. April 29, 2019, was the 22nd anniversary of the formal implementation of the United Nations Convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons, an international arms control treaty. Tong Zeng sent letters to the Japanese government and the United Nations Organization for the prohibition of chemical weapons, requesting the complete destruction and removal of chemical bacterial gas bombs left in China, and an apology and compensation for the Chinese people for the manufacture and use of gas bombs by the Japanese army in China during World War II.


Protect the rights and interests of victims of indiscriminate bombing

In the fifth item of the "Book of Ten Thousand Words" by Tong Zeng, according to the provisions of international law, indiscriminate bombing is a war crime. Some letters written by victims to Tong Zeng describe horrors of carpet bombing by Japanese military planes in Chongqing, known as the "
Bombing of Chongqing The bombing of Chongqing (, ), from 18 February 1938 to 19 December 1944, was a series of massive terror bombing operations authorized by the Empire of Japan's Imperial General Headquarters and conducted by the Imperial Japanese Army Air Servic ...
" in history. There are letters from the victims of the "Wuhan Indiscriminate Bombing" in China. There are letters from the victims of the "Nanjing Indiscriminate Bombing." There are also letters sent to him by victims of indiscriminate bombing in small and medium-sized cities. In 1992, Tong Zeng began to receive several letters from Gao Xiongfei, an associate professor at Zhejiang Institute of Education in China. He was only four years old in 1943, and his right hand was blown up by a bomb dropped by a Japanese plane. At midnight one spring day in 1993, Tong Zeng and Gao Xiongfei met for the first time. In March 1994, Gao Xiongfei went directly to the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to petition for compensation against Japan. A diplomat said that Tong Zeng is a small person, and we cannot make claims against Japan based on what the small person said; Gao Xiongfei immediately retorted, " Most great truth is discovered and put forward by small people. If there are more people who insist on it, it can promote the progress of society." At the end of 1994, Tong Zeng introduced Gao Xiongfei to  Japanese lawyer as a typical representative of indiscriminate bombing. In August 1995, Gao Xiong flew to the Tokyo District Court of Japan to submit the claim materials. In 1999, Tong Zeng received materials from Gao Xiongfei about their litigation in Japanese courts. In 2015, Cai Xiuling, who was studying for a master's degree in law in the United States, wrote a defense paper on Gao Xiongfei, Tong Zeng and other claims against Japan and published it at the University of Pittsburgh. In July 2017, Tong Zeng introduced the course of claims against Japan to the visiting delegations of the United States and Canada. Gao Xiongfei and several World War II survivors immediately attracted the strong attention of the participants. Gao Xiongfei was also interviewed by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post. In 2004, Tong Zeng and the victims of the indiscriminate bombing in Chongqing discussed how to sue the Japanese government. Tong Zeng also advocated in the Chinese media that the victims of the indiscriminate bombing in Chongqing sue the Japanese government. In March 2006, 188 Chinese who were injured or lost their families in the "indiscriminate bombing of Chongqing" entrusted Japanese lawyers to formally sue the Japanese government for compensation and apology. In 2008, Tong Zeng and other groups provided economic assistance to the survivors of the " bombing". The litigation of victims of the "Chongqing bombing" in Japanese courts has aroused the attention of Chinese and foreign media. In 2017, the Japanese court recognized the facts, but rejected the claims and apologies demanded by the victims of the Chongqing bombing on the grounds that the Chinese government waived war compensation. Tong Zeng repeatedly expressed his views in many media interviews in the past, that is, the Chinese government's abandonment of war compensation does not mean that Chinese individuals should give up the right to seek individual compensation.


30 years of achievements

On August 15, 1995, the Japanese Prime Minister apologized for invading Asian countries during World War II. Tong Zeng made a positive evaluation of this. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' also made an objective evaluation of Japan's apology. Tong Zeng has been persisting in asking the Japanese Prime Minister to apologize for aggression against other countries during World War II, since he launched a campaign to demand Japan's apology and compensation in 1990. Later on, South Korean civilian groups and Japanese anti-war groups also strongly demanded the Japanese government to apologize. Further, a large number of Japanese veterans came to China and apologized in some memorable places, some even found the descendants of Chinese victims and apologized to them.
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, AP, and other media reported on the incident. From 1994 to 2007, Tong and Chinese war victims initiated and urged 25 lawsuits filed in Japanese courts with the help of over 300 Japanese lawyers. Japanese courts also affirmed the Nanjing Massacre, Pingdingshan Massacre, Comfort Women, facts of war crimes such as war labor, human body testing, and germ warfare. However, Japan's Top Court Poised to Kill Lawsuits by Chinese War Victim. In an interview with VOA, Tong Zeng said that during the Second World War, Japan committed crimes against humanity and war crimes. For crimes like these, the punishment of these crimes is not subject to the limitation of time. Since 2007, Tong Zeng and his team urged five Japanese companies to apologize or compensate victims in China and reached a settlement. Japanese companies compensated the Chinese victims with about 300 million yuan. In 2021, Mitsubishi Materials Corporation of Japan established a monument in a park in Nagasaki, Japan, The inscription also featured an apology from Mitsubishi Materials, saying it "sincerely acknowledges" the fact that Chinese laborers' human rights were violated. On October 2, 2022, Tong Zeng disclosed on the social platform that Mitsubishi Materials of Japan had paid the 27th instalment of compensation to the survivors of Chinese labor and their families, with a total of 1248 people receiving compensation. In addition, China's Zhongwei Company sued Mitsui Merchants in the Shanghai Maritime Court of China. After 20 years of litigation, it finally received 240 million yuan in compensation from Mitsui Merchants in 2014. Since Tong Zeng has supported and helped the Chinese plaintiff for more than 20 years, both Chinese and international media have been learning about the situation from Tong. On December 23, 2007, Tong Zeng disclosed to the media that China had won the first instance, "It can offer valuable experience in the resolution of international disputes." On January 11, 2008, Tong disclosed to the Chinese media that both the plaintiff and the defendant had appealed. Tong Zeng posted a message on his own
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on April 19, 2014, stating that Chinese court seized a 280,000-ton ship from Japan's Mitsui Shipping Co., Ltd. as compensation for the property losses suffered by the original Chinese Zhongwei Shipping Company during World War II. Tong Zeng said that this was a milestone in the Chinese people's mission of demanding compensation from Japan. Hong Kong's
Wen Wei Po ''Wen Wei Po'' is a pro-Beijing state-owned newspaper based in Hong Kong. The newspaper was established in Hong Kong on 9 September 1948, 10 years after the launch of its Shanghai counterpart in 1938. Its head office is located at the Hing ...
reported about it on the following day.
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has interviewed Tong Zeng and published related reports twice,
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(Norway),
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(Australia),
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(
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, India), etc. and Professional media in many other countries have reported as well. The
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reported on Mr. Tong's Influence in this way: "Tong Zeng, a rights activist who electrified China when he first proposed individual reparations in the early 1990s and advised the Chen family in its complaint against Mitsui OSK." According to Tong, the ultimate goal of his 30 years' continuous efforts in this cause is to promote Sino-Japanese friendship and World Peace. The most official media in China also expressed Tong Zeng's view, that is, civil claims for post-war compensation aims at peace and friendship between China and Japan. Tong Zeng is very grateful to his Japanese friends for their help, It is very touching to see that some Japanese lawyers have provided legal helps for China's WWII victims for free for more than 20 years. They did it all for justice and peace." A publication of the
Harvard University Asia Center The Harvard University Asia Center is an interdisciplinary research and education unit of Harvard University, established on July 1, 1997, with the goal of "driving varied programs focusing on international relations in Asia and comparative studi ...
called the history of civil compensation initiated after the war "Toward a History Beyond Borders".
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, "Injury and injustice", Mr. Tong Zeng was called Chinese postwar compensation activist. James Reilly, a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Oxford, in the publication of
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, wrote: "Tong Zeng is said to be one of the most influential historical activists in China." In 2015, Dr. Don Tow, a Chinese-American, summed up Tong Zeng's efforts and contributions for civil victims to claim compensation from Japan over the years, and determined to organize the establishment of a website based on the letters from victims of World War II that Tong Zeng received in his early years. One year later, "10000 Cries For Justice – Tong Zeng's Collection" website started operating, informing people of unknown atrocities committed by the Japanese military. China's top official media, Xinhua News Agency, also reported the opening of the website. The news also appeared on the website of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Office in Hong Kong, and translate the news into Spanish and other languages for dissemination. July 25, 2018, At The 13th International Conference on Inter-disciplinary Social Sciences, University of Granada, Spain, discuss and promote the '' Letters to Tong Zeng.'' In April 2021, '' letters to Tong Zeng'' was published, which contains some letters written by the victims of WWII to Tong Zeng 30 years ago.


Non-war communication and non-violent communication

Territorial disputes have always been the fuse of wars between countries. After the war, the
Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...
broke out, and the total number of casualties on both sides was nearly 3,000. The dispute between China and Japan is mainly because of the Diaoyu Islands in the East China Sea. In 1996, Tong Zeng responded to and supported the movement of the citizens of Taiwan and Hong Kong to defend the Diaoyu Islands. Beijing authorities tells Activists to Stop Protests, Tong Zeng told a Reuter reporter over a telephone interview that he is going to carry out the protest as planned, despite the warning. According to
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, Tong Zeng's protests are still banned, and he might even be detained. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', ''
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'' and other media also reported that Tong was expelled from Beijing again. In the 1996 China human rights report released by the
US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...
in January 1997, it was mentioned that the Chinese government forced Tong Zeng to leave Beijing for Gansu Province.
Conor o'clery Conor O'Clery is an Irish journalist and writer. Background Born in Belfast, Conor O'Clery graduated from Queen's University Belfast in 1972. He was deputy editor of The Gown, the QUB student newspaper. Career O'Clery worked for ''The Irish ...
, a senior reporter of ''
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'', reported twice, saying that Tong Zeng was recently forced to leave Beijing when he was threatening to hold unauthorized demonstrations at the Japanese embassy. ''
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'' later reported that other members of Tong Zeng's team were also sent out of Beijing. The late
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winner, Mr.
Liu Xiaobo Liu Xiaobo (; 28 December 1955 – 13 July 2017) was a Chinese literary criticism, literary critic, human rights activist, philosopher and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who called for political reforms and was involved in campaigns to end Ch ...
, issued a joint statement in November 1996 protesting against authorities' suppression of anti-Japanese civil demonstrations in the mainland, banning demonstrations and expelling Tong Zeng. Hong Kong democrat
Albert Ho Albert Ho Chun-yan ( zh, c=何俊仁; born 1 December 1951) is a solicitor and politician in Hong Kong. He is the former chairman (2014–2019) and vice-chair (2019–2021) of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movement ...
and 10 others took to the streets to protest against the suppression of Tong Zeng's activities. Tong was acting in a peaceful and rational manner and did not affect social stability. In 2004, Tong Zeng organized people to go to Diaoyu Island in the form of scientific investigation and tourism route investigation, his actions were more rational. Agence France Presse took the lead in reporting. China's mainstream media also reported. Tong said that rational and constructive actions should be taken. On March 24, 2004, he skillfully planned the Chinese to disembark on the Diaoyu Island for scientific investigation. Unexpectedly, it caused a diplomatic storm between the two governments. In interviews with
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, ''
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'' and other media, Tong made it clear that his actions were part of a civil movement and were consistent with the position of the Chinese government. The police were also polite to the protesters in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. Tong also went to the Japanese Embassy to protest. In China, the space for non-governmental activities entirely depends on itself. ''
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'' also mentioned in the report that Tong admitted that he has won more space for civil activities. Therefore, Tong's behavior has triggered the latest diplomatic crisis and has been criticized and regarded as the voice of "Radicalism". But Tong Zeng is not an irrational fanatic. In published by
Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...
2016 《Appendix: Opinion Leaders Interviewed》, Tong Zeng was called a citizen activist. Since 2005, Tong Zeng has made a new attempt on solving the controversial Diaoyu Island issue between China and Japan. He proposed leasing the Diaoyu Island and transferring Diaoyu Island issue from official to civil matter. Reapplication was made in July 2012.
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published an article the next day saying that Tong Zeng applied to the China Oceanic Administration for renting the disputed island.
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believes that Tong Zeng has damaged the diplomatic relations between China and Japan. Tong pointed out in July 2005 that Japan's unauthorized establishment of the middle line on the high seas violated international law. On October 8, 2005, he pointed out that the Japanese Prime Minister's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine dedicated to class A war criminals of World War II clearly violated international law. The dialogue and debate between Tong Zeng and Japanese right-wing groups in 2005 were cancelled for some reasons. When other non-governmental activists were treated unfairly, Tong also defended them. In September 2010, a Chinese fishing boat in Fujian Province was forcibly rammed by several Japanese warships near the Diaoyu Islands. It was generally believed that China will erupt the same anti-Japanese demonstrations as in the past. In an interview with
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
, Tong Zeng said that he believes that China's street demonstrations need to go through petitions and diplomatic build up before they erupt. He emphasized that the current situation is different from the past, and there will be no large-scale anti-Japanese demonstrations. Tong has always believed that negotiation should be the major instrument in resolving territorial disputes. His views are not isolated. Tong Zeng is the one who had the most contact with the victims of World War II. He is well aware that there is a strong anti-Japanese sentiment among the Chinese people, and the government should pay attention to it. When a Hong Kong reporter asked him whether he personally hated Japan, Tong replied that he did not hate the Japanese and admired the Japanese from the bottom of his heart. The Japanese also made some contributions to mankind. Tong is a scholar who is rational and peaceful in dealing with issues between China and Japan. As reported by the Financial Times on May 8, 2008, Tong Zeng was only concerned about strong anti-Japanese sentiment and urged the government to resolve the issue between China and Japan. In 2012,
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...
reported that Tong Zeng predicted that as Chinese public opinion grew stronger, the Chinese government would change accordingly. Tong Zeng did not simply initiate protests. He often made statements or personally wrote letters to the Japanese Embassy to express his position. On March 30, 2005, Tong Zeng wrote a letter to UN Secretary General
Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...
opposing Japan's accession to the permanent membership. Chinese official media reported the content of Tong Zeng's letter. On April 10, 2005,
Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...
reported that Tong Zeng participated in and promoted more than 20 million Chinese people to sign against Japan's accession to the permanent membership of the United Nations. Tong Zeng told Joseph Kahn (journalist) of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' that this petition reflects that civil actions started ahead of the government. "China must vote AGAINST and not just abstain", said Tong Zeng, a longtime organizer of efforts to force Japan to recognize and apologize for World War II atrocities. "The government may not want to take the lead, but the Chinese people have taken the lead". ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' quoted Mr. Tong in another report as saying that the Chinese government has recently begun to acquiesce in people organizing anti-Japanese activities, rather than suppressing these people in the name of social stability.
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reporter described Tong Zeng as a leader among China's passionate and well-organized anti-Japan activists. Insists China must veto Security Council membership for Japan. "How can a nation that has never apologized for its barbaric behavior gain the trust of the international community to be a Security Council member?" Tong said. "A country like this in the Security Council would be a huge threat to world peace." The German weekly
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
reported Tong Zeng's opinion, saying that the government should "listen more to public opinion." More than 10 years later, a graduation thesis by Naval Postgraduate School in the United States specifically cited some of the viewpoints of political activist Tong Zeng during this period. Anti-Japanese demonstrations in various parts of China in April 2005 showed some excessive violence. Reuters claimed that Tong Zeng was the main organizer of anti-Japanese protests in 2005.
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,
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and other media also mentioned Tong Zeng, showing that Tong did not encourage any radical behavior.
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claimed that Tong said it was necessary to take measures against excessive behavior. The media generally believed that the Chinese government had struggled to control anti-Japanese demonstrations. The
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(
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) report also talked about Tong Zeng's views. Of course, there were some comments saying that the Chinese government gave Tong the green light for the anti-Japanese protests, and so on. Tong Zeng many times participated in the anti-Japanese demonstrations in August 2012, but expressed regret for the violence that occurred during the demonstrations. In an interview with a
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reporter, Tong expressed regret for the extreme behaviors that occurred. Tong also hopes that the government will understand public opinion and adjust its policies accordingly. On September 17, 2012, Tong Zeng, together with 28 Chinese civil opinion leaders such as Ren Zhiqiang and Li Kaifu, condemned the violence in the Anti Japanese march through microblog. A paper by
MIT Center for International Studies The MIT Center for International Studies (CIS) is an academic research center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It sponsors work focusing on international relations, security studies, international migration, human rights and justice ...
stated that there was no relationship between the nationalist actions led by Mr. Tong Zeng and the irrational acts such as violence in the demonstrations. When Tong Zeng was interviewed by the
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in April 2005 about the believers in the
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and China, he said that faith can break through the political framework. In October 2019, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' interviewed Tong Zeng about the upcoming
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game in China. He hoped that the audience would not use verbal violence and abuse when watching the game.


Opposition to the Human Genome Project


"Blood sampling event" for genetical research in the 1990s

The
Human Genome Project The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international scientific research project with the goal of determining the base pairs that make up human DNA, and of identifying, mapping and sequencing all of the genes of the human genome from both a ...
was instituted by the United States's
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
in the 1990s. The genetic blood sampling project of "Model and Analysis of Mortality of the Elderly" was implemented in Association of Aging where Tong Zeng was an employee. Tong objected to the collection of blood samples from the elderly, he blocked a blood collection project that cooperated between Chinese and American institutions to study the genetic genes responsible for the death of the elderly, and he was subsequently expelled from the association. The Association of Aging subsequently sued three Chinese media companies that supported Tong Zeng. The lawsuits were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, In 1998, Ms. Xiong Lei, a Chinese journalist who interviewed and reported on Tong Zeng, also investigated other projects to collect Chinese genetic genes, and for this reason, published reports in multiple media that shared the views of Tong Zeng. However, Chinese officials differ from Tong Zeng and Xiong Lei in their views and attitudes. They believe that there is no problem with Sino American institutional cooperation projects. John Pomfret (journalist) of the Washington Post, wrote a long story about this.


A book published in 2003

In October 2003 Tong Zeng published the book ''The Last Line of Defense'' in which he posed that the
2002–2004 SARS outbreak The 2002–2004 outbreak of SARS, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-1), infected over 8,000 people from 30 countries and territories, and resulted in at least 774 deaths worldwide. The outbreak w ...
was artificially manufactured in a laboratory was a genetic weapon used against the Chinese people. Tong Zeng's book immediately sparked discussion in many Internet forums and chat rooms in China. His views were also rejected by Chinese health experts and scientists including
Zhong Nanshan Zhong Nanshan (born 20 October 1936) is a Chinese pulmonologist. He was president of the Chinese Medical Association from 2005 to 2009 and is currently the editor-in-chief of the '' Journal of Thoracic Disease''. Zhong was bestowed the Medal ...
and
Yang Huanming Yang Huanming (; born 6 October 1952) is a Chinese biologist, businessman and one of China's leading genetics researchers. He is Chairman and co-founder of the Beijing Genomics Institute, formerly of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was ele ...
. The Nanjing CDC, China's official agency, was also interviewed to oppose Tong Zeng's view. In February, 2004,
the New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...
, an American liberal weekly, also said Tong Zeng's book published in 2003 is conspiracy theory. Tong's view may be the view of a few people, but his influence is to rationalize people's behavior of eating wild animals. A doctoral thesis by Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland also expressed another view that the China Publishing House able to agree to publish this book on Tong Zeng, which also indicates a certain degree of need for the Chinese government. The mainstream opinion of WHO is that SARS was transmitted to humans from the animal kingdom. SARS was effectively "controlled" without an outbreak. In May 2005, the WHO announced that SARS had been eradicated. However, shortly after the publication of Tong Zeng's book,
The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal, founded in England in 1823. It is one of the world's highest-impact academic journals and also one of the oldest medical journals still in publication. The journal publishes ...
published an article with a similar perspective to that of Tong Zeng, "SARS coronavirus has the potential to be employed as a weapon targeted at military units."


Propagation of medical conspiracy theories

On October 15, 2003,
Fang Zhouzi Fang Shimin (), better known by his pen name Fang Zhouzi (; born 28 September 1967), is a Chinese popular science writer who is primarily known for his campaign against pseudoscience and fraud in China. President and co-director of ''New Thre ...
, a Chinese scholar with medical education background, called Tong Zeng's view "conspiracy theory" in the media. A few days later, he published another article on Tong Zeng's view as "conspiracy theory". When the coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, the Beijing News, the official Chinese media, published a social review called "Don't Let Conspiracy Theories Make Waves", directly criticizing Tong Zeng's book published 17 years ago. As soon as some self-media published the view of Tong Zeng that SARS is a genetic weapon and came from a laboratory, it is immediately regarded as a rumor. The views of Tong's book have also been reported as one of the five conspiracy theories. The WHO and some experts first determined that the new coronavirus did not come from a laboratory, but also believed that it might come from animal nature. Tong Zeng's views are often spread by media outside of China. His book was listed in the reference of the article published by the
United States National Library of Medicine The United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), operated by the United States federal government, is the world's largest medical library. Located in Bethesda, Maryland, the NLM is an institute within the National Institutes of Health. I ...
.


Thorough inspection of biological, viral, and genetic laboratories

February 2013 coincided with the tenth anniversary of the outbreak of SARS. Tong Zeng visited some SARS survivors in Beijing. Canadian groups also paid attention to SARS survivors and medical personnel in 2003. After 2020, more and more experts and scholars believe that COVID-19's virus may come from the laboratory, and people around the world believe that it is possible. Therefore, Tong Zeng supports and forwards such information on his social platform. Tong thinks that if we are all concerned and can look at the problem, we can understand that any point of view that enlightens human beings is valuable. Tong Zeng admires that some interdisciplinary experts can put forward the view that COVID-19 originated from the laboratory, and firmly adhere to their own views. On September 3, 2020, Tong Zeng shared online publicly that he felt guilty about doing too little. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought great disaster to the world and mankind. Many people have lost their parents, some have lost their brothers and sisters, some people have lost their children, and Tong feels very sorry and devastated for them. For these reasons, to every person in the world infected with COVID-19, to every person who has lost loved ones because of COVID-19, Tong wants to express his utmost sincere apology and say: I'm sorry! To find the source of COVID-19, Tong Zeng initiated a signature on a website in mid-March 2020. For the safety of mankind, we require the United Nations agency to thoroughly inspect the biological, viral, and genetic laboratories of the five permanent members. Tong Zeng believes that only thorough, open and transparent inspection of laboratories can lead to conclusions and the future safety of mankind can be guaranteed.


References


Further reading

* https://www.ueforum.org/iwd---tong-zeng Tong Zeng celebrates International Women's Day. * http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/47ea3c6093b1a04bcce794fb9339ab4f Tong Zeng on the
Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...
and Chinese believers.


External links

* * https://2018.10000cfj.org/?lang=en '' Letters to Tong Zeng'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeng, Tong Chinese activists 1956 births Living people