A previous article “No Man’s Land: A True Event from WWII” published in December 2006 in this website discussed the “No Man’s Land” situation in Hong Kong on December 24, 1941. That was the day before the Japanese army gained control of Hong Kong from the British, but after the British had already essentially relinquished control of Hong Kong, thus the title “No Man’s Land.” Another previous article “Massacre and Atrocities in Hong Kong During WWII” published in April 2007 in this website discussed the massacre and atrocities committed by the Japanese troops during their three years and eight months occupation of Hong Kong.
Escaping from No Man’s Land and Other True Events in the WWII Era
June 2007
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Taiji and Health
April 2007
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Taiji (also commonly known as Tai Chi or Taijiquan) was invented several hundred years ago in China as a martial art. Besides being a martial art, it is also an extremely good health-enhancing exercise. Because Taiji is characterized by slow, soft movements that have low impacts on the body, it is ideally suited as an exercise for senior citizens, although it is also a good exercise for people of all ages. This article provides a brief discussion of a few examples of the health benefits of Taiji.
Unlike many other exercises and sports activities, Taiji can be learned and continue to be practiced by senior citizens in the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Although the Taiji movements are not necessarily easy to learn and remember, they can definitely be learned and remembered by even senior citizens if they satisfy three requirements:
- Have a competent teacher to teach them.
- Have a movie clip to review the movements in case they forget any parts of it.
- Practice on a regular basis, e.g., at least every other day, even if it is just for 10-15 minutes of practice each time. Of course, the health benefits will be significantly greater if the practices are longer.
Massacre and Atrocities in Hong Kong during WWII
April 2007
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Hong Kong was a British colony before and after WWII, but from 12/25/1941 to 8/15/1945 when Japan surrendered, Hong Kong was under the control of Japan. This article recounts the massacre and atrocities committed by the Japanese troops during those three years and eight months of occupation of Hong Kong. The purpose of recounting these events is not to bash Japan or to generate hatred of Japan, but to make sure that we do not forget the lessons of history so that similar events do not occur again in the future. This is especially important taking into consideration that Japan’s current prime minister recently denied any major atrocity committed by Japan during WWII and Japan’s school textbooks have been rewriting history.
Japan started its invasion of Hong Kong on 12/8/1941 (or 12/7/1941 U.S. time, the same day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor). Great Britain surrendered Hong Kong to Japan on Christmas day, 12/25/1941, on a day that the people of Hong Kong called Black Christmas.
Nanking Massacre: Reporting an Eyewitness Account
One of the most terrifying atrocities in human history occurred in Nanking over a six-week period beginning on 12/13/1937, when the Japanese troops entered and controlled Nanking, the then capitol of the Republic of China. During this short six-week period, about 300,000 Chinese (mostly civilians) were killed and over 20,000 Chinese females (women, girls, and even very young girls) were raped, and one-third of the city of Nanking was burned to the ground.
Unlike Germany which later admitted its holocaust atrocities during WWII and paid compensations to the victims or their families, the Japanese government has never officially (i.e., with a resolution passed by their Parliament) admitted to the Nanking Massacre. As a matter of fact, many Japanese leaders and the Japanese mass media have said on many occasions that there was no Nanking Massacre, or any of the other WWII atrocities committed by the Japanese, such as sex slaves (estimated by historians to be as many as 200,000, and euphemistically referred to as Comfort Women). The most recent such statement was by the current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who in 3/07 denied that the Japanese military had forced foreign women into sexual slavery during WWII.
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