Steve Lau, Chair of the Ensuring We Remember Campaign, will join local Chinese community representatives at a memorial service at Anfield Cemetery next Sunday, where five members of the Chinese Labour Corps are buried. We are grateful to the organisers for the invitation.
Why I signed the petition…
My great grand father died in the service of the Labour corps. Mark, Craven Arms Sign the Petition here.
Why I signed the petition…
I’m signing because I didn’t realise the role China had played in ww1 until recently, and that is wrong. Rachel, London Sign the Petition here.
Why I signed the petition…
These guys deserve official recognition for their sterling work and the suffering they endured. Charles, Bamber Bridge Sign the Petition here.
Last Post
Today we remember Mr Li Jen Kuei who died on this day in 1918. Mr Li is the first person since the 14th August when we started to remember the fallen men of the Chinese Labour Corps, who stands alone among the fallen. As a single representative of all those who died whilst serving in …
About the Chinese Labour Corps
Every man who joined the Labour Corps was assigned a number that would effectively replace their name for the duration of their service. Whilst translators were on hand to explain orders to the men, British officers referred to each man by the numbered wristband each wore and it was reproduced on the headstones of those men …
Purchase your Fundraising Banquet Tickets
Join us for some of the best food in London’s Chinatown, and help us raise funds for the Chinese Labour Corps Memorial Campaign. Why not buy a table for ten and host your own guests for the evening? A table for ten costs £500 email banquet@ensuringweremember.org.uk for further information. Ticket sales now closed.
China’s problems at the outbreak of war: No 1. Spheres of Influence
China, at the outbreak of war, was effectively controlled (in large part) by five greet powers, Britain, France, Russia, Germany and Japan, through what was known as spheres of influence. Within these spheres the respective nations held sway, and even the Chinese government could not enforce its own laws if push came to shove. …
Book Review: China and the Great War: China’s Pursuit of a New National Identity and Internationalization.
Xu Guoqi. China and the Great War: China’s Pursuit of a New National Identity and Internationalization. Cambridge Cambridge University Press, 2011 342 pp. £24.93 (Paperback), £68.55 (Hardback) ISBN 978-0521283236. Reviewed by Peter Worthing Department of History, Texas Christian University Beyond Betrayal: The Larger Picture of China and World War I Discussions of China and World …
Source of war dead records
Each day we publish an In Memoriam, detailing the names of those men of the Chinese Labour Corps who died on that day. Currently we are using the lists of names and their dates of deaths provided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. It is generally believed that a significant number who died have not …
In Memoriam
On the 19th September the following men of the CLC died. CHAO HSUEH CH’EN (50022) 1918 LIU LIEN TSENG (54956) 1917 T’IEN LI PEN (24169) 1919 TING T’UNG I (133283) 1919 WANG YU LIN (42902) 1918 We Remember Them
British Forces TV Coverage
Coverage of the Campaign Launch by British Forces TV can be viewed here.
Fundraising Dinner
The Chinese in Britain Forum will be holding a fundraising dinner. All proceeds will support the work of the Ensuring We Remember Campaign. Date: 11th November, 2014 Venue: Imperial China Restaurant, Lisle Street, London Chinatown. Tickets are priced at £55 and there is a cash bar. A table of ten can be bought for £500. This …
164 lives remembered in our first month
On the 14th August we began to remember the anniversaries of individual men of the Chinese Labour Corps who died in service. One month on we have commemorated 164 men.
In Memoriam
Deaths among members of the Chinese Labour Corps on this day were: YANG WEN PIN(45961) 1917 TSO LIEN CHI (1554) 1917 WANG KUANG HSUEH (55705) 1918 YANG NIU (48721) 1918 HUNG YUAN (6335) 1918 CHIANG CHUNG CHING (6527) 1918 HO HSI K’UEI (6062) 1918 HSU CH’UANG TE (6448) 1918 HSU YUN CH’ENG (95690) 1918 HSUEH …
South China Morning Post Covers Campaign
We’re delighted to report that the Ensuring We Remember Campaign has been reported in the South China Morning Post’s City Scope Magazine. The original text can be found here. Anna Chen’s South China Morning Post magazine City Scope column on the China Labour Corps memorial campaign 31st August 2014 This month, the world commemorated the centenary of …
What we mean when we say, “We Remember Them”.
Each day we record the names of those members of the Chinese Labour Corps whose anniversary of their death falls on that day. Numbers vary, and so far its been as low as two and as high as eleven – though you must bear in mind that these deaths fall over a period of three …
Campaign Lapel Pin
[le_product] The Ensuring We Remember Campaign team invite you to support the campaign by wearing one of our campaign lapel pins. Made of nickel and enamel, the pin has the feel and look of quality, and its simplistic elegance will not look out of place whatever you’re wearing. We hope as many people will wear …
The Campaign Logo
Our logo design takes a quite deliberate industrial look for the background, symbolising labour. A forget-me-not flower is imposed on top, and is intended to be an all embracing aspirational message – that all members of the Chinese Labour Corps be remembered. No wording is used, but there is a very simple inscription: …
Today, deaths reach double figures
For the first time since we began recording daily death tolls on 14th September we reach double digits. On this day, between 1916 and 1919 eleven men of the Chinese Labour Corps died. CHAI LIEN SHENG (23700) 1917 CHANG HUI LIN (22778) 1917 CHANG LI HAI (23764) 1917 CHANG TA YUNG (23322) 1917 KUNG HSING TAO …
Maintaining a balanced perspective
This letter appeared in The Guardian in response to Maev Kennedy’s coverage of our launch. Your account understated how horrendously these 95,000 Chinese were treated, as were 40,000 under French control. As Xu Guoqi revealed in his book Strangers on the Western Front: Chinese Workers in the Great War, members of the Chinese Labour Corps who survived …
Shandong
Shandong (山東) literally means Eastern Mountains. As has been briefly explained in our short history of the Chinese Labour Corps the fate of Shandong is at the heart of the story of the Chinese Labour Corps. China’s spokesperson at the Paris Conference called it Chinas Holy Land. Certainly some of Shandong’s scenery is inspiring, as this …
Why it matters…
Why it matters. In an occasional series of articles, we ask people involved in the Campaign to tell us why it matters, Steve Lau writes in his capacity as Chair of the Chinese in Britain Forum, the Campaign’s lead body. —– To embark upon such a venture as the Ensuring We Remember Campaign isn’t done …
The Four Year War – 1916-1920
As our daily In Memoriam posts show, many Chinese Labour Corps men died well after the last guns had been fired, and the overwhelming majority of surviving combatant and non-combatant forces had returned home, mostly to be received as heroes. For the Chinese the four year war began not in 1914 to end in 1918, …
A supporters vBlog
We thought we’d share with you a video Blog by Nathan Hazlett. If you have something to say on the campaign, let us know, whether by video, audio or in writing.
One week, 36 deaths – 23 after the Armistice
During our first week of remembering those members of the Chinese Labour Corps who died we have remembered 36 men. Of those 36, 23 died after the Armistice – that’s a staggering 64%. The most common surname of those who died was Liu (simplified 刘, traditional 劉)who accounted for 11% of the deaths -Liu is …
Speech by Steve Lau, Chair of the Strategic Partnership Board
The following is the text of the speech by Steve Lau, Chair of the Strategic Partnership Board which was given at the launch of the Ensuring We Remember Campaign. My Lord, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. It is with a sense of great honour and privilege to stand before you today to announce the launch …
Making a financial contribution
We understand that we are in a period of austerity, and so we are particularly grateful to those supporters who are willing and able to make a financial contribution. If you are not in a position to do so, then please consider the other ways you can support this campaign. We explain here the numerous …
Campaign Launch
Today the Ensuring We Remember site is officially launched. This is our main Campaign video. Please enjoy and share.
Notes on An introduction to the Chinese Labour Corps Video
By necessity we try to explain sometimes complex points in a very limited time. As a result we resort to using a word or phrase which fails to capture the subtlety of the matter. To clarify such points we will be adding notes to each of our videos to explain some of the words of …
Campaign Petition now open. Please sign.
The Campaign Petition can be found here. Please do consider signing it and letting your friends know about it.
UCL Friends of the Chinese Labour Corps
We are delighted to announce the launch of the UCL Friends of the Chinese Labour Corps – a pioneering student-led body of University College London. Formally registered as a student volunteer organisation at UCL, UCL Friends are affiliated to the Campaign. Jonathan Liu, founding President of the UCL Friends of the Chinese Labour Corps said, Being able to …
Protected: Observations on the Buckland article
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Protected: Did China’s wartime exports of wheat to the allies cause the North China Famine of 1920-21
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.