Harbin launches book detailing Unit 731 crimes evidence

A book which documents extensive evidence of war crimes committed by the Japanese Imperial Army's Unit 731 was launched in Harbin, Heilongjiang province on Friday.

Evidence of Unit 731, written by Liu Shuliang, was officially published by Heilongjiang Education Press on August 25 to mark the 80th anniversary of victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). Friday's launch was held at the Exhibition Hall of Evidence of Crimes Committed by Unit 731 of the Japanese Imperial Army with the stated aim of putting truth on record, preserving historical memory and promoting peace.

Using the hall and the site of Unit 731's former headquarters as the core narrative space, Liu innovatively adopted a "puzzle of evidence" structure to systematically and clearly restore the entire process of the unit's formation, its inhumane experiments, deployment of biological warfare, and the ultimate attempts to destroy evidence upon defeat in the war. Jin Chengmin, the curator of the hall, served as academic advisor on the book.

While outlining the chain of war crimes on a macro level, Liu's work intricately interweaves the individual fate of numerous victims, giving it solid documentary value and imbuing the history with a heavy literary impact through profound human analysis and demonstrating strong contemporary relevance.

As a documentary work that combines academic rigor with literary expressiveness, it is regarded as another important historical document that exposes and records the crimes of Unit 731.