Memorial Site for the Laborers Killed by the Japanese Invaders in Basuo, Hainan

Memorial Site for the Laborers Killed by Japanese Invaders in Basuo, Hainan

The Memorial Site for the Laborers Killed by Japanese Invaders in Basuo, Hainan is a national key cultural relic protection unit.

The Monument to Laborers Killed by Japanese Invaders in Basuo, Hainan is a key cultural relic protection unit of Hainan Province, located on the wasteland near Basuo Port in Dongfang City, Hainan Province. It is managed by the Dongfang Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Sports.

The wasteland where the Monument to Laborers Killed by Japanese Invaders in Basuo, Hainan stands was the site during the Anti-Japanese War where Japanese invaders— and where nearly 20,000 laborers were buried. It is known as the “Ten Thousand People Pit.”

In 1988, the Hainan Provincial Department of Culture and Sports and the People’s Government of Dongfang County (now Dongfang City) built a 30-meter-high monument on the edge of this “Ten Thousand People Pit,” covering a construction area of 86 square meters, and inscribed a commemorative text to leave a lasting legacy. The front of the monument is engraved with “Monument to Laborers Killed by Japanese Invaders in Basuo, Hainan,” and the back bears the inscription.

During the Anti-Japanese War, in order to plunder the Shilu Iron Mine and the abundant natural resources in western Hainan, the Japanese invaders in Hainan opened a seaport and constructed Basuo Port in October 1940. They deceived and forcibly recruited nearly 20,000 laborers from occupied areas such as Shanghai, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, and various counties and cities in Hainan Island, along with over 1,200 prisoners of war from allied nations including Britain, Australia, and India, to build the port. These laborers suffered under the whips of the Japanese, living in inhuman and miserable conditions. Some died from exhaustion, illness, starvation, or cold, while others were killed outright by the Japanese. By the time Japan announced unconditional surrender, only a little over 2,000 laborers remained. The laborers who died tragically were buried by the Japanese on the wasteland near Basuo Port, which became known as the “Ten Thousand People Pit.” It serves as a historical testament to the Japanese invaders’ frenzied exploitation of Hainan’s mineral resources and their brutal slaughter of Chinese people and allied prisoners of war.

On October 7, 2019, the Memorial Site for the Laborers Killed by Japanese Invaders in Basuo, Hainan was included in the eighth batch of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Units.

Source: Party History Research Office of the CPC Hainan Provincial Committee

Further Reading:

· Eighth Batch of National Key Cultural Relic Protection Units