Global Times: Memorial for Nanyang transport volunteers to deliver unsung heroes' stories, international view of WWII history

Associated Press

13 hours ago

07/01/2025, Beijing, China // KISS PR Brand Story PressWire //
Silently standing at the Kwong Tong Cemetery in Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur for nearly eight decades, the Selangor Nanyang Drivers and Mechanics World War II Monument marked some less known stories during that massive war - overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia (Nanyang Huaqiao) who dedicated their youth and life on the Burma Road, a wartime lifeline for China's combat against Japanese aggression.
After Japan decreed full-scale war against China in 1937, many ports and maritime routes were occupied by Japanese troops and logistics became a serious problem. China opened up the Burma Road which connected today's Myanmar and Southwest China's Yunnan Province, for transportation of military supplies.
Some 3,200 overseas Chinese drivers and mechanics living in Southeast Asian countries were rallied by famous business pioneer and philanthropist Tan Kah Kee in 1939 during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945). From 1939 to 1942, these Nanyang Volunteers transported 500,000 tons of military supplies, more than 15,000 auto vehicles and countless civilian supplies through the Yunnan-Myanmar Road, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
These drivers and mechanics, braved primitive nature, poor road conditions and barrages of bombs, with more than 1,000 losing their lives. Among the rest of the volunteers, half returned to Southeast Asia and half stayed in China.
Numerous Nanyang Huaqiao, rich or poor, also donated their property to support China's resistance to aggression and anti-fascist efforts - in 1937-42, they supported more than 5.4 billion French francs by donation, overseas remittance and purchase of public bonds.
However, their contribution and sacrifice were 'largely forgotten in the following half century,' said Yong Pock Yau, the chairman of the association of Kwong Tong Cemetery Management Kuala Lumpur, where the monument stands.
Yong, a second-generation Malaysian Chinese, told the Global Times that he only got to know about the Nanyang Volunteers after becoming president of the association and very recently realized that the familiar Selangor Monument erected in 1947, which he sees daily, is the world's first dedicated specifically to this heroic group.
Another international task force operating in wartime on the Yunnan-Myanmar Road, protecting it from Japanese bombing, was American Volunteer Group. Compared with those 'Flying Tigers,' Nanyang Volunteers are unsung heroes.
'We are obliged to preserve their heroic stories and pass them on to future generations, so that history is correctly memorized, Yong said, 'If we do not remember them, do not rescue the documents, do not tell our children about them, that will be a betrayal to our roots and disrespectful to the historical truth.'
Sing for less known patriots
This year, to mark the 80th anniversary of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the Kwong Tong Cemetery Kuala Lumpur is building the historic monument into a memorial park with a museum. Names of all the volunteers will be inscribed on a stela.
Due to lack of paper records, unearthing the history of Nanyang Volunteers depended heavily on oral history; as many of the volunteers settled down in Southwest China, a bunch of research institutions, museums and memorials took root in Yunnan Province.
To make the new memorial park true to history, educational and enlightening, Yong and his colleagues have visited institutions and museums in Yunnan to collect the limited and precious documents and photos, and learn about their curation experience.
Numbers, including 3,200, the number of volunteers, and 1,146 km, the full length of the wartime road, will be highlighted in the park.
Yong's team also retraced a section of the Yunnan-Myanmar Road 'to get firsthand experience' of what it would be like to traverse the deep mountains and forests to get lifesaving supplies to the frontline.
The 24 switchbacks on this winding road became a design element of the memorial park to remind visitors of how dangerous the trip was and how brave the volunteers were, according to Yong.
'You will never understand their [Nanyang Volunteers] deep love for the motherland and their great courage, unless you retrace that path,' 73-year-old Bong Boon Ming, nephew of a Malaysian volunteer, told the Global Times.
Bong organized a revisit to the historical road where 3,200 volunteers shed sweat, tears and blood. He is also in close contact with descendants of Nanyang Volunteers and related organizations to jointly preserve the history.
'For me and other volunteers' descendants, the revisit was about tracing family history, inheriting spirit of overseas Chinese and feeling their belief,' Bong said.
Yong said it is hoped that this upgrade of the monument can help visitors, particularly the younger generation, to learn more about the Nanyang Volunteers' history, so as to better understand the role of our ancestors in the World War II and get a comprehensive view of war history.
Yong also mentioned that after Japanese occupation of Malaysia, they carried out massacres, mostly against overseas Chinese. There are many monuments for massacre victims across Malaysia. A large monument with a World War II Memorial Peace Park was built at the cemetery in Kuala Lumpur in 2015.
Just like the name Peace Park suggests, we are commemorating the suffering in war 'not to pass on hatred, but because we yearn for and vow to safeguard peace,' Yong noted.
Carrying on their legacy
There has been more and more people joining the cause of unearthing the Nanyang Volunteers' stories, doing related academic research and public education. It is crucial because the international community, especially the English language world, knows so little about it, said Xia Yuqing, professor and deputy director of the overseas Chinese research institute at the Yunnan Chinese Language and Culture College, Yunnan Normal University.
Xia has been doing research on the Nanyang Volunteers for decades.
Through exchanges with Southeast Asian countries, 'we can bring their stories to the world' as peace defenders during World War II and hardworking builders of local communities after the war, Xia told the Global Times.
Their stories constitute an indispensable chapter in the narration of wartime Yunnan-Myanmar Road, an artery that links China to global anti-fascist forces, including British, Americans, Indians…It is an epitome of anti-fascist alliance's efforts in pursuit of peace and justice, Xia noted.
Yong told the Global Times that the construction of the memorial park and museum is going smoothly and they will open to the public on August 14, the eve of the 80th anniversary of Japan's unconditional surrender.
Commemoration events in August will also include premiere of a drama featuring the Nanyang Volunteers. The cemetery association allocated fund for playwright and director, while all performers are volunteers.
After the debut, the drama will tour dozens of Chinese schools in Malaysia and possibly reach a wider audience, supplementing education of history that is seldomly taught today.
Yong had brought his children to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, as well as other memorial sites and venues.
'It is important for youth to understand that the peace and prosperity we enjoy today are not given, but obtained through endeavors and struggles.'
This story first appeared in Global Times:
https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202506/1337151.shtml