Cyra Mae D.

Eustaquio I-C February 07, 2020

The documentary was a depiction of the gruesome events brought about by the Japanese
invasion of China two years preceding the onset of World War II. The Second Sino-Japanese war
began in 1937 and lasted up to 1945 which came as a result of the resistance of by the Chinese of
the expanding Japanese influence in the former’s territory.Hundreds of thousands were murdered
in Nanking which was then the center of the Nationalist China. The beautiful and peaceful city of
Nanking was reduced into ruins in an instant. The serene blue skies of the city suddenly turned
into a clamorous bloody field. Chinese families were forced to flee their homes in order to save
their lives, but still of no avail for many. Corpses of civilians with no distinction, whether they
may be men, women, and children, were scattered on the grounds just like a pile a of dried leaves
falling off from the trees.
The situation during those time of invasion by the Japanese forces in China, particularly
in Nanking, was very chaotic. Everybody was running for his life. As was narrated by the people
in the documentary who had a firsthand experience of the evils done by the Japanese soldiers to
their mothers, fathers, and siblings, and like all the rest, they were desperate in seeking shelter
from the raining bullets and uncontrolled bombings which claimed thousands of lives of Chinese
civilians and armies.
A statement from an old woman, who was still on her tender age during the outbreak of
war, was very depressing as she narrated how she saved both her life and her grandfather when
she went with the Japanese soldiers to become a “comfort women” for the Imperial army. Even
children of tender age were not spared from the sharp blades of the bayonets as Japanese forces
were becoming more aggressive in their goal to occupy China.
The Chinese had seen a ray of hope when the Nanking Safety Zone was established
through the humanitarian efforts by the foreigners in the persons of John Rabe, Minnie Vautrin,
and Iris Chang. They were the popular ones among the many who greatly contributed in
campaigning, as well as in extending significant help in the determent of violence being
committed by the Japanese against the Chinese civilians. The said zone served as a refuge for
civilians who are afflicted in the infighting. The Japanese respected the safety zone in the
beginning, but because of their desperate moves to pin down Chinese forces in order to secure
control of the beleaguered city, they looted every nook and corner of the place including the
safety zone, further endangering the lives of the refugees. In January of 1938 the Japanese
completely took full control of the city and declared that the order has been restored, however
mass killings continue to persist until February, later on, a puppet government was established
which had ruled Nanking and lasted until the end of World War II in 1945.
The primary issue that could be observed from the documentary was the widespread
violation of human rights. Soldiers had no second thoughts in killing everyone even the poor
infants without any knowing what was going on around them, women were sexually exploited
and used for the satisfaction of the Japanese soldiers. Unfortunately, the development of
international human rights law came only in 1948. The establishment of the International
Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights which
were both established in 1966 complemented the legal protection of human rights at the national
level as enshrined in the domestic laws of various countries. Article 2 of the ICCPR recognizes
the inherent dignity of each individual and undertakes to promote conditions within states to
allow the enjoyment of civil and political. Countries which signed the ratification of the
Covenant are obliged “to protect and preserve basic human rights” and they are also compelled
to take administrative, judicial, and legislative measures in order to protect the rights enshrined
in the treaty and to provide and effective remedy.”
In relation to the atrocities done in Nanking by the Japanese Imperial Army, The United Nations
Convention against Torture (1984) provides that each state that signed the ratification of the
treaty has an obligation to take all necessary measure to prevent acts of torture. This includes
legislative, administrative, and judicial measures, as well as any other measure that may be
appropriate. The provisions of these Covenants protecting and promoting human rights of each
individual regardless of class, gender, ethnicity, race, economic status, and other distinctions. All
of these were part of the realization to establish a kind of institution that would provide
guidelines and standards of international law for humanitarian treatment in war like that provided
in the Geneva Convention. In addition, human rights treaties have developed to include in its
provision the basic principles for the treatment of prisoners of war. The third Geneva Convention
provided a wide range of protection for prisoners of war, their rights were set down, including
the rules for their treatment and eventual release. The lesson from the Sino-Japanese War, and
most especially during World War II came about these developments for human rights protection
all over the world.