Xinhua: Chinese hail Nanjing Massacre witness' libel suit victory
The victory that a Chinese woman has won against Japanese rightists is of great significance and satisfaction, her lawyer said Sunday. The Japanese Supreme Court on Thursday rejected an appeal by Shudo Higashinakano, Asia University rightist scholar, and Tendensha, a publisher, ordering them to pay a combined 4 million yen in damages to Xia Shuqin, aged 80. Xia, whose family was slaughtered during the Nanjing Massacre in 1937, was featured in a documentary shot by American John Magee. However,the book "Complete Investigation into the Nanjing Massacre", written by Shudo Higashinakano, defamed Xia by saying she was not a witness to the mass murder during World War II. The libel suit was brought to the Supreme Court after the defendants refused to accept the Tokyo High Court's ruling. Her lawyer Tan Zhen and the Nanjing Memorial Hall of Compatriots Murdered in the Nanjing Massacre jointly announced the victory to the Chinese public on Sunday. "It marks the complete victory of the Chinese libel suit against Japanese rightists," said Zhu Chengshan, the curator of the memorial hall. "There were quite a few cases of the massacre against Japanese rightists. But Xia is the only person that won lawsuits in both China and Japan." "I finally won after so many years," Xia said, while sobbing. "I hope my deceased family members can rest in peace, and so do the victims in the massacre." Her lawyer Tan Zhen said, the victory of the libel suit had realistic and historic significance. "It not only defends the truth of history but also foils the rightists' attempt to deny the Nanjing Massacre," Tan said...The book, published by Tendensha in 1998, was translated into English and Chinese and has sold thousands of copies. It claimed Xia was not the girl in the documentary.
