Iris Chang found dead

[Captain Japan]

Iris Chang, author of bestseller 'Rape of Nanking,' found dead

Iris Chang, an author praised for her books including the bestseller "The Rape of Nanking," has been found dead in her car of a self-inflicted gunshot, local reports said Wednesday.

Chang, 36, had recently been hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. Her body was found Tuesday in her car, which was parked on a side road along a highway just south of Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, the reports said, quoting local authorities.

The authorities said a motorist noticed her car, checked the vehicle and called police, according to the reports.

The official cause of the death has not been released, but investigators concluded that Chang shot herself in the head, the reports said.

[Charles]

Sad.

[Taro Toporific]

Iris Chang, author of bestseller 'Rape of Nanking,' found dead

Iris Chang, an author praised for her books including the bestseller "The Rape of Nanking," has been found dead in her car of a self-inflicted gunshot, local reports said Wednesday.
Chang, 36, had recently been hospitalized for a nervous breakdown.

Big party at Gov Ishihara's place tonight!

Gee, I'd die of a nervous breakdown too if I were Chang. She writes one the most important books about Japan-China and see ends up being pecked to death by ducks (because she make a zillion micro-errors in her book that was 110% correct in terms of the big picture).

[Big Booger]

Iris Chang, author of bestseller 'Rape of Nanking,' found dead

Iris Chang, an author praised for her books including the bestseller "The Rape of Nanking," has been found dead in her car of a self-inflicted gunshot, local reports said Wednesday.

Chang, 36, had recently been hospitalized for a nervous breakdown. Her body was found Tuesday in her car, which was parked on a side road along a highway just south of Los Gatos, Santa Clara County, the reports said, quoting local authorities.

The authorities said a motorist noticed her car, checked the vehicle and called police, according to the reports.

The official cause of the death has not been released, but investigators concluded that Chang shot herself in the head, the reports said.

Where's a support network when someone needs one?

[DUCK]

She writes one the most important books about Japan-China and see ends up being pecked to death by ducks

Didn't do it! Wasn't me!


Quack

[dingosatemybaby]

This news must be making all the quasi-English-literate uyoku who post one-star reviews of "Rape of Nanking" at Amazon.com cum in their pants.

[Shinigami]

This is a real shock. This woman had everything going for her...

Truly sad...

[Samurai_Jerk]

When I first saw the headline I figured the uyoku assasinated her. Very sad.

[Mulboyne]

Presumably Ginga Kogen will soon be launching a commemorative beer.

[Red Floyd]

When I first saw the headline I figured the uyoku assasinated her. Very sad.

I still wouldn't forget that factor. A woman like that must have of had plenty of enemies.

[Captain Japan]

I still wouldn't forget that factor. A woman like that must have of had plenty of enemies.

Comic bows to Japan's nationalists

A popular Japanese comic announced yesterday that it would censor one of its own stories after nationalist anger about its portrayal of Japanese brutality during the Rape of Nanking.

Young Jump, which sells two million copies a week, halted publication of its long-running story, The Country Burns, in September after being inundated by phone calls and e-mails objecting to the latest episode.

The publisher also said it would delete 10 pages and amend another 11 when the story is released in book form. There is no precedent for such self-censorship in Japanese comics, which often have graphic war scenes.

[cstaylor]

Maybe they can replace it with a sky filled with B-29's?

[Taro Toporific]

Maybe they can replace it with a sky filled with B-29's?

504th, Tinian

[cstaylor]

504th, Tinian

Now, isn't that a beautiful site. I can't think of another airplane as beautiful as the superfortress.

[Dhee]

Now, isn't that a beautiful site. I can't think of another airplane as beautiful as the superfortress.

Oh - I can: look at this - the most beeeee-autiful airplane ever:





Presenting the Lockheed Vega

[Karnex420]

Where's my princess?

[Taro Toporific]

Where's my princess?

[Charles]

Now, isn't that a beautiful site. I can't think of another airplane as beautiful as the superfortress. :wink:

Oh - I can: look at this - the most beeeee-autiful airplane ever:





Presenting the Lockheed Vega :D

Yep, that is a beautiful airplane. My mom used to run a restaurant called "Amelia's" which was loaded with Amelia Earhart memorabilia. The centerpiece of the restaurant was a model of Earhart's Vega. The model was huge, it had a 6 foot wingspan, and was incredibly detailed. The model makers even consulted with the Smithsonian, getting precise measurements taken from the plane in that picture, they even got ahold of copies of the Vega's structural plans.
My mom closed the restaurant a long time ago, and now my sister has the model, but my mom still has a plaque with a 2 inch square of red fabric taken from Amelia's Vega.

[Karnex420]

Here is an article posted but not written by Karnex420:

By Aiwa, Students of Beijing Institute of Economic Management. The article was written in Chinese and won the author the first Prize in a foreign student speech competition


My Project Hope

Part One: the past

My hair is black, My skin is yellow. My eyes are small. If I keep my mouth closed, I'd be accepted as one of you. But when I open my mouth, they know that I am a foreigner, even worse, a Japanese. Most of the time, people are very considerate and treat me nicely. But I know that there are unexpressed feelings and things unsaid. For a long time I was not aware of such, but one recent incident made me realize of it.

One day I took an taxi and as usual the driver asked me where I was from. Since I get asked this question all the time, I decided to play a little trick. I told him that I was a Thai. We were talking about everything from the weather to his business. Then he said all the sudden, "You know, the Japanese people are bad." I asked him, "Why?" He replied, "Didn't you study history at all?" Then I did not want to say any more. Even though it was a part of the casual conversation for the driver, it left a very deep scar in my heart.

The past history.

It hurts.

I've heard a lot about the terrible things that the Japanese people did to the Chinese people. I know that some Chinese people feel resentment against the Japanese. I wasn't there when the Japanese invaded China. So I don't know what happened exactly. But I know that some atrocious things happened, because history will always remain, and the past will never be erased.

Part Two: the present

I have been in China for half a year. The most wonderful thing that has happened since I came here is being able to participate in Project Hope. But before I tell you about my activities there, I would first like to share a story with you. This is a story which my teacher told me while I was attending a junior high in Japan.

Do you know a country called Cambodia? It is a small yet beautiful country in South East Asia. Unfortunately, they had to suffer from 25 years of a civil war, and now it is a very poor third-world country. A Japanese woman from the United Nations was sent to work in a small village where she made friends and understood the lives of villages. When she finished the term and she was about to leave, people gathered around her and expressed their sorrow at her leaving. Upon her departure, a little girl started sobbing uncontrollably. With the tears running down her cheeks, she ran after her and shouted, "Please take me to Japan! I want to study!"

In this village without a school, there was no way for her to study, no matter how much she was eager or intelligent. After having heard this story, I often wondered what happened to this little girl afterwards. But, I wondered more about why she wanted to study so much.

For many of us, we take schooling for granted. Sometimes we even feel annoyed by the fact that we have to go to school everyday. However, for the Cambodian girl, this is an intolerable complaint. For her, to be able to study is a very special thing. It can even be said to be a privilege only for the rich.

UNESCO has designated "International Literacy Years" a period of 10 years starting from 1990, and has been promoting to increase literacy globally. As a part of this activity, UNESCO Beijing has been co-operated with Project Hope. Since there have been many inquiries from Japan, regarding this project; starting from 1995 we have established UNESCO Beijing Volunteer Group in order to deal with such inquiries. Ever since, we have been acting as the bridge between a Japanese community and Project Hope. Most of the staff are young Japanese students like me. We also have Chinese students studying Japanese and wives of Japanese working here in Beijing. Even though we are very inexperienced and not very professional, we do our best, hoping to help more children, even if it is just one more child.

People often tell me, "It is very noble of you to be doing volunteer work." For me, however, it is not so, in the last; as a Japanese student learning Chinese, this country has taught me so many things. I am just trying to help Chinese students in return for all the great experiences that China has given me. Also, I feel what Project Hope has taught me is much more than I can ever do for them. Just like the English expression "give and take" not only are we helping them, but also we are learning from the children in poverty stricken areas. For instance, they have taught me the preciousness of being able to study and taught me to appreciate what I have in my life.

Project Hope has given much hope to those children. At the same time, they have given me a flicker of hope in my heart. Project Hope has taught me the joy of helping those around me.

Just picture a smiling child. S/he is the future of this country. With willing you infinite possibilities to help others around you. It is up to you to stop the tears of another child, crying for your help.

Part three: the future

I live in the present. I did not exist in the past to witness the tragedy of the war. I do not know the future of this country of the future of the Sino-Japanese relationship. Hopefully, there will be more children receiving education and that there will more exchanges, co-operations, and understanding between my country and China. Maybe this is no easy task. We should not forget the past, but we should not only concern ourselves about it, because there lies the future ahead of us. We must work towards a happy future. Having said this, however, all I can do now is to act as a bridge between China and Japan and between the past and the future. And this is my Project Hope.

[kurohinge1]

When I first saw the headline I figured the uyoku assasinated her. Very sad.

No point, really - she already wrote that book.

However, she had not yet written her fourth one ...

... Chang suffered the breakdown and was hospitalized during a recent trip researching her fourth book, about U.S. soldiers who fought the Japanese in the Philippines during World War II ...

Where did she die again?

[Karnex420]

http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archives/2004/11/author_iris_cha.html

[Taro Toporific]

http://www.hyphenmagazine.com/blog/archives/2004/11/author_iris_cha.html

Posted by: Karnex420 [actually Tony Meldahl] at November 13, 2004 08:59 AM

Thanks you for your kind words. I am responsible for this tragedy, but I unknowingly lead Iris to the edge of this cliff. I will take your advice to heart. I must return to doing the research in Kentucky. I am exhausted from my full time job in the Army but that's a poor excuse. I'm a NCO and it's time to live up to my role. Iris asked me to help her in Kentucky. I promised her a "dream team" of volunteer helpers to interview the former POWs as I had done in Illinois and Wisconsin for her. I myself was with her in Ohio and Michigan.........more of the rest-of-the-story...

[Mulboyne]

I thought Karnex420 posted that too but the formatting on that site is weird - the actual author's name appears underneath that post. Still, pretty interesting.

[DrP]

"Chinese American writer found dead in South Bay
Iris Chang prompted protests against Japan with her best-seller The Rape of Nanking. "

I visited Nanjing last week and managed to see one of the 'Massacre Museums' Needless to say it left me feeling quite depressed. Much in the same way my visit to Auchwitz did - except in a more personal manner. Over 300,000 Nanijing residents were tortured, used for bayonet practice, raped and ultimately burnt or buried in mass graves.

[Taro Toporific]

Note to fans of the Japanese Right-Wing: Iris Chang's family is saying she did herself in and it wasn't a world-class quality hit.

Author-activist Iris Chang mourned at public service
By Nicole C. Wong
Mercury News [suicide-causing registration required] / Nov 19
Bestselling author and activist Iris Chang was remembered today as a fiery-eyed dreamer who even as a child sought to root out injustices with her writing.
More than 400 readers, relatives, friends and dignitaries filled the seats and stood on the lawn outside the Los Altos cemetery chapel where her memorial service was held, listening to a dozen eulogies in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
Separate memorials were held simultaneously in Washington D.C. and Nanking, China, for the woman who over the past decade was a leading voice in the demand for reparations from Japan for World War II atrocities.
Chang, a 36-year-old wife and mother, was found dead in her car Nov. 9 in Los Gatos, the victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Family members said she had suffered for some time from depression and had been hospitalized.
The San Jose author's haunting bestseller ``The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II'' catapulted her to glorious heights, but perhaps also contributed to the internal anguish that led to her death, friends said at her service.
``She felt other people's suffering so intensely, to the point that it made her suffer,'' longtime friend Barbara Masin said during the 75-minute memorial.....more...

[Taro Toporific]

[i]Note to fans of the Japanese Right-Wing: Iris Chang's family is saying she did herself in

Author's depression so severe, son, 2, sent away
Electric New Paper, Singapore - 21 Nov
--ONLY a few of those close to her knew she was severely depressed in the last few months. But Chinese-American author Iris Chang, who was found dead in her car not far from her home in California last week, had become a changed person....
... She depression had got so bad that she and her husband decided to send their 2-year-old son, Christopher, to live with his paternal grandparents in Illinois.
To the outside world, the tall, striking Madam Chang, 36, seemed to be a woman in supreme control of her successful life.,,,But Madam Chang was reportedly hospitalised recently after returning from Kentucky on a research trip for her latest book project.
'She was a wonderful person and she'll leave a huge void in everyone's life,' Mr Brett Douglas, her husband of 13 years, told the Mercury News.
Mr Douglas, a design engineer for Cisco Systems, declined to discuss specifics of her depression 'to respect the privacy of her family'.
He would only say that 'it's been really, really difficult.'.

[Mulboyne]

We have a few China/Nanking/Yasukuni threads on the go but, since this article cites Iris Chang, this one goes here.
Chicago SunTimes: Japan, media still deny Nanking massacre

When inconvenient historical facts are conveniently denied and censored by power brokers in authoritarian regimes such as North Korea or Iran, we call it despotism, Orwellian, even evil. But what should we call it when such facts are denied by elected leaders and mainstream media in Japan, while journalists who champion the truth experience reprisals?

The authors wrote the book mentioned in the FG Thread: New Book Slams Japanese Weekly Mags

[devicenull]

"Chinese American writer found dead in South Bay
Iris Chang prompted protests against Japan with her best-seller The Rape of Nanking. "

I visited Nanjing last week and managed to see one of the 'Massacre Museums' Needless to say it left me feeling quite depressed. Much in the same way my visit to Auchwitz did - except in a more personal manner. Over 300,000 Nanijing residents were tortured, used for bayonet practice, raped and ultimately burnt or buried in mass graves.

[im]http://www.fuckedgaijin.com/forum/album_mod/upload/faa8b3495d806b0c916785d5c73fef53.jpg[/img:e1c5725a99]

please dont take pictures of the grave... take pictures of everything else, but not the bodies. i dont know, i just see it as disrespectful. there is a teacher here who was really eager to show me his china pictures. bodies was all that he had pictures of from nanjing, and he showed them with delight. i was there too, eagerly took pictures of pleanty, but none of the bodies. there was a sign that asked not to take pictures out of respect.

edit:

[Captain Japan]

Bones of contention
Chinese visitors to the Nanjing Massacre museum during the 67th anniversary of the massacre on Dec. 13 look at the uncovered remains of victims in Nanjing, Jiangsu, eastern China. (Mainichi)

[Mulboyne]

The Times is usually subscription only but I seem to be able to view this article:
Timesonline: One final victim of the Rape of Nanking?
THOSE who knew Iris Chang used to worry about how she could cope with the gloom of her chosen work. But when they visited the house in California that she shared with her husband and saw him playing with their two-year-old son by the swimming pool in the backyard, they were reassured...Her book brought international acclaim and controversy, and many spoke of a stellar future. It was not to be. In November she killed herself, no longer able to bear the weight of horrors from seven decades ago...more...