The ship named the ‘Lisbon Maru’ was carrying around 2,000 British POWs (British military personnel captured during the fall of Hong Kong being transported to Japan) when the ship was hit by a torpedo fired by the USS Grouper (part of the 81st US Pacific Fleet Submarine Force) on October 2nd, 1942! The ‘Lisbon Maru’ sank just off the Zhoushan (Zhejiang) area of the East China coast! It is reported that although 843 British POWs died due to drowning (and the machine-gunning of men in the water by other elements of the Imperial Japanese Navy active in the area) – another 384 British POWs were saved by the actions of local Chinese fishermen! President Xi Jinping has replied to a letter received from the families of survivors remembering the bravery of the unarmed Chinese fishermen and thanking the Chinese people for this act of immense courage in the face of Imperial Japanese fascism! The US justification for sinking the ‘Lisbon Maru’ states that the Imperial Japanese government had not ‘registered’ the cargo vessel as a transport for carrying POWs! If you would like to know more about President Xi encouraging the Chinese and British people to work together in the face of continued injustice – please click the link HERE:
THE SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 