In 1942, a Japanese ship Lisbon Maru carrying over 1,800 British prisoners-of-war was mistakenly torpedoed and sank in the East China Sea, which prompted local villagers to scrambled fishing vessels to save them.

Now descendants of the prisoners have met descendants of the rescuers for the first time at an event in the English city of Gloucester, revealing a chapter of history that has often been overlooked in both countries.

The face-to-face meeting of descendants was organised by the Chinese Embassy in the UK.

"This incident is an important testimony to China and the UK fighting shoulder to shoulder as allies against fascist aggression during the Second World War," said Chinese Ambassador to the UK Zheng Zeguang.

"History may be in the distant past, but history shall never be forgotten. Though it has been 82 years since that incident, we must always keep in mind how valuable friendship is and how valuable peace is."

The Lisbon Maru incident

The Lisbon Maru - a Japanese ship carrying over 1,816 British prisoners of war - was en route from Hong Kong to Japan, when it was torpedoed accidentally by an American submarine in the East China Sea in 1942 because there was no signage on the ship indicating it was transporting POWs.

The Japanese troops were then evacuated, but the POWs were left onboard with the exits closed. Some prisoners who managed to break out of the ship were fired upon by nearby Japanese vessels. The British government said over 800 men were killed in the incident.

However, many of them were rescued. As the ship sank, local Chinese fishermen from the nearby Dongji Island risked their lives to pull over 300 British soldiers from the sea, though most were recaptured the following day by the Japanese and put back in prison camps.

Anthony Jones's grandfather Thomas Theodore Jones, a naval reserve during WWII, was one of those kept on the ship. Jones said his grandfather was a Japanese prisoner of war for four years after the event and he did not believe there was anybody he could talk to back then.

He told CGTN Europe: "I have no animosity whatsoever. It was an accident. And mistakes happen in such an intense environment. I also believe that the ship that was transporting them should have carried some sort of signage to say that it was a ship transporting prisoners of war. And if it had that sign on it, that it wouldn't have been torpedoed at all. Japan didn't comply to the Geneva Convention." 

Wu Buwei's grandfather Wu Buwei's grandfather was one of the fishermen who saved those British soldiers trapped on the ship.

"After the Lisbon Maru sank near Dongji Island during World War II, our entire island went out with all the fishing boats we had. Men, women, the old and the young all went out to help rescue the British soldiers," said Wu.

"As for the next generation, we should pass on this sincere friendship. When I talked to the descendants of those soldiers and the local government just now, I said this is what we Chinese people should do, and we must let the next generation continue to tell the story."

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China-UK: Competitors or partners?

The UK Parliament has defined China-UK relations as complex and multifaceted, and the country's evolving position on China has been swinging between concerns over its national security and the significance of trade relations for mutual economic benefit.

China was the UK's 5th largest trading partner in the year to the end of the third quarter of 2023, accounting for about 5.7 percent of total UK trade, according to the Department for Business and Trade of the UK.

"For three years now, the two-way trade between China and the UK has exceeded 100 billion US dollars," said Zheng.

Despite close economic ties, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak went on record as saying that Britain will not return to the close relationship seen under former Prime Minister David Cameron, who recently returned to Government as foreign secretary.

But the Chinese ambassador insisted that "none of the challenges that the UK is faced with originates from China." He continued: "On the contrary, by trading with China, exchanging and cooperating with China, we can generate more benefits for two peoples. We can bring down the cost of living and inflation and promote sustainable growth," 

The most recent bilateral high-level face-to-face interaction was the meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and British counterpart Cameron, with both parties agreeing to strengthen dialogue on renewable energy, economy and trade, education and others.

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