https://www.scmp.com/rss/314826/feed July 28, 2014 marks the centenary of the first world war's outbreak in Europe. A hundred years later, the story of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers, the largest non-European labour contingent in the war, is only slowly being rediscovered. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com For the last four years, the Bradford WW1 Group (Yorkshire, UK) has been commemorating the global conflict of 1914-1918. In 1914, Bradford was an international trading city specialising in the production of woollen cloth. Today, we continue to host an international population and seek to make a commemoration of the Great War that is relevant to all, with specialist talks about the contribution of many nations and commemorative displays. The huge contribution of the Chinese Labour Corps has not... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2151581/chinese-labour-corps-service-first-world-war-has-not-been-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/2151581/chinese-labour-corps-service-first-world-war-has-not-been-forgotten?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jun 2018 13:01:47 +0000 France has paid tribute to an often forgotten corps of 140,000 Chinese labourers who dug trenches, worked in weapons factories and, for many, lost their lives helping France's effort in the first world war. Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian laid a wreath in front of a commemorative stele in a park in Paris' Chinese district to honour the little-known contribution of these labourers, before a military band played Le Marseillaise. "Their presence at the side of the French ... on the frontline of... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1649581/france-honours-forgotten-chinese-labourers-who-helped-war-effort-century?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1649581/france-honours-forgotten-chinese-labourers-who-helped-war-effort-century?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Nov 2014 19:45:15 +0000 The centenary of the first world war has recast the spotlight on the hundreds of thousands of Chinese who worked for Britain, France, Russia and the United States during the war, supporting their troops after fighting had depleted their own manpower. The South China Morning Post explored the legacy of the 140,000 Chinese who worked in France in a special report last week, but left the story of the many more who toiled in Russia untold. Mark O’Neill, a Hong Kong-based journalist and writer, sheds... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1567560/qa-fates-200000-chinese-workers-russia-during-first-world-war?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1567560/qa-fates-200000-chinese-workers-russia-during-first-world-war?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Aug 2014 01:15:15 +0000 Click here for the full size infographic The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime,” said British minister Sir Edward Grey, on the eve of Britain declaring war on Germany. Many expected the Great War to be brief. “The boys will be home by Christmas” was a popular motto when hostilities commenced. The war was to last over four years: 70 million combatants enlisted, over 20 million were killed or wounded and several empires erased from the map. An... https://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/1567629/infographic-shot-heard-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/infographics/article/1567629/infographic-shot-heard-around-world?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Aug 2014 07:30:00 +0000 July 28, 2014 marks the centenary of the first world war’s outbreak in Europe. A hundred years later, the story of the hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers, the largest non-European labour contingent in the war, is only slowly being rediscovered.    In a special report, the South China Morning Post traces their story from rural Shandong to the European war trenches and back through archive photos, eyewitness accounts, maps and news articles published in the Post at the time, when the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1555554/forgotten-army-first-world-war-how-chinese-labourers-helped-shape-europe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1555554/forgotten-army-first-world-war-how-chinese-labourers-helped-shape-europe?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 25 Jul 2014 11:45:45 +0000 In a landmark visit, senior Chinese diplomat Li Zhaoxing is set to travel to France to attend a first world war memorial event, ending a century of oblivion about the fate of thousands of Chinese labourers sent to Europe during the conflict. The former foreign minister and spokesman of the National People’s Congress is leading the nation’s first official delegation to attend a war memorial, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Tuesday. The event is set to mark the anniversary of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1550388/first-chinese-government-delegation-commemorate-chinas-ww1-dead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1550388/first-chinese-government-delegation-commemorate-chinas-ww1-dead?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Jul 2014 10:00:15 +0000