DURING the 14-year Japanese invasion of China, the Chinese suffered more than 35 million military and nonmilitary casualties, accounting for a third of the total casualties of all the countries in World War II.

    Military casualties during the invasion totaled 3.8 million, according to updated figures released Tuesday.

    At the 1937 exchange rate, property losses incurred by the Chinese amounted to more than US$100 billion, with indirect economic losses of US$500 billion. The updated figures for Chinese casualties and property losses during the war and new research on China’s contribution to victory in World War II were released at a briefing by the State Council Information Office.

    They also show that Chinese forces killed, wounded or captured more than 1.5 million Japanese troops in the war.

    The figures form the second part of a survey organized by the Party History Research Center of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. The survey was launched in October 2004, and about 600,000 people have taken part.

    Li Zhongjie, former deputy director of the research center, said: “The work started decades late and we should have done it earlier. We have the responsibility to tell our offspring the clear facts about the war.

    “We want to tell people that the Japanese invaders committed so much slaughter, and the Nanjing Massacre is just one example,” Li said. “The survey method involved was mainly to consult and collect all kinds of archives, newspapers and research results from those years.”

    Wang Jianlang, director of the Institute of Modern History at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said, “The survey shows that China was not only defending its homeland, but also the security of other countries. China’s lasting war of resistance won valuable time for other anti-fascist countries to prepare, including the Soviet Union, the United States and Britain.” (China Daily)