‘From the Land of Bitter Tears’

September 12th at SDSU and Jasmine Restaurant

The APHAFIC hosted two presentation-shows of ‘From the Land of  Bitter Tears’, a documentary film with Director Ms. Kana Tomoko on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 at the San Diego State University in the afternoon, cosponsored by the History Department and the Chinese Studies Institute of SDSU and at Jasmine Restaurant in the evening. Close to 100 students and general public attended the seminar at SDSU with the brief background of Sino-Japanese history by professor Kathryn Edgerton-Tarpley. Ms. Kana, with a bachelor’s degree in history from Japan’s Women’s college,Tokyo gave a short presentation on her motivation of making this documentary and her hope to educate general public, in particular the younger generation about the suffering of  victims and their families due to accidentally explored poisonous gas buried by Japanese imperial army before they left China after the end of WWII.  Approximate 80 people attended the dinner meeting, including professor Joanne Ferraro, the Head of History Department , SDSU, professor Kathy  Edgerton-Tarpley, Mr. Walter Chao, president of  Alpha-LA and their board members: Jeannie Liu, Mr. Hachiro Ohtomo and Eddie.  During theses two meetings, many questions were raised among which were ‘Whether Kana received threatening letters and phone calls’, ‘Why does not Chinese government provide sufficient financial aids to the victims?’ The question to the former is yes, and no definite answers to the latter.

Kana Website:

www.kanatomoko.jp;

Article: Tending an old wound that will not heal:

http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200607030132.html

San Diego Union Article, September 11, 2006:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20060911/news_1c11japan.html

Kana talked at the dinner meeting, Jasmine restaurant

Students and general public listened to Kana at SDSU in the afternoon of September 12

Kana at SDSU

For event flyer click here.