Original version

BBC World Service East Asia

Witness History

Podcasts

Factual: Life Stories

Factual: History

History as told by the people who were there

History as told by the people who were there.

BBC World Service Australasia

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Witness History: Wang Jingwei: China’s traitor or protector?

Documentaries

Wang Jingwei: China’s traitor or protector?

24/01/2024 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, Wang Jingwei: China’s traitor or protector?

The national hero was branded a traitor for collaborating with Japan during World War Two

The national hero was branded a traitor for collaborating with Japan during World War Two. But Pan Chia-sheng’s memories of him tell a very different story.

In 1937, Japan invaded China committing atrocities including the Nanjing Massacre. Wang Jingwei was a Chinese national hero and second-in-command of China’s ruling Nationalist Party. He wanted to negotiate with Japan but his colleagues wouldn’t listen. So he defected, and in 1940 he agreed to lead a Japanese-controlled puppet government in Nanjing. 

Many Chinese have hated him ever since – his name is synonymous with the word ‘Hanjian’, a traitor to China. 

But Pan Chia-sheng’s memories of living under Wang Jingwei’s government tell a very different story. He speaks to Ben Henderson.

(Photo: Wang Jingwei. Credit: Wang Wenxing via Wang Jingwei Irrevocable Trust)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Witness History

Wang Jingwei: China’s traitor or protector?

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service East Asia

About BBC World Service