A highly anticipated Chinese war film depicting the Battle of Hengyang during the Second Sino-Japanese War, originally scheduled for release in China at the end of June, recently faced unexpected cancellation. Leftist individuals in China cited the surrender of a defending general as a reason to attack the film, while intellectuals in Taiwan believed that anti-historical forces are disrespecting the sacrifices and contributions of the Nationalist Army, hindering China’s path towards civilization.
The movie “Tomorrow the Reinforcements Will Arrive” is based on the Battle of Hengyang that took place in 1944 and started filming in 2019, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the war. With an investment exceeding 500 million yuan (around 69 million US dollars) and a strong cast, the film was expected to gross up to 6 billion yuan (about 830 million US dollars).
The Battle of Hengyang was one of the fiercest urban battles in the late stage of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Located in the central-southern part of Hunan Province in China, Hengyang was a crucial transportation hub and distribution center for supplies. During the war, the Nationalist Government of China moved its base to Hengyang after retreating from Nanjing.
At that time, the Japanese Army suffered setbacks in the Pacific theater, with their maritime supply lines on the verge of collapsing, urgently needing to establish a land-based transport route. In June 1944, the Japanese aimed to capture Hengyang within three days with a force of 110,000 soldiers. However, the defending Chinese National Revolutionary Army had only 18,000 troops and approximately 4,000 locals.
The film depicts how the Nationalist Government ordered the defenders to hold out for seven days, waiting for reinforcements. After the Japanese bombed the communication camp, leaving only a female message officer and a radio station, the radio became the sole means of contacting the outside. After bloody battles, the defenders held out for 47 days. Facing the delayed arrival of reinforcements, General Fang Xianjue of the National Revolutionary Army, responsible for the defense, ultimately negotiated surrender with the Japanese under the conditions of “ensuring the safety of surviving soldiers and providing medical care for the wounded.”
This battle has been hailed as the “Eastern Stalingrad.” According to official Chinese records, the Battle of Hengyang wiped out over 19,000 Japanese soldiers and injured nearly 30,000. The defenders suffered over 7,600 casualties, with around 9,000 wounded, and 3,174 civilians in Hengyang sacrificed their lives. The millennium-old city was reduced to rubble.
During the bloodshed, in Japan, due to unfavorable war situations nationwide, the military government of Hideki Tojo toppled. The delay caused by the Battle of Hengyang in opening the land transport route heightened the crisis for the Japanese Cabinet.
Due to the achievements in the Battle of Hengyang, General Fang Xianjue was awarded the Order of the Sacred Tripod by the Republic of China the following year. In 1949, he retreated to Taiwan with the Nationalist Government and passed away in Taipei in 1983.
Reportedly, Liu Heping, the screenwriter, director, and producer all in one for this film, is a native of Hengyang. He spent eight years visiting war veterans and their descendants, collecting battlefield stories, researching authentic materials and historical records.
“Tomorrow the Reinforcements Will Arrive” released a trailer in mid-May this year and announced its official premiere on June 28th. However, all booking websites and promotional posters for the film have disappeared.
On May 27th, the official Weibo account of the movie wiped out all content and closed the comment section. Weibo stated that in discussions related to the film, some users were “promoting surrenderism,” “publicizing historical nihilism,” and “overly attacking China’s film censorship system and political system,” prompting the platform to take strict actions.
Critics argued that films should not glorify surrendering individuals, portraying the defending general as a patriotic anti-Japanese hero is a form of historical nihilism.
After a well-known Mao leftist figure reviewed the poster and trailer of the film, they wrote several critical articles severely condemning General Fang Xianjue, comparing him to Yang Jingyu, an anti-Japanese hero who died for his country, and, using a politically correct tone, questioned, “Is surrender justified?”
The removal of “Tomorrow the Reinforcements Will Arrive” from cinemas in China stirred strong reactions in the Taiwan Strait.
Author of the book “Eternal Star Engraved: A Hundred Years of the National Army Memorial Monument,” Xu Quan, expressed in a commentary on May 28th that there exists a force of anti-history in mainland China, disrespecting and humiliating the sacrifices and contributions of the Nationalist Army in the history of the war against Japan.
Xu mentioned that these far-left internet influencers never criticized the Communist Party’s anti-Japanese dramas (dramas that seriously violate logic and reasoning) but always attempted to discredit films and television shows related to the Nationalist Army, displaying the face of contemporary Red Guards. Xu emphasized that with these individuals’ presence, Chinese society’s reflection on the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward, and the Anti-Rightist movement cannot be halted. They are the biggest tumor and obstacle to China’s progress and civilization.
Taiwanese columnist Liu Guozhong believed that the true intention of the Chinese Communist Party in banning this film is to erase the glory of the Nationalist Army. He stated that this indicates the mainland has never truly regarded the Whampoa Military Academy’s century (founded in 1924, celebrating 100 years this year) as real history, demonstrating they have never genuinely wanted peaceful coexistence with Taiwan. How can they be expected to acknowledge the history of the Whampoa Military Academy, the history of the Nationalist Army, and objectively acknowledge the existence of Taiwan?
Liu Guozhong further suggested that from now on, the Chinese film and artistic community would no longer produce works on the historical themes of the Nationalist Army’s wars. Investors, cast, and crew would steer clear of the historical subject matter related to the Nationalist Army. Such investments and creations would be prone to leftist sabotage and official removal.
For years, the Chinese Communist Party has claimed to be the leading core and the mainstay during the resistance against Japan. However, the historical facts reveal that during that time, the Communist Party actually followed the “721” policy, allocating seven parts to developing its strength, two parts to dealing with the Nationalist Government, and one part to fighting against Japan.
Not only did the Communist Party fail to resist Japan during the war, but the former Communist Party leader Mao Zedong thanked the Japanese invaders at least seven times after seizing power. Mao Zedong, on various diplomatic occasions, stated that Japanese imperialism was a good teacher for China, weakening Chiang Kai-shek while helping the Communist Party’s bases and military to expand. Therefore, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai rejected Japan’s massive war reparations.
In numerous films and television works produced by the Chinese Communist Party on the anti-Japanese theme, the insignia of the “Eighth Route Army” and the “New Fourth Army” mainly replaced the national emblem of the Republic of China on their military caps with two buttons, attempting to distort the historical facts of the then-affiliated National Revolutionary Army.