Editing Sook Ching (section)

{{Short description|1942 massacre in Singapore by Japan}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox civilian attack
| title = Sook Ching (肃清）
| partof = the [[Japanese occupation of Singapore]]
| image = File:Civilian War Memorial 2019.jpg
| image_size = 300
| alt = 
| caption = Civilian War Memorial, dedicated to the victims of Sook Ching and the wider occupation
| scope = 
| type = Systematic [[purge]] and [[massacre]]
| location = [[Japanese occupation of Singapore|Japanese-occupied Singapore]]{{efn|Killings were eventually also targeted in [[British Malaya|Malaya]].}}
| coordinates = 
| map_type = 
| map_size = 
| map_caption = 
| map_label = 
| target = Identify and eliminate suspected "anti-Japanese elements"; with specific targets for [[Chinese Singaporeans]] or others perceived as a threat to the Japanese
| date = {{start date|df=yes|1942|02|18}} – {{end date|df=yes|1942|03|04}}{{efn|Planned between {{start date|df=yes|1942|01|28}} and {{end date|df=yes|1942|02|04}}}}
| time = 
| time-begin = 
| time-end = 
| timezone = [[UTC+08:00]]
| perps = [[Empire of Japan]]; [[Kempeitai]] within the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]
* Gen. [[Tomoyuki Yamashita]]
* Col. [[Masanobu Tsuji]] 
* Hayashi Tadahiko
| fatalities = 40,000 to 50,000 (consensus and retrospective analysis){{efn|Ranges from 6,000–10,000 (Japanese figures) to 70,000–100,000 (Singaporean figures) with specific targets for Chinese and Peranakan males<ref name="NAS">{{cite web |title=Operation Sook Ching is carried out - Singapore History |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/history/events/d0523464-3a43-4520-a864-f195a8aef418 |website=eresources.nlb.gov.sg |publisher=[[National Library Board]] |access-date=18 February 2022}}</ref><ref name="LGB">{{cite book |last1=Lee |first1=Geok Boi |title=The Syonan Years: Singapore Under Japanese Rule, 1942-1945 |date=2005 |publisher=[[National Archives of Singapore]] |location=Singapore |isbn=9810542909 |url=https://www.nlb.gov.sg/biblio/12661517 |access-date=18 February 2022}}</ref>}}<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Rigg |first1=Bryan Mark |author-link= Bryan Mark Rigg|title=Japan's Holocaust: History of Imperial Japan's Mass Murder and Rape During World War II|publisher=Knox Press|year=2024 |isbn=9781637586884 |pages=98–99|language=en}}</ref>
| injuries = Unknown
}}

{{Campaignbox Singapore}}
{{Campaignbox Malaya}}
{{Campaignbox Pacific 1941}}
{{Campaignbox South-East Asian Theatre}}
{{Campaignbox Second Sino-Japanese War}}
{{Campaignbox South-East Asia}}
{{Japanese colonial campaigns}}
{{Campaignbox World War II}}

{{History of Singapore}}
'''Sook Ching'''{{efn|{{zh|s=肃清|t=肅清|p=Sùqīng|j=suk1 cing1|poj=Siok-chheng|l=elimination}} or {{zh|s=肃清大屠杀|t=肅清大屠殺|j=suk1 cing1 daai6 tou4 saat3|poj=Siok-chheng Tāi-tôo-sat|p=Sùqīng Dà Túshā|l=cleansing purge}} or 'elimination massacre')}} was a [[mass killing]] that occurred from 18 February to 4 March 1942 in [[Singapore]] after it [[Fall of Singapore|fell to the Japanese]]. It was a systematic [[purge]] and [[massacre]] of 'anti-Japanese' elements in Singapore, with the [[Chinese Singaporean|Singaporean Chinese]] particularly targeted by the [[Imperial Japanese Army|Japanese military]] during the [[Japanese occupation of Singapore|occupation]]. However, Japanese soldiers engaged in indiscriminate killing and did not try to identify who was 'anti-Japanese.' 

[[Singapore]] was a crucial strategic point in [[World War II]]. From 8 February to 15 February, the Japanese fought for control of the city. The combined British and Commonwealth forces surrendered in a stunning defeat to the outnumbered Japanese on 15 February which led to its fall. The loss of Singapore was and still is Britain's largest surrender in history.{{sfn|Corrigan|2010|p=280}}

Three days later after the fall on 18 February, the occupying Japanese military began mass killings of a wide range of "undesirables", who were mostly ethnic Chinese, influenced by the events of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] that was raging simultaneously as far back as 1937. The operation was overseen by the [[Imperial Japanese Army]]'s [[Kempeitai]], its [[secret police]]. Along with Singapore, the Sook Ching was subsequently also extended to include the [[Malaysian Chinese|Chinese population in Malaya]], which was also [[Japanese occupation of Malaya|under occupation by the Japanese]]. Concurrently, non-Chinese individuals were also not completely spared in other parts of Asia under Japanese occupation. The Japanese also brutally subjugated civilians in [[Burma]] and [[Thailand]], with estimates of up to 90,000 additional deaths. Many of these victims were also forced to work on the Siam–Burma Railway, infamously known as the [[Death Railway]].<ref>Rigg, Bryan Mark (2024). Japan's Holocaust: History of Imperial Japan's Mass Murder and Rape During World War II. Knox Press.</ref>

The aim for such a purge was to intimidate the Chinese community, which was considered by the Japanese to be potentially the main centre of resistance to [[Territorial conquests of the Empire of Japan|Japanese aims of territorial expansion]] throughout the Asia-Pacific. The Japanese had also thought of it as a "revenge" for their perceived anti-Japanese activity in the [[Sinophone]] regions, such as procuring financial aid for [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|China]] after the [[Japanese invasion of Manchuria]] and during the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]]. As a consequence, Sook Ching was aimed primarily at Chinese political and social activists, volunteers fighting on the side of the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]],{{efn|Including non-Chinese individuals.}} as well as representatives of Chinese [[Triad (organized crime)|triads]]. In practice, however, the arrests and executions were carried out by the Japanese in a completely arbitrary manner, with many civilians randomly killed in [[summary executions]] even if they took no part in any organised resistance.<ref name="NAS"/>

After the war, the Japanese authorities acknowledged that the massacre took place, but disagreed about the number of deaths that Japan had caused. Japan alleged that no more "than 6,000 deaths" had occurred, while Singapore's first prime minister [[Lee Kuan Yew]], who was himself almost a victim to Sook Ching, stated that verifiable numbers would put it at "about 70,000", including the figures in Malaya.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chew |first1=Cassandra |title=The Rickshaw puller who saved Lee Kuan Yew {{!}} |url=https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/the-rickshaw-puller-who-saved-lee-kuan-yew |website=www.straitstimes.com |publisher=[[The Straits Times]] |access-date=18 February 2022 |date=29 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218230759/https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/the-rickshaw-puller-who-saved-lee-kuan-yew|archive-date=18 February 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> When mass graves were discovered in 1962, [[Singaporeans]] heavily lobbied for their government to demand compensation as well as an official apology from the Japanese government.<ref name="eresources.nlb.gov.sg">{{cite web |url=https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/infopedia/articles/SIP_40_2005-01-24.html |title=Operation Sook Ching |last=Ho |first=Stephanie |date=17 June 2013 |website=Singapore Infopedia |publisher=National Library Board Singapore 2013 |access-date=18 June 2021}}</ref> On 25 October 1966, the Japanese government ultimately agreed to reimburse [[Singapore dollar|S$]]50 million in reparations, half of which constituting as a grant and the rest as a loan.<ref name="eresources.nlb.gov.sg" /> However, the wording used for this reimbursement was classified as a "gesture of atonement", with words such as "damages" or "reparations" being avoided by the Japanese. Furthermore, the Japanese government continued to refuse to accept legal responsibility for the massacre, which would include carrying out an official investigation or inquiry of the deaths.<ref name="Hayashi">{{cite journal|url=https://apjjf.org/-Hayashi-Hirofumi/3187/article.html|title=The Battle of Singapore, the Massacre of Chinese and Understanding of the Issue in Postwar Japan|access-date=10 May 2015|author=Hayashi Hirofumi|date=13 July 2009|volume=7|issue=28|journal=The Asia-Pacific Journal}}</ref> No official apology was made.<ref name="Hayashi" /> Remains of Sook Ching victims would subsequently continue to be unearthed by Singaporeans for decades after the massacre. In 1963, the [[Civilian War Memorial]] was constructed in memory of the civilians killed during the occupation, including Sook Ching. Remains belonging to some of the victims were also placed in a tomb under the memorial. In 1992, the various Sook Ching massacre sites around the country such as [[Changi Beach Park#The Japanese Occupation|Changi Beach]], [[Katong]], [[Punggol Point#World War 2 Massacre|Punggol Point]], [[Tanah Merah, Singapore|Tanah Merah]] and [[Sentosa#Pre-1945|Sentosa]] were designated with historic plaque markers as heritage sites by the Singaporean government's [[National Heritage Board (Singapore)|National Heritage Board]], to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the occupation.