Hanjian

In Chinese culture, a hanjian (simplified Chinese: 汉奸; traditional Chinese: 漢奸; pinyin: Hànjiān; Wade–Giles: han-chien) is a derogatory and pejorative term for a race traitor to the Han Chinese nation or state, and to a lesser extent, Han ethnicity. The word hanjian is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any race or country. As a Chinese term, it is a digraph of the Chinese characters for "Han" and "traitor".

History

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the National Revolutionary Army was defeated in various battles by the Imperial Japanese Army. Chiang Kai-shek explained that hanjian espionage helped the Japanese and ordered CC Clique commander Chen Lifu to arrest the hanjians. 4,000 were arrested in Shanghai and 2,000 in Nanjing. Because martial law was enforced, formal trials were not necessary, and the condemned were executed swiftly, while thousands of men, women and children watched with evident approval.

Wang Jingwei, who led the collaborationist Reorganized National Government of the Republic of China from Nanjing during the war, as well as his supporters, are regarded as hanjians in China as are Taiwanese soldiers who fought in the Japanese military against Chinese forces and the Allies. The word also came to be used in the legal systems of modern China and Taiwan. The Republic of China (1912–49) issued an important law in 1937: