Unwilling guests of the Emperor

Editor's note: History is, by definition, about past events, and while nothing can be done to change those events, forgetting them may lead to wrong roads being taken in the future. During the coming months, China Daily will present a series of regular reports about ordinary lives during World War II and the continuing impact of the conflict on the present and the future. This is the sixth report in the series.

During World War II, the Japanese army held thousands of Allied POWs in northeastern China at a camp where brutality was commonplace, as Gao Anming, He Na and Wu Yong report from Shenyang.

Li Lishui, 90, from Shenyang, Liaoning province, has three possession he values more than his life: A letter written in English; an old photo of a foreign soldier; and a certificate awarded to him by the United States government in appreciation of the encouragement and help he gave Allied prisoners of the Japanese during World War II.