According to Joseph, some local viewers who went to watch the movie several times said that they were shocked by the atrocities shown in the movie and they really wanted to know more about this historic period.

Currently, the film Rape of Nanking is available in English and Chinese. The Chinese edition is narrated by Haiyan Wu, a co-producer of this film who once worked as a journalist for China Central Television.

In addition, Joseph and his team are working on a Japanese version, planning to put it online for free so that more "Japanese people can learn the truth about the Rape of Nanking."

Joseph told Beijing Review that he has been contacted by two "film-festival" organizers in Japan who would like to show his film in Japan next summer. And he has also been contacted by people who would like him to create 100,000 DVDs of this film in Japanese.

Joseph emphasized that in making this film, he did not mean to create hatred, but to "educate and to bring peace." Forgiveness, as he said, is a form of education.

But he did encounter attacks and threats from some Japanese who considered the film as a kind of Chinese propaganda and who believed that it would bring shame on Japan.

In response to those unfriendly reactions, Joseph said, "It is those Japanese who lie about the past who make Japan look shameful. It is shameful to lie. It is honorable to tell the truth."

He believed that the best way for China and Japan to deal with both their past and current relations is to educate the children about the past and to forgive the past. "Never forget but forgive," Joseph said, adding, "Education and forgiveness is the true path to peace."

(Reported from New York)