Tung Lem

T′jung nLem
充滕
T′jung nLem in 1940
Prime Minister
In office September 2, 1947 (1947-09-02) – February 10, 1951 (1951-02-10)
Monarch	Emperor Shljaps-tsung
Preceded by	Gar Hwal
Succeeded by	Kaw Krat
Parliamentary group	Liberal Party
Constituency	N′al-lang West
Majority	4 seats
Secretary of State for Public Works
In office December 1, 1944 (1944-12-01) – January 30, 1947 (1947-01-30)
Monarch	Emperor Shljaps-tsung
Prime Minister	Gar Hwal
Preceded by	Rjap-kwar Hep
Succeeded by	Ning Snip
Inner Administrator
In office July 3, 1935 (1935-07-03) – February 1, 1944 (1944-02-01)
Preceded by	Stang Krjogh
Succeeded by	Ra Gje-nar
Personal details
Pronunciation	tjuŋ.ⁿləm
Born	(1872-10-20)October 20, 1872
Died	January 19, 1954(1954-01-19) (aged 81) Tonning, Themiclesia
Cause of death	illness
Citizenship	Themiclesian
Political party	Liberal Party
Height	175 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Cabinet	Tjung Cabinet
Military service
Allegiance	Themiclesia
Branch/service	Inner Region Cavalry Militia
Years of service	3 months (?)
Rank	not applicable
Unit	Left Cavalry Wing
Battles/wars	none

T′jung nLem (充滕, courtesy name 伯空, prêk-k′ong, Oct. 20, 1872 — Jan. 19, 1954) was a Themiclesian public servant and politican. He was MP for N′al-lang West for over a decade then accepted a senior administrative position, eventually promoted to Inner Administrator in 1935, where he would remain through the war, until he joined the government in 1944 as Minister for Public Works. He served Prime Minister between 1949 and 1951, overseeing the withdrawal of the occupation of Menghe and reconstruction of much of the interior of Themiclesia. He is most remembered for proposing the Trans-Hemithean Railway and promoting an expansion program to Themiclesia's road transport system, but his legacy has also been connected with the use of forced labour in the Battle of Kien-k'ang, in which he forced Dayashinese parachuters to mend the city's walls, directly against their own country's efforts to breach them. This has been described as a war crime under the Eisenmaat Convention, though he was never tried for it.

War crime allegation

As Inner Administrator, T′jung was responsible for organizing the capital city's defence when Menghean and Dayashinese forces arrived in late 1940. In a sense, T′jung outranked all military officers on site, and he was in reality never disobeyed by those directly in charge of the forces, even though his portfolio was technically civilian. The capital city's defences too thick to bombard away, the Dayashinese troops experimented with airborne forces dropping into the city directly around Nov. 1940. T′jung ordered the Metropolitan Police to patrol every community and residents to report sightings by cable. Over several months, the Dayashinese parachuted over 4,000 troops into the city, and they demanded a somewhat large quantity of food compared to the average rations in the city. Defending forces suspected that they intended to eat as much as they can to starve the city. While the city was not short of food, citizens had been conscripted for a number of duties, and T′jung was worried that if the prisoners were seen consuming food while idle, morale might suffer. T′jung therefore sent the prisoners to mend the city's walls that were still actively bombarded by the enemy just beyond them. Though some initially refused to mend the walls, the Kien-k'ang Militia reportedly held their rifles up to the prisoners' faces to compel them. The parachuters, willing or unwilling, worked four-hour days and received the same pay as citizens conscripted for the same duties.

Wall-mending continued for several months until Jun. 1941, when the siege was lifted through a joint assault by Themiclesian and Hallian forces from across the Kaung, whereupon prisoners were exchanged. After the war, T′jung was reported to the War Crimes Tribunal by Dayashinese authorities, alleging that he had ordered the Kien-k'ang Militia to point their rifles at the prisoners' faces to compel them to work against their own government's interests. The War Crimes Tribunal began investigating this case in Feb. 1947, but by then T′jung had been promoted to Secretary of State for Reconstruction. The investigation proceeded with interviews of the surviving parachutists, who generally testified that they were duly paid promised salaries. T′jung sent a personal solicitor to Sakurajima, filing an affidavit there that he instructed the prisoners treated as well as domestic labourers and presented names for corroborating witnesses. The investigation continued as he became prime minister. The prosecution at Sakurajima decided in Jan. 1948 that his actions "though questionable, did not warrant indictment" and ended the investigation.

See also

• Themiclesia