Evacuation of Nanking
Many Westerners were living in the city at that time, conducting trade or on missionary trips. As the Japanese army began to approach Nanking, the Chinese government departed, moving to the transitional capital of Hankow. Most of the foreigners in Nanking fled the city as well. However, a small number of Westerners chose to remain behind. It is not clear exactly how many Westerners stayed behind and who they were. The number reported ranges from 20 to 30. David Askew has analyzed various sources who provide differing numbers of foreigners remaining in the city on different dates. According to Askew, the best estimate seems to be that there were 27 foreigners in the city, five of whom were journalists who left the city on December 16, a few days after it fell to the Japanese army.
Other than these five journalists, the other Westerners who remained in Nanking were businessmen, physicians and missionaries. Almost all of these were members of either the International Committee for the Nanking Safety Zone or the International Red Cross Committee of Nanking.
Read more about this topic: Nanking Safety Zone