 Chang also issued a rejoinder to Burress 's argument that she incorrectly cited a telegram sent by Japan 's foreign minister . She wrote that while the original figure of 300 @,@ 000 Chinese civilian deaths in Nanjing was reported by a British reporter , this figure was cited in a message that Japan 's foreign minister sent to his contacts in Washington , DC . Chang argued that figure 's use by a high @-@ ranking Japanese government official was evidence that the Japanese government recognized 300 @,@ 000 as the number of Chinese civilian deaths . Finally , she criticized Burress for his " nitpick " of small details in order to draw attention away from the scope and magnitude of the Nanking Massacre , writing that such was a " common tactic " of Holocaust deniers . 
