The Society was founded in 1991 in New York City, USA. Its sister group in Hong Kong was established in 2007. Since 2021, the Hong Kong chapter has taken over the New York chapter's activities, excluding the scholarship essay selection. The Society is an academic, non-political, non-profit organization. With the objective of fostering the study of oral history, the Society strives to promote, sponsor, and encourage the collection, preservation, compilation and publication of Chinese historical records. In the last 20 years, it strives to the promotion of the study of modern Chinese history and the compilation and publication of research papers and books.

Since its inception, the Society has been focusing on oral history on the War of Resistance, 1931-1945. In view of the advance age of the survivors of the War and the rapidly decreasing in number, we have to move forward with our task as fast as we can.