Calls for peace mark war commemorations
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More than 300 Chinese people and Japanese pacifists held a memorial ceremony in the east China city of Nanjing Sunday to mark the 65th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II.
Japanese pacifists, relatives of the the Nanjing Massacre victims and seven delegates from Taiwan attended the ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.
China-Japan Friendship delegations from Kobe, Nagasaki and Osaka held a banner that said, "Remembrance of the past is the guide for the future."
"The Japanese invaders committed monstrous crimes in Nanjing. We will be here on the anniversary every year to express remorse for their criminal deeds," Tamaki Matsuoka, head of Japanese left-wing group Mei Shin Kai said in an address.
Japanese troops occupied Nanjing on Dec. 13, 1937, and launched a six-week massacre. Chinese records show more than 300,000 people, not only disarmed soldiers, but also civilians, were killed.
Matsuoka leads groups of Japanese visitors to Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall of the Victims and other war relics every year.
"We will call for the Japanese people to face up to the real history and keep it forever in mind," Matsuoka said.
Matsuoka presented the "Gratitude and Friendship" award to Zhu Chengshan, curator of the Nangjing Massacre Memorial Hall, and another two Chinese China-Japanese friendship promoters.
"It is the universal will to maintain peace. History should not be allowed to repeat itself," said Zhu.
Since it opened in 1985, the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall has received more than 25 million visitors, including about 2 million from more than 80 other countries.
Other ceremonies were held around China Sunday to commemorate the day.
The Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing reopened to the public Sunday after being closed for maintenance work.
The exhibition shows the history of the war, which lasted for eight years. English and Japanese display introductions have been added.
"To remember the history of the Anti-Japanese War is necessary to both Chinese and people worldwide, especially the younger generation, living in peace," said Li Zongyuan, deputy curator of the museum.
A new film, "Changyao Massacre," was released Saturday evening in Changyao Town, Nanxian County, in central China's Hubei Province, where the Japanese invaders committed another massacre that left 30,000 dead in three days in May 1943.
Zhou Zhiyong, a local member of the audience, said it was a timely reminder to cherish peace as well as a commemoration of the victims.
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