Dec. 16, 2013 (news.cn), — A series of memorials was held on December 13 and 14 in the city of Nanjing to mark the 76th anniversary of a massacre that claimed the lives of 300,000 Chinese civilians and disarmed soldiers.
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Nanjing witnessed mass murder, genocide and war rape following the Japanese capture of the city in December 13, 1937, during World War II.
Memorial events included a candlelight vigil, a prayer assembly for peace, as well as press conferences and seminars, according to Zhu Chengshan, curator of the Nanjing Massacre Hall. As part of this year’s event, a report on protection of survivors’ oral histories of the atrocity was presented and a Sino-U.S. collaborative project on oral history studies was announced, Zhu announced. |
“This is about expressing sorrow for those perished, and more importantly reminding people to remember history and to cherish peace,” he said.
Meanwhile, two survivors, 82-year-old Wang Jin and 89-year-old Cen Honggui, would leave for Japan to attend Nanjing Massacre testimony gatherings on invitation from Japanese non-governmental organizations.
Held every year since August, 1994, this activity has seen a total of 47 Chinese survivors join gatherings across Japan.
“Survivors have told how cruel the Japanese invaders were in their personal experience, revealing the truth for most Japanese and delivering powerful rebuke to a handful of Japanese right wingers who were wantonly denying the atrocity,” according to Zhu.
The testimony activity helped promote peaceful interaction between China and Japan based on the consensus of the history, he added.