President Xi attends China’s first state commemoration for Nanjing Massacre victims

NANJING, Dec. 13 (NsNewsWire) — Chinese President Xi Jinping said Saturday that denial of the Nanjing Massacre will not be allowed by the Chinese people or peace-loving people anywhere in the world.

The Nanjing Massacre, committed by Japanese aggressors, was one of three major massacres during WWII. It was an atrocious anti-human crime and a dark page in the history of humanity, Xi said while addressing a state commemoration for China’s first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims, reports Xinhua.

“Anyone who tries to deny the massacre will not be allowed by history, the souls of the 300,000 deceased victims, the 1.3 billion Chinese people, and all people who love peace and justice in the world,” Xi said.

The ceremony, presided over by Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), was held at the memorial hall for the massacre victims in the east China city of Nanjing.

Japanese troops captured Nanjing, then China’s capital, on Dec. 13 of 1937 and started a 40-odd-day slaughter. More than 300,000 Chinese soldiers, who had laid down their arms, and civilians were murdered and about 20,000 women were raped.

The memorial ceremony started at 10 a.m. A total of 10,000 representatives of all walks of life present at the ceremony paid silent tribute for one minute to the massacre victims as sirens howled over the city.

Sixteen honor guards laid eight wreaths in memory of the victims while the national flag flew at half-mast to mourn the victims. Seventy-seven students read the declaration of peace.

Xi, along with Xia Shuqin, an 85-year-old massacre survivor, and a school child, unveiled a memorial “ding,” a type of ancient Chinese cauldron symbolizing state power and prosperity, during the ceremony. The three-legged bronze ding will be permanently placed at the square of the hall.

Xi, who wore a white flower on his lapel, said the ceremony was held to commemorate innocent victims in the massacre, compatriots killed by Japanese aggressors, as well as revolutionary martyrs and heroes who devoted their lives to victory in the war against Japanese aggression.

“The purpose of the memorial ceremony for Nanjing Massacre victims is to recall that every good-hearted person yearns for and holds a firm stance of peace, but does not try to prolong hatred,” Xi said.