China's national flag flies at half mast ahead of the national memorial ceremony for the Nanjing Massacre victims at the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 13, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

The annual memorial ceremony for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre was held on Monday morning, marking China's eighth National Memorial Day for the over 300,000 victims who were brutally killed by Japanese troops after the city of Nanjing was captured by the Japanese invaders on December 13, 1937. 

In a speech Chinese Vice Premier Sun Chunlan delivered during the ceremony at the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre in Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, she noted that the Nanjing Massacre was one of the three large-scale massacres during the World War II. 

"It has irrefutable evidence that cannot be altered," Sun said, noting that the direction of progress can only be grasped by correctly understanding history. 

"In the spirit of taking history as a mirror and creating the future, we are ready to build China-Japan relations that meet the requirements of the new era, as well as to work with all of the peace-loving people in the world to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity," Sun said.

 "The massacre that took place 84 years ago in Nanjing should never be forgotten or misrepresented. Militarism must not be allowed to revive," Zhang Jun, permanent representative of China to the UN, said on Twitter on Monday. 

At 8 am, a national flag of China was raised and then lowered at half-mast by PLA soldiers at the Memorial Hall to mourn the victims of the massacre. 

At 10 am, the national memorial ceremony was held at the Memorial Hall with sirens sounded, the national anthem played, the national flag raised at half-mast, the bell of peace struck, doves released and wreaths laid in tribute to the victims. 

The honor guard escorts the national flag ahead of the national memorial ceremony for the Nanjing Massacre victims at the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Dec. 13, 2021.Photo:Xinhua

Nearly 3,000 people from all walks of life gathered at the Memorial Hall to pay tribute with a one-minute silence observed. A total of 84 students from Zhonghua High School in Nanjing read aloud a declaration of peace to convey love and peace at the ceremony. 

Since the beginning of this year, 11 survivors of the massacre have passed away, leaving the number of registered survivors of the massacre to only 61 at present. 

Different from the previous national memorial ceremonies held at the Memorial Hall, no victims of the massacre were present at the ceremony in person this year due to their senior ages. The average age of the 61 survivors of Nanjing Massacre has reached 91. 

Ge Fengjin, son of massacre survivor Ge Daorong, attended the ceremony on behalf of his father for the first time. He told the China Central Television on Monday that he felt it was significant to participate in the event representing his father who had entrusted him with the task to pass on historical memories. 

Memorial activities in remembrance of the victims of Nanjing Massacre were held at the same time at 17 group burial grounds and two memorial venues around Nanjing. 

Meanwhile, a series of memorial activities were held nationwide on Monday. 

Other related activities also held nationwide on Monday included education of patriotism in schools and for the general public. The Education Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government suggested local primary and middle schools hold memorial activities and lectures, including broadcasting documentaries about the Nanjing Massacre to learn from history, treasure peace and respect life. 

A total of 860 students and teachers from Scientia Secondary School in Hong Kong attended a memorial service on Monday morning, observing one-minute of silence to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre, the school's principal Wong Ching Yung told the Global Times on Monday. 

"Every year, we organize a memorial activity to remember the victims, which is a major way for our students to learn the history, and after seeing those pictures and videos showing how Japanese invaders came into the country and killed our compatriots brutally, some students felt very sad," Wong said. 

The education bureau in Hong Kong earlier stressed that learning the history about the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) is an important part of the school curriculum, and the bureau will continue working with other sectors to increase teaching materials.

"Hopefully, there will be more and more memorial activities to help students better understand their nation," he said. 

On China's social media platforms, many netizens paid tribute to the victims with photos, drawings and videos. Several topics related to the Nanjing Massacre became trending topics on Sina Weibo on Monday morning. 

Some of China's biggest ecommerce and streaming websites switched the colors of their pages to black and white to commemorate the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. 

Global Times