Xi Jinping straightens the ribbon on a flower basket during a ceremony to present flower baskets to fallen national heroes in Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 30, 2023. Xi Jinping and other leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state including Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attended a ceremony on Saturday morning in Beijing to present flower baskets to fallen national heroes. The event was held to mark China's 10th Martyrs' Day, a day ahead of its National Day. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

Xi Jinping and other leaders of the Communist Party of China and the state including Li Qiang, Zhao Leji, Wang Huning, Cai Qi, Ding Xuexiang, Li Xi and Han Zheng attend a ceremony to present flower baskets to fallen national heroes in Tian'anmen Square in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 30, 2023. The event was held to mark China's 10th Martyrs' Day, a day ahead of its National Day. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

Chinese President Xi Jinping and other leaders of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the state attended a ceremony on Saturday morning in Tian'anmen Square in down Beijing to present flower baskets to fallen national heroes to commemorate China's 10th Martyrs' Day.

At 10 am on September 30, Xi and other leaders of the CPC ‬and the state sang the national anthem together with other participants and then paid a silent tribute to heroes who devoted their lives to the liberation of the Chinese people and the construction of the People's Republic of China.‬

People from all walks of life - veterans, retired senior officials and the relatives of martyrs - as well as Chinese Young Pioneers offered flower baskets and bouquets in tribute to the martyrs.

In front of the Monument to the People's Heroes, the giant flower basket with the words "Bless the Motherland" was erected, as the 74th National Day is approaching.

Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, encouraged the children of martyrs to follow the examples of their heroic parents' generation and dedicate themselves to serving as the loyal guardians of the Party and the people in a letter replying to eight such children who are currently studying at the People's Public Security University of China on September 28, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

In the letter, which was issued ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival and the National Day, Xi expressed his hopes for the students and extended his greetings to the family of the martyrs from the public security system.

Safeguarding national security and social stability as well as the people's happiness and tranquility is the sacred duty of the people's police, he said.

Encouraging students to follow the examples of their parents' generation, Xi asked them to maintain firm ideals and convictions, work hard in their study and training, hone their skills, and dedicate themselves to serving as the loyal guardians of the Party and the people.

Xi also encouraged them to make unremitting efforts to build a peaceful China at a higher level, and actively contribute to the great cause of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, more than 17,000 police officers have died in the line of duty, with more than 3,700 of them being honored as martyrs.

China's top legislature approved September 30 as Martyrs' Day in 2014 to commemorate those who sacrificed their lives for national independence and prosperity.

People in many cities across China held various memorial activities to commemorate the martyrs, with many people spontaneously visiting war memorial museums to lay bouquets and pay their tribute.

Over the past week, soldiers, representatives from all walks of life, primary and secondary school students descended on major memorials across the country to pay their respects to heroes.

Multiple theater commands and armed police organized officers and soldiers to participate in memorial activities at the martyrs memorial parks, inspiring them to become heroes of the new era.

On September 25, in the hinterland of Karakoram Plateau located in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, after a new snowfall, the Martyrs' Cemetery at an altitude of 4280 meters in Kangxiwa appeared even more solemn and sacred. The officers and soldiers of a border defense regiment stationed in the western frontier of Xinjiang came here to pay tribute to the martyrs.

Before September 30, martyr memorial facilities in Sichuan's Suining, Guang'an, Panzhihua, Aba, and other places completed a full upgrade and were open to the public.

The Binjiang Village Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery is the only martyr cemetery that was funded and built by local villagers in Dandong, Northeast China's Liaoning Province. Among the 33 martyrs, only five of them left their names behind. Over 70 years ago, the Chinese People's Volunteer (CPV) Army gathered and trained near Binjiang village before going abroad for combat. During the war, dozens of wounded and sick volunteers who were transported back from the front lines and died due to their serious injuries were buried on the nearby hillside of Binjiang village.

Memorial activities were held not only in China. In places where Chinese soldiers sacrificed for world peace are often accompanied by a cup of wine and a bouquet of white chrysanthemums such as in the Cemetery for Martyrs of the CPV in Anju, South Pyongan, in North Korea and the "China Yadgar," the Chinese cemetery located in Danyor, Pakistan, where Chinese workers and engineers who laid their lives in the construction of Karakoram Highway.

Global Times