December 13, 2017 marks the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.
2017 is the fourth public memorial day in China.
December 13, 2017 is the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre and the National Memorial Day of China. Eighty years ago, Japan made an appalling Nanjing Massacre, and 300000 Chinese died under the Japanese butcher's knife. On December 13, 1937, the Japanese invaders invaded Nanjing and carried out more than 40 days of dehumanizing massacres, killing 300000 people, leaving the darkest page in the history of human civilization.
Since 1994, both Jiangsu and Nanjing have held mourning ceremonies on December 13 every year, including hitting the Peace Bell, laying wreaths and so on, but these are all at the local level. On February 27, 2014, the seventh session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress adopted a decision to establish December 13 as the national public memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. The adoption of the resolution raised the memory of the victims of the Nanjing massacre to the national level. The establishment of the national public memorial day shows the Chinese people's firm stand against aggressive war, safeguarding human dignity and safeguarding world peace. On December 13, 2014, the state held its first public memorial day, attended by major leaders of the party and the state, and the whole city of Nanjing observed silence.
Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day
On December 13, 1937, the Japanese army occupied Nanjing city. Under the command of fascists such as Matsui shigen, commander of the central China front army, and Gu Shoufu, head of the 6th Division Division, they massacred the unarmed Chinese army and people for six weeks. According to the investigation of Nanjing Military Court in February 1946, there were 28 cases of Japanese collective massacre, 190000 people, 858 cases of sporadic massacre, 150000 people. The Japanese army carried out a six week massacre in Nanjing, killing more than 300000 Chinese soldiers and civilians and burying them alive. For this reason, December 13 of each year is designated as "Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day". The Nanjing municipal government of Jiangsu Province also prepared to build a memorial hall for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre of the Japanese aggressor in China, which was opened on August 15, 1985. In addition, 15 monuments have been built at other sites such as Yanziji, CaoShi gorge, Zhongshan wharf, Hanzhong Gate and the Zhonghua Gate, where the dead people were buried.