China's Xi: Nanjing massacre undeniable

For the first time, China has held an official day of remembrance for the thousands killed by the Japanese army in Nanjing in 1937-38. Japan's acknowledgement of the events remains muted, despite ire from Beijing.

For the first time on Saturday, China held a national day of remembrance on the 77th anniversary of Japanese atrocities committed in the city of Nanjing in the run-up to World War II. President Xi Jinping led the commemorations in front of a crowd of some 10,000 people, among whom were survivors or relatives of victims of the "Rape of Nanking," a six-week reign of terror during which the Imperial Japanese Army carried out mass killings and rapes.

Beijing's official figures say that the massacre claimed 300,000 lives, though more conservative estimates place the number of victims closer to one-hundred or one-hundred-and-fifty thousand.

"Anyone who tries to deny the massacre will not be allowed by history, the souls of 300,000 deceased victims, 1.3 billion Chinese people and all people loving peace and justice in the world," Xi said, referring to what the Chinese have long seen as a Japanese denial, or at least an inadequate acknowledgement of the slaughter.

A tenuous relationship

The Japanese stance on Nanjing has often been an obstacle in Sino-Japanese relations, and although Japan now admits that "the killing of a large number of non-combatants, looting and other acts occurred," incidents that the Chinese find offensive continue to take place.

Last February, a senior executive at Japan's public broadcaster NHK dismissed the Chinese version of events as "propaganda" used to stir up nationalism, and last year Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a controversial visit in Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine. This shrine honors Japan's war dead, including war criminals, three of whom were top commanders executed for their role in the Nanjing massacre.

Territorial disputes over uninhabited islands in the South China Sea, controlled by Tokyo but claimed by Beijing, have further exacerbated the situation. As the dispute intensified, China's legislature, the Communist-Party-controlled National People's Congress, voted in February to make the anniversary of the "Rape of Nanking" an official day of remembrance.

In March, Tokyo launched a diplomatic protest in response to comments Xi made in Germany about Japan's invasion. The German atonement for World War II has often been favorably compared with Japan's in China.

In an attempt to repair relations, President Xi and Prime Minister Abe, who faces a national election on Sunday, held a strained bilateral summit on the sidelines of the annual APEC meeting, which was held in Beijing last month.

"Chinese and Japanese people should be friendly from generation to generation, use history as a lesson to face the future and contribute together to human peace," Xi said at Saturday's memorial service.

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Source: www.dw.de

My take: Japanese should appologise sincerely, to cast away this laana committed by their babu and Bibi.

I thought you might be interested in this article:Ten facts about the Nanjing Massacre .Sent via the CCTVNews app for iPhone. Download the app here: http://web.cctvnews.cn/appdownload.html

Ten facts about the Nanjing Massacre
2014-12-15 02:22
Dec 13rd 2014,16:0CCTVNEWS

1. The Nanjing Massacre refers to the horrific events that lasted nearly six weeks between December 1937 and January 1938. Japanese troops invaded the Chinese city and killed 300,000 people.

The Nanjing Massacre refers to the horrific events that lasted nearly six weeks between December 1937 and January 1938. Japanese troops invaded the Chinese city and killed 300,000 people.

2. Over 40 days of the Nanjing Massacre, one Chinese was killed by the Japanese military approximately every 12 seconds.

Over 40 days of the Nanjing Massacre, one Chinese was killed by the Japanese military approximately every 12 seconds.

3. The contest to kill 100 people using a sword is in the story of a barbaric contest between two Japanese officers,Toshiaki Mukai and Tsuyoshi Nodawho, who competed over who could first kill 100 people with a sword. They were both executed over war crimes charges.

The contest to kill 100 people using a sword is in the story of a barbaric contest between two Japanese officers.

4. Eyewitness accounts and confessions of Japanese troops speak of innocent people being buried alive, rapes and gang rapes of women aged 7 to 70, people being used as targets for bayonet practice, group shootings, chemical warfare and innocents being thrown into the Yangtze River.

Eyewitness accounts and confessions of Japanese troops speak of innocent people being buried alive, rapes and gang rapes of women aged 7 to 70.

5. A report by the Japanese military on the restoration of public security in Nanjing in February 1938 shows that the population of the city fell from 1 million to 300,000 owing to the Japanese invasion and massacre.

6. A Japanese military report on Nanjing in February 1938 says, that there were 25,000 Japanese troops in the city at that time. They had forced 141 women into sexual slavery. The report disturbingly adds that there was "1 woman to serve 178 soldiers."

A Japanese military report on Nanjing in February 1938 says they had forced 141 women into sexual slavery.

Headquarters of the Nanjing Safety Zone international committee.

7. The establishment of the Nanjing Safety Zone by foreigners helped protect the Chinese people. Following the example of Jesuit Father Robert Jacquinot de Besange in Shanghai, foreigners in the city created the Nanjing Safety Zone, helping save thousands of innocent people.

8. Less than 200 survivors from Nanjing Massacre are currently living, with the average age being 80.6 years.

9. At the end of World War II, the tribunals failed to charge the Japanese Imperial family, including Prince Yasuhiko Asaka who was commander of Japanese forces in the final assault on Nanjing. Some historians have been critical of the then US administration’s role in ensuring the Japanese Imperial family enjoyed immunity.

10. The National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims (Dec.13) was established on Feb. 27,2014. The idea was first proposed by Zhu Chengshan, the curator of the Memorial Hall of the Victims of Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.