China commemorates war against Japanese aggression

This photo shows a view of a ceremony to commemorate the September 18 Incident at the 9.18 Historical Museum in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, Sept. 18, 2024. (Xinhua/Pan Yulong)

On Wednesday morning, as sirens howled in Shenyang, capital of northeast China's Liaoning Province, drivers honked their horns while pedestrians stopped their steps to commemorate the 93rd anniversary of the September 18 Incident that marked the start of Japan's 14-year invasion of China.

On Sept. 18, 1931, Japanese troops blew up a section of railway under their control near Shenyang and accused Chinese troops of sabotage as a pretext for the attack. Later that night, they bombarded barracks near Shenyang.

In 1995, Hao Songqing, a worker who had retired from a tape factory in Shenyang, wrote a letter to the Shenyang municipal committee of the Communist Party of China, suggesting ringing air-raid alarms to remind people not to forget the national humiliation.

His suggestion was approved, and Shenyang has sounded the air-raid alarm to commemorate the September 18 Incident for 30 consecutive years, starting in 1995.

In the 9.18 Historical Museum in Shenyang at 9:18 a.m. Wednesday, people gathered and held a ceremony to commemorate the September 18 Incident and the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

He Zhongling, one of the designers of the 9.18 Monument in the museum and a retired professor of Luxun Academy of Fine Arts, said the skeleton and bone elements on the monument's base symbolize the martyrs who died in the war. Its main body is shaped like a calendar with bullet holes, representing the pain of the war.

"The purpose of designing this monument is to tell people to remember history and not forget the national humiliation," said He.

About 3 km from the museum lies the Beidaying (Northern Grand Barracks) site that the Japanese troops bombarded. At the exhibition hall of the site, visitors can revisit the gruesome history through more than 400 historical photos, over 200 relics, electronic maps, scene restorations, panoramic sand tables and other modern techniques.

"For peace, people commemorate the war," said Fan Lihong, curator of the 9.18 Historical Museum, adding that the number of visitors to the museum has continued to surge and many people come here to remember history and salute the martyrs.

"Telling the history is not to perpetuate hatred, but to remember the truth and give strength to today's people," said Fan.

When the siren sounded on Wednesday, Gong Zhigang was driving a high-speed train passing areas near the 9.18 Historical Museum.

"At that time, the Japanese built railways on Chinese land to plunder resources and wage war. Today, our high-speed railway is one of the leaders in the world with a maximum design speed of 350 km per hour," said Gong.

"We have to draw experience and strength from history and pursue for a better future," he added.

The commemoration was also held across the country on Wednesday.

In Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, 500 people gathered at the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders. Six delegates struck the Bell of Peace to mourn the victims and remind the public not to forget national humiliation.

Many other Chinese cities, including Haikou and Chengdu, also sounded sirens on this day to remind people to remember history and cherish peace.

The September 18 Incident in 1931, at which Japanese troops began the bloody invasion of China, foreshadowed World War II and made the country the first to resist fascism.

During the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression which lasted until 1945, China suffered a total of 35 million military and non-military casualties, accounting for a third of the total casualties of all the countries in World War II.