Nanjing Massacre a historical fact, says city

Nanjing (CNS) –The Nanjing Massacre is a historical fact backed by irrefutable evidence, said a spokesman for the Nanjing municipal government early Tuesday morning in response to Nagoya's Mayor Takashi Kawamura's denial of the notorious war crime.

The Nanjing delegation led by Liu Zhiwei, a member of the Nanjing City Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, visited the Japanese city of Nagoya just days ago. Nanjing and Nagoya have been sister cities for 34 years, since 1978.

Mayor Kawamura told Liu Zhiwei during their meeting on Monday that he thought the massacre of civilians by Japanese troops in 1937 never took place.

The delegation responded that night, charging that Kawamura was irresponsible, distorted reality, and showed disrespect for Nanjing's people. They expressed the wish that Kawamura would face history, learn from it, and do more to contribute to a friendship between the two cities and countries.

"The mayor was irresponsible to say these words and he has an entirely subjective view of history," was the remark made by Zhu Chengsha, president of the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre, who added, "The fact that the Japanese army butchered Nanjing civilians was established by verdict of the Far East International Military Tribunal, and substantiated by a huge body of evidence."