Ge Fengjin, son of Ge Daorong, a survivor of the Nanjing Massacre, left Nanjing for Japan Friday, where he will hold testimony meetings to convey the truth about the Nanjing Massacre in 1937 and remind people to never forget history.
Ge Daorong, a survivor of the massacre, was only 10 years old when Nanjing fell to Japanese invaders. He survived by escaping into the Safety Zone during the mass killing, but his three uncles did not.
"Eighty-two years have passed, my father has never forgotten that part of history," said Ge Fengjin.
His father spent more than 10 years writing down nearly 100,000 characters of what he witnessed in Nanjing. He titled it "Remembering History" and gave every family member a copy.
Since the 1980s, Ge Daorong has devoted himself to sharing his story. As he has gotten older, his son has taken over.
Ge Fengjin met with descendants of the Japanese invaders at a forum in Hiroshima last year. "We are different, but we share the same purpose -- to keep the peace," he said. "The Japanese representative told me he did not know how to face the descendants of the victims and hoped to atone for what his father has done. I said that though our fathers' experiences were very different, we are now working in the same direction."
During his visit, he will four hold testimony meetings in Osaka, Nagoya, Shizuoka and Tokyo. "I hope I can let more young Japanese people know the truth of the history and the value of peace," he said.
The Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the city on Dec. 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they killed about 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.
The number of registered survivors of the massacre has decreased to 78.
