Experts hail China's planned war memorial days

Chinese experts have hailed the country's planned designation of two national memorial days concerning conflict with Japan as effective means to remember history, cherish peace and convey the determination of the Chinese to safeguard peace.

"The purpose of commemorating a war is to keep us away from further wars, and the purpose of recalling a disaster is to avert more disasters," said Wang Jianlang, director of the Institute of Modern History under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Setting memorial days through legislation shows the Chinese people love peace, and it is aimed at better educating citizens, especially the young, to remember disasters brought by war and ensure there is no repeat, Wang said.

The country's top legislature is mulling designating two new national days, one, Sept 3, to mark victory in the anti-Japanese war and the other, Dec 13, to commemorate more than 300,000 Chinese killed by Japanese aggressors during the 1937 Nanjing Massacre, according to two draft decisions unveiled on Tuesday.

The draft decisions were submitted for review at the ongoing bi-monthly session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Zhu Chengshan, curator of the Nanjing Memorial Hall for Massacre Victims, said the Nanjing Massacre is a scar not only on Nanjing, China, but also the world.

"Holding national memorial services for the victims shows the Chinese nation's thinking on human rights and respect for life," Zhu said.

Setting memorial days to pay tribute to those killed in the world anti-fascist war is consistent with international practice and will help China to better communicate with others globally, according to Zhu.

The year of 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the Chinese people's victory in the anti-Japanese war as well as the world anti-fascist war.

The legislative move will help the country to carry out various commemorative activities at national level, instead of being restricted to the local level, said Li Zongyuan, deputy curator of Beijing's Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.