Nanjing Massacre should be remembered by the world

Memories of the massacre in Nanjing 77 years ago should not only be remembered as crimes against the Chinese, but atrocities against all that is human.

On December 13, 1937, the invading Japanese army took Nanjing, the Chinese capital at the time. Over the next six weeks they proceeded to rape, torture and and slaughter Chinese people in the city, with over 300,000 civilians and unarmed combatants killed and over 20,000 cases of rape happened. This was the Nanjing Massacre.

China's first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims falls on Saturday, exactly 77 years after the carnage began. It will remind people of the immense sufferings of the Chinese and indeed, all of mankind in the war. The day will manifest China's steadfast attitude to human dignity and world peace.

The memorial day will bring the massacre closer to the place it deserves in history, and perhaps jolt Japan out of its state of historical amnesia, particularly among the right wing.

The massacre is typical of Japan's crimes during the WWII, if on a much larger scale. The Nanjing war crimes tribunal and international military tribunal for the Far East have both clearly placed all the blame for the events on militarized Japan. Nonetheless, right-wing Japanese nationalists refuse to recognize the numbers of victims, discredit survivors, and even go so far as to claim that the Nanjing massacre was entirely fabricated.

Some of them visit Yasukuni Shrine, which honors war criminals. Some tamper with school textbooks, replacing truth with omissions and lies, and erasing the invasion from the minds of Japanese nationals.

The massacre is not part of collective memory of Japan where, wallowing in self-pity, many only remember the atomic bombs, a direct result of their own belligerence.

It is not uncommon to preserve war memories by national mourning days. Countries including Poland, Russia, Japan and Germany all have special days to pay homage to the war dead.

Events in China are comparatively less well known than other atrocities during WWII. In the West, Nanjing Massacre was largely forgotten partly because of the U.S. post-war policy towards Japan and the Cold War power game.

Today, some Western countries ignore China's contribution to WWII and turn a blind eye to Japan's chicanery. It's nothing more than a new appeasement policy, casting history into oblivion.

Memorial Day comes one year ahead of the 70th victory anniversary of China's war against the Japanese aggressors as well as WWII. Commemorating the Nanjing massacre may revive the world's memory of the Asian holocaust.

With time passing, the victims and survivors are getting old and dying, so it is of utmost urgency to dust off the memories of the massacre.

In China, Memorial Day will remind the whole nation to love their country. It is not only a ceremony for the dead, but an inspiration for the country in its pursuit of national revitalization and realization of Chinese dream.

China has repeatedly said that the commemoration is not to incite hatred. Just like Li Xiuying, a late survivor of Nanjing Massacre, once said: "What we should remember is history rather than hatred."

The Nanjing Massacre should be remembered by the world so that continuous efforts will be made to prevent return of such atrocities and continuous efforts will be made to safeguard world peace.