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A memorial service to mark the eightieth anniversary of the Nanjing Bloodbath dedicated by the Japanese navy throughout World Conflict II introduced collectively a whole lot of activists and members of the Chinese language and different Asian communities on Sunday in San Francisco.
The memorial, organized by the Rape of Nanking Redress Coalition, the Committee to Promote Reunification of China, the Alliance for Preserving the Reality of Sino-Japanese Conflict and Consolation Ladies Justice Coalition, has been held yearly for the previous 20 years with the intention of exposing the Japanese Imperial Military”s battle crimes and inspiring individuals to grasp and always remember the darkish chapter of historical past.
“The Japanese Military blatantly violated worldwide conventions and dedicated the extraordinarily merciless atrocity in Nanjing, the place 300,000 Chinese language civilians have been murdered and one third of the buildings have been destroyed,” mentioned Zha Liyou, appearing Chinese language consul basic in San Francisco, on the service.
Japanese troops captured Nanjing, which was China’s capital on the time, on Dec 13, 1937, commencing a slaughter that lasted greater than 40 days. Tens of 1000’s of girls have been raped.
“Our tales are linked. The destiny of over 400,000 ladies sexually enslaved by the Japanese Imperial Military throughout World Conflict II is a component and parcel of what occurred throughout the Nanjing Bloodbath,” mentioned Judith Mirkinson, president of the Consolation Ladies Justice Coalition.
She mentioned the twentieth century has been known as probably the most violent century within the historical past of the world, and that a method to make sure peace within the twenty first century is thru fact and reconciliation.
“Reconciliation doesn’t come with out fact. So the Japanese authorities should acknowledge their crimes,” she mentioned. “They need to give justice to these few individuals who nonetheless survive from the Nanjing Bloodbath and to the reminiscence of what occurred there.”
From the time that Japan invaded northeast China in September 1931, adopted by a full-scale invasion that began on July 7, 1937, round 35 million Chinese language troopers and civilians have been killed or injured throughout the Japanese occupation, which continued till 1945.
To honor the victims and the survivors, and to pursue justice and an everlasting peace, the Chinese language neighborhood worldwide joined arms this yr to commemorate this historic occasion which was designated by the Chinese language authorities as Nationwide Memorial Day for Nanjing Bloodbath Victims.
“To recollect the atrocities dedicated by the Japanese Military throughout World Conflict II doesn’t imply to cross on the enmity however fairly to remind individuals to not neglect the historical past and encourage them to like peace,” mentioned Zha. “It could be a consolation to the victims and those that sacrificed their lives that the Nanjing Bloodbath has been etched into the reminiscence of the Chinese language individuals and the world civilization.”
The Nanjing Bloodbath was entered onto the UNESCO Reminiscence of the World Register, a compendium geared toward preserving documented heritage of common worth, in 2015.
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