This year marks the 68th year of the Nanjing Massacre, when invading Japanese troops slaughtered more than 300,000 people in the East China city. A special tribute to honor the victims is being held at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall. And on the same day, a foundation laying ceremony to mark the expansion of the hall is also being held.
More than 3,000 people from all walks of life expressed their condolences for the over 300-thousand Chinese victims of the Nanjing Massacre. It's a tragic period of history they, and all Chinese, will never forget. Among the survivors is 92-year-old Wu Xiulan, who lost her left leg, and two little sons, 68 years ago today.
Wu Xiulan, Nanjing Massacre Survivor, said, "The scene is still fresh in my mind. I will never forget it."
To preserve those memories in the minds of all Chinese, construction on the expansion of the Memorial Hall began on Tuesday. Here, additional items related to the atrocious massacre will be displayed to the world. The whole construction project is expected to finish in 2007.
Ren Yanshen, Vice-Governor of Jiangsu Province, said, "We will pass these very sad memories on to future generations."
But to this day, many in the Japanese government refuses to acknowledge its brutal past. The cover-up goes deep. Earlier this year, a new history textbook was approved for Japanese schools. Containing deceptive language, the text refers to the Nanjing Massacre as a mere "incident" in which "many" Chinese were killed. The textbook also fails to use the word "invasion" when it refers to Japan's occupation of other Asian countries in the first half of the 20th century.
Some people don't look at history objectively. They try to distort or whitewash it. However, the ironclad facts of truth cannot be denied. Events that happened can neither be changed nor erased.
