NANJING, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — In a solemn show of remembrance, the folks of Nanjing noticed a second of silence as sirens resonated all through the town on Friday, marking China’s nationwide memorial ceremony to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre.
Despite the winter chill, hundreds of individuals clad in darkish apparel gathered in Nanjing, east China’s Jiangsu Province, with white flowers pinned to their chests, to partake within the ceremony.
China’s nationwide flag was flown at half-mast in entrance of the group, which included survivors of the bloodbath, native college students and worldwide pals.
At 10:01 a.m., sirens started to blare. Drivers within the downtown space stopped their automobiles, honking in unison, whereas pedestrians paused to watch a second of silence in reminiscence of the victims.
Over 80 younger folks recited a declaration of peace, and citizen representatives struck the Bell of Peace. In a poignant image of hope, white doves had been launched, hovering over the sq. of the Memorial Hall of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.
The Nanjing Massacre happened when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital on Dec. 13, 1937. Over the course of six weeks, they proceeded to kill roughly 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed troopers in one of the barbaric episodes of World War II.
A decade in the past, China’s high legislature designated Dec. 13 because the nationwide memorial day for the victims of the atrocities.
Since final 12 months’s nationwide memorial day, six survivors of the bloodbath have handed away, leaving solely 32 registered survivors nonetheless alive as we speak.
The Chinese authorities has preserved the testimonies of those survivors by means of written paperwork and video recordings. In 2015, these data had been inscribed on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, making certain that this harrowing chapter of historical past is remembered by future generations.