Chinese embassies around the world have been hosting receptions to mark the 76th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China(PRC) on Oct 1.
The Chinese Embassy in Ghana hosted a reception last week in Accra, the Ghanaian capital, to celebrate the anniversary and the 65th anniversary of the establishment of China-Ghana diplomatic relations.
Approximately 1,200 guests attended the event, including local political dignitaries and representatives of Chinese-funded enterprises in Ghana.
"We acknowledge the initiatives from China and how they align with our commitment and we also acknowledge the ways in which we can [moving] forward the relationship even more," said Ghanaian Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang addressing the event.
The Chinese Embassy in Liberia hosted an anniversary reception in the capital Monrovia earlier in September, gathering over 400 distinguished guests including Liberian President Joseph Boakai.
"Liberia and China have enjoyed an long out-standing friendship since the establishment of the diplomatic relations on February 17, 1977. Over the years, our partnership has brought tangible benefits to our people through collaboration, the [development of] infrastructure, health, education and many other vital services," said Boakai.
More than 500 guests including Natalia Kiselova, Speaker of the National Assembly of Bulgaria and Tsoncho Ganev, the Deputy Speaker, participated in a National Day reception hosted last week by the Chinese Embassy in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.
At the reception, the inaugural China-Bulgaria cultural exchange contribution award was also presented.
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to all those who support and contribute to Bulgarian-Chinese relations. I wish you health and prosperity and I hope for peace and mutual progress between our two friendly nations. May the friendship between China and Bulgaria last forever," said Kiselova in her address.
The Chinese Embassy in Mongolia hosted a National Day reception and an exhibition of Chinese high-tech products, with nearly 400 guests in attendance, including senior officials from Mongolia's political parties, the government and the military.
Benjamin Dousa, Sweden's Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, was among more than 800 guests at the anniversary reception at the Chinese Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.
In Spain, Yolanda Diaz, Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain, and Alfonso Rodriguez Gomez de Celis, First Vice President of the Spanish Congress of Deputies, were among the more than 1,000 guests at the Chine Embassy reception in the capital Madrid. Attendees also toured an exhibition on China's development and intangible cultural heritage.
"The cooperation between China and Spain has resulted in mutual trust, economic, educational and cultural exchanges, and an ever-deeper understanding between our societies," said Diaz.
The Chinese Embassy in Myanmar organized a reception, where guests viewed a photo exhibition on China's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and watched a video presentation highlighting China's development.
Chinese embassies host receptions to mark 76th anniversary of founding of PRC
International guests who have dedicated their lives to historical truth joined China's 12th national memorial event honoring the hundreds of thousands of victims killed by Japanese troops in the Nanjing Massacre during World War II.
The memorial was held on Saturday at the public square of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province. China's national flag was flown at half-mast in the presence the crowd that included survivors of the massacre, local students, and international guests.
In one of the most barbaric episodes during WWII, the Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital Nanjing on Dec 13, 1937. Over the course of six weeks, they proceeded to kill approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers.
Joining the crowd was Christoph Reinhardt, the great-grandson of John Rabe (1882-1950) who was then a representative of German conglomerate Siemens in the war-ravaged Nanjing. During the Nanjing Massacre, Rabe set up an international safety zone with other foreigners, and they together saved the lives of around 250,000 Chinese people between 1937 and 1938 from the Japanese invaders.
Throughout the massacre, Rabe continued to keep a diary. To this day, all his pages remain one of the most comprehensive historical records of the atrocities committed by the Japanese aggressors.
Sayoko Yamauchi, who was also in the crowd of mourners, arrived in Nanjing on Friday from Japan's Osaka to attend Saturday's ceremony, just as she has done almost every year since China designated Dec 13 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 2014.
Yamauchi's grandfather was one of the Japanese soldiers who invaded Nanjing in January 1938. However, since first setting foot in Nanjing in 1987, she has dedicated herself to uncovering and spreading the truth about Japan's history of aggression and enlightening the Japanese public about their country's wartime atrocities.
In 2014, ahead of China's first National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Yamauchi, along with 10 other individuals, received an award for her special contribution to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders.
By attending the grand memorial event, Reinhardt and Yamauchi both said they hope to convey a message of remembering history and cherishing peace.
"This is my fifth visit to China, and Nanjing, and the third times I visited the ceremony. I have a wish that these survivors survive again and again and again. But my other wish is that the families of the survivors, that they transport the information, the right intention like their ancestors, because anyone must hold a hand (during) this remembering," Reinhardt told China Central Television (CCTV) in an interview before the event began on Saturday.
"Our delegation is on its 20th visit to China, coming to Nanjing to express our heartfelt condolences to those who perished 88 years ago, to remember this history, and to reflect on what we can do for a new future. That's why we are here," Yamauchi told CCTV on board the bus that took her to a local hotel in Nanjing on Friday evening.
Int'l guests call for remembering history at China's national event honoring Nanjing Massacre victims
