China commemorates Nanjing Massacre victims in National Memorial Ceremony

China holds the 12th national memorial ceremony on Saturday to mourn the approximately 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre, which was perpetrated by Japanese invaders in 1937 in what is now the capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

The memorial ceremony began at 10:00 in front of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, with the national anthem performed and sung by attendees.

A moment of silence followed in honor of the victims. During this tribute, air-raid sirens resounded across the city of Nanjing, vehicles came to a stop with horns sounding, and pedestrians paused in remembrance.

Following the moment of silence, eight large wreaths were presented to the memorial altar by the Guard of Honor.

Shi Taifeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, then delivered a speech.

At the memorial ceremony, 88 representatives of Nanjing youth recited the Declaration for Peace, a poem authored by late writer Feng Yitong (1941-2023) in 2014 in memorial of those who perished in the massacre, and six representatives from various social sectors then tolled the Bell of Peace.

As the bell sounded three times, 3,000 white doves, symbolizing the longing for peace, were released and flew over the memorial hall's square.

Parallel commemorative activities were held simultaneously at 17 burial sites of the Nanjing Massacre victims, in 12 communities, and at patriotic education centers across Jiangsu Province that focus on the history of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression.

The National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre was formally established on Feb. 27, 2014, by the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress, designating Dec. 13 as an annual day of remembrance through legislative procedure. This year's observance carried particular significance, as it coincides with the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

The Nanjing Massacre lasted over 40 days after Japanese forces captured Nanjing, then China's capital, on Dec. 13, 1937. The atrocities resulted in the deaths of more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and disarmed soldiers, and included the rape of some 20,000 women.

China commemorates Nanjing Massacre victims in National Memorial Ceremony

Attempts to curb China's scientific and technological advancement are futile, a fact that has already been proven, said Kishore Mahbubani, former permanent representative of Singapore to the United Nations, in an interview aired Friday.

In an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Beijing, Mahbubani said he had stated this position in one of his articles published in the United States.

"Actually, I published an article, you know the two, I guess two leading journals in the United States on international relations. One is Foreign Affairs and the other is Foreign Policy. And last year I co-authored an article with two other co-authors, saying that all the efforts to stop China's scientific and technological development will fail. And it has failed always. You know, for example, the Soviet Union tried to prevent the spread of nuclear technology to China, China develops its own. The United States didn't want to share its technology on international space station with China. China develops its own space station. So clearly, efforts to stop China in the area of scientific innovation and technological development have failed. And so it'd be wiser for the West, including United States, to work with China other than to try and stop China seek development," he said.

Regarding China's progress on robots, Mahbubani said China is leading the world in the sector and hopes the country will share its expertise with the rest of the world.

"If there's one country that is preparing for the future well, it is China, because one in six human beings in the world is Chinese. But one in three robots in the world is Chinese, and one in two baby robots being born every day is Chinese. So China is producing far more robots than any other country is. So clearly it's preparing for the world of the future when we will have, for example, labor shortages, as you know, as you develop an aging society. So China is wisely investing in robots. But I hope that China will also share its learning and expertise with other countries. Also because the robots like that can also be helpful even to developing countries cause you can enhance the productivity of their populations, of their factories and so on so forth. So the world should be happy that China is leading the world in manufacturing, producing robots," he said.

Attempts to stop China's sci-tech development doomed to fail: former Singaporean diplomat