China holds national memorial for Nanjing Massacre victims, calling for remembrance of history

The 12th national memorial day was observed in Nanjing on Saturday to honor about 300,000 victims killed by Japanese troops during the Nanjing Massacre, in a year that marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II (WWII).

Despite the winter chill, thousands dressed in dark attire gathered 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, with white flowers pinned to their chests, to take part in the ceremony.

China's national flag was flown at half-mast in front of the crowd that included survivors of the massacre, local students and international guests.

Sirens began blaring at 10:01. Drivers in the downtown area stopped their vehicles and honked in unison, while pedestrians paused to observe a moment of silence in memory of the victims.

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

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 Nanjing Massacre took place when Japanese troops captured the then-Chinese capital on Dec 13, 1937. Over the course of six weeks, they proceeded to kill approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of WWII.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated December 13 as a national memorial day for the massacre victims. The Chinese government has also preserved survivors' testimonies in both written transcripts and on video. These documents on the massacre were listed on UNESCO's Memory of the World Register in 2015.

Eight survivors of the Nanjing Massacre have passed away since the beginning of 2025, reducing the number of living registered survivors to 24.

This year commemorates the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The only way to move on with hope for a peaceful future is to remember this tragic past.

China holds national memorial for Nanjing Massacre victims, calling for remembrance of history

The on-site search for survivors has largely concluded following a deadly explosion at a fireworks factory in central China's Hunan Province on Monday, which killed 26 people and injured 61 others, local authorities said at a news conference on Tuesday.

The blast occurred at around 16:40 on Monday at a workshop of Huasheng Fireworks Manufacturing and Display Co., Ltd. in Liuyang, a county-level city under Changsha, the provincial capital.

Officials paused to mourn the victims at the beginning of the news conference. Among the injured, 55 with minor wounds have received treatment and are in stable conditions.

"More than 1,500 personnel from the fire, emergency response, public security and health departments have been deployed to carry out rescue operations, on-site response and medical treatment in an orderly manner. On-site search and rescue has now basically completed, and identity verification of the victims is underway. The leaders of the company concerned have been taken into legal custody. Real-time monitoring of air and water shows that the relevant environmental indicators are normal," said Chen Bozhang, mayor of Changsha City and deputy secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Changsha Municipal Committee.

The Hunan provincial fire and rescue authorities dispatched 482 personnel, 116 fire trucks, 15 sniffer dogs, 18 drones, six robots and one robot dog to the scene, successfully pulling out seven trapped individuals.

"Next, we will concentrate the best medical resources to conduct case-by-case assessments of the injured, closely monitor their conditions, and dynamically adjust treatment plans to provide meticulous care. A special task force has been set up for follow-up assistance, adopting a 'one special team for one victim (family)' approach to proactively contact the families of the deceased and injured, and establish a closed-loop mechanism for learning about and addressing their needs," Chen said.

The mayor also vowed a full, transparent investigation into the cause of the accident.

"We will fully cooperate in the accident investigation, strictly adhering to the principles of seeking truth from facts and confronting problems head-on. We will carry out a comprehensive, in-depth and penetrating investigation to fully reconstruct the entire process and chain of the accident," he said.

Since 19:00 on Monday, all fireworks production enterprises in Changsha have suspended operations for safety rectification. Citywide safety inspections are underway to close regulatory loopholes, reinforce corporate responsibility and improve overall safety standards.

Death toll rises to 26 in central China fireworks plant explosion