On December 13, 2017, the state memorial ceremony for the Nanjing Massacre victims was held in the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.
On that day 80 years ago, the Japanese army captured Nanjing and then killed over 300,000 civilians in the following six weeks.
Hatred can be forgotten, but not the history.
President Xi Jinping and senior officials attended the national memorial ceremony.
Sirens sounded across the city as if weeping and mourning at 10 a.m. As the proverbs says, "Lessons we have learned from the past can guide us in the future." The national humiliation shall never be forgotten, and China will be revitalized.
Meanwhile, those foreign friends and Christians who voluntarily stayed in Nanjing to help refugees despite the danger ahead, including John Rabe, John Magee, and Minnie Vautrin should be remembered.
They risked their lives to set up the Nanking Safety Zone Committee and aided more than 250,000 people in Nanjing.
At that time, John Rabe documented Japanese atrocities in his diary; Father John Magee filmed the genocide; Minnie Vautrin, whom folks of Nanjing nicknamed "Ms. Hua Qun," saved hundreds of Chinese women from being raped by Japanese troops every day.
Afterwards, Father Magee showed the evidence of the massacre with his film at the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. The Japanese war criminals were judged guilty in the court ruling.
We are grateful for the humanitarian deeds, refugee protection, and assistance carried out by and virtue of justice of the international friends and church people.
The Chinese people should keep the memory of the history and work for peace and justice!
Be peace-loving and don't forget "December 13th".
Note: Twenty-four foreign missionaries and businessmen established the Nanking Safety Zone, which protected 250,000 Chinese civilians. The group consisted of 14 Americans, six Germans, one Dane, two Belarusians, and one Austrian.
- Translated by Karen Luo
