Memorial service for Nanjing Massacre victims gains global media attention

China on Saturday observed its first National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims, and the commemorative service gained worldwide media attention.

周六是我国首个南京大屠杀死难者国家公祭日，纪念活动引起了世界媒体的关注。

Hongkong's South China Morning Post reported that Chinese President Xi Jinping unleashed at a solemn ceremony some of his sharpest words to date against Japan's wartime atrocities in China more than seven decades ago.

据香港《南华早报》报道，中国国家主席习近平在庄严的公祭仪式上发表讲话，这是他就70年前日本犯下的罪行言辞最为激烈的一次。

Xi and others gathered at a memorial hall in Nanjing, where 77 years ago invading Japanese soldiers slaughtered more than 300,000 people, mostly unresisting civilians, the newspaper said.

习近平等人聚集在南京的一个纪念馆。77年前，就是在那里，侵华日军共屠杀30多万同胞，其中大多是没有反抗力的平民。

The newspaper quoted Xi as calling the massacre "a horrendous crime against humanity and a very dark page in the history of mankind" and stressing that history should not be altered with the passing of time, and facts not erased by crafty denial.

该报引述习近平的讲话，称南京大屠杀“是骇人听闻的反人类罪行，是人类历史上十分黑暗的一页”。

French news agency AFP noted that China for the first time held a national day of remembrance for the Japanese military rampage that killed 300,000 people, and cited Xi as saying that no one can deny the Nanjing Massacre.

法新社指出，中国举行首个南京大屠杀死难者国家公祭日纪念活动，并引述习近平的话说，任何人都不能否认南京大屠杀。

The crowd, who attended a ceremony in Nanjing to mark the 77th anniversary of the massacre, sang China's national anthem and observed a moment of silence as a siren symbolizing grief blared and the Chinese national flag flew at half-mast under clear skies, AFP noted.

在南京参加南京大屠杀77周年纪念活动的民众高唱中国国歌，默哀，拉响防空警报，中国国旗降半旗。

In an online report, BBC said Xi criticized Japanese nationalists for denying Japan's wartime atrocity in Nanjing. Xi told survivors that to deny a crime was to repeat it, but he insisted that the ceremony was to promote peace, not prolong hatred, BBC said.

BBC在一篇网络报道中说习近平批评了日本民族主义者试图否认南京大屠杀的存在。他对幸存者说，否认罪责就意味着重犯，但是他坚持纪念仪式是为了促进和平，而不是要延续仇恨。

Japan's Kyodo News Agency noted that in preparation for the state commemoration, the city of Nanjing decorated its streets with enormous banners, urging the public to "Inscribe history in your memory" and "Never forget our national humiliation."

日本共同社指出，为了迎接公祭日，南京的街道上挂上了巨大的横幅，呼吁市民“铭记历史”和“勿忘国耻”。

Japan's Asahi Shimbun said on its website that in February, China designated Sept 3 as the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and Dec 13 as the National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims, which shows that China attaches great importance to that part of history at a national level.

日本《朝日新闻》在其网站上写道，2月份，中国将9月3日确定为抗战胜利纪念日，将12月13日确定为南京大屠杀死难者国家公祭日，体现出中国从国家层面对历史的重视。

The Associated Press (AP) reported that Xi and other Chinese leaders attended a ceremony on the 77th anniversary of the Nanking Massacre to preserve memories of Japan's brutal invasion.

据美联社报道，习近平等中国领导人出席南京大屠杀77周年纪念仪式旨在呼吁民众铭记日本血腥侵略的历史。

Addressing soldiers, students and survivors of the December 1937 killings carried out by occupying Japanese troops, Xi slammed Japanese ultra-nationalists who seek to deny the massacre, AP noted.

报道称，在对军人、学生和南京大屠杀幸存者发表的讲话中，习近平谴责日本极端民族主义者试图否认南京大屠杀的存在。

Invading Japanese troops captured Nanjing, then China's capital, on Dec 13, 1937, and started a 40-odd-day slaughter. More than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers were murdered and about 20,000 women were raped.

1937年12月13日，侵华日军占领南京，开始了长达四十多天的屠杀。超过三十万手无寸铁的平民和士兵惨遭杀戮，大约两万名妇女早到蹂躏。

"Anyone who tries to deny the massacre will not be allowed by history, the souls of the 300,000 deceased victims, the 1.3 billion Chinese people, and all people who love peace and justice in the world," Xi said.

习近平在讲话中说：“任何人要否认南京大屠杀惨案这一事实，历史不会答应，30万无辜死难者的亡灵不会答应，13亿中国人民不会答应，世界上一切爱好和平与正义的人民都不会答应。”

"Only if everyone cherishes and safeguards peace, and only if everyone remembers the bitter lessons of war, can there be hope for peace," he said. Meanwhile, Xi said the Chinese and Japanese people should live in friendship from generation to generation and make joint efforts to contribute to the peace of humanity.

他说，“只有人人都珍爱和平、维护和平，只有人人都记取战争的惨痛教训，和平才是有希望的。”同时，他表示中日两国人民应该世代友好下去，以史为鉴、面向未来，共同为人类和平作出贡献。

"We should not bear hatred against an entire nation just because a small minority of militarists launched aggressive wars. The responsibility for war crimes lies with a few militarists, but not the people. However, we cannot at any time forget the severe crimes committed by aggressors," he said.

“我们不应因一个民族中有少数军国主义分子发起侵略战争就仇视这个民族，战争的罪责在少数军国主义分子而不在人民，但人们任何时候都不应忘记侵略者所犯下的严重罪行。”

People who love peace and justice must remain highly cautious and firmly oppose words and actions that glorify war, he added.

他补充说，对这些错误言行，爱好和平与正义的人们必须高度警惕、坚决反对。