Air-raid sirens sounded at 9:18 p.m. on Sunday and rang for
three minutes at 227 places in Shenyang City, capital of northeast
China's Liaoning
Province, to mark the September 18 Incident 74 years ago.
Buses and cars in the street also stopped to toot their
horns.
A group of 12 people selected from all walks of life struck a
big bell 14 times to mark the city's 14-year fight
against the Japanese invasion.
On September 18, 1931, the Japanese army blew up a section of
the Dalian-Harbin Railway near Shenyang, and then accused Chinese
troops of sabotage. The Japanese bombarded Chinese barracks near
Shenyang that evening, thus starting a massive armed invasion of
northeastern China. Japan then launched an all-out invasion of
China over the following 14 years.
This is the 11th year that Shenyang has commemorated the event
with air-raid sirens. The idea was first mooted by Hao Songqing, an
82-year-old Shenyang resident, 10 years ago.
"Sirens were sounded to remind people never to forget the
history and national humiliation," said Zhang Yibo, honorary
chairman of the Liaoning Provincial "September 18 Incident"
Research Institute, who has long appealed to the government to make
September 18 a "Day of National Humiliation."
Sunday, September 18 also happened to be the start of the
Mid-Autumn Festival. Despite this, many young people in
Liaoning Province preferred not to hold their wedding ceremonies
then. The city's Association of Industry and Commerce called on its
15,000 member economic entities not to hold any festival
celebrations. Rather, they were encouraged to hang the national
flag as a mark of respect.
"I want my son to have a better understanding of the history and
cherish the happy life we have today," said a lady surnamed Cui,
who, along with her husband, brought their only son to attend the
air-raid sirens ceremony that was held at the Memorial Hall of the
September 18 Incident.
On the same day, several other official and non-official
commemorative activities were held in different parts of the
country.
In Beijing, more than 1,000 freshmen at the Engineering Academy
of the Armored Forces pledged to join the service on Sunday morning
at the Memorial Hall of the Chinese People's War of Resistance
against Japanese Aggression.
"We hold such a ceremony at the memorial hall every year," said
Li Zhiguo, a political commissar with the academy. "We want new
servicemen never to forget the national humiliation, know their
mission and contribute more to the national defense cause."
"I feel I'm lucky to live a happy life today and we all should
cherish that," said 21-year-old Qiao Ning, a college student, who
visited the memorial hall on Sunday.
In Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu
Province, many people flocked to the Memorial Hall of Victims
of the Nanjing Massacre to mourn the dead.
Invading Japanese troops occupied Nanjing on December 13, 1937,
and launched a six-week long massacre. Historical records show that
more than 300,000 Chinese people, not only disarmed soldiers but
also civilians, were slain during this time.
"We can not forget those who died in the war," said Zhu
Chengshan, curator of the memorial hall, "We must work for the
rejuvenation of the Chinese nation so that we can enjoy a peaceful
and happy life of reunion forever."
A group of 38 people from the Japanese business community also
visited the memorial.
They said, as the offspring of the Japanese soldiers who brought
grief to the Chinese people, they apologized to Chinese people and
would take the responsibility to work for the progress of mankind's
civilization and for everlasting peace.
Like Shenyang, more than 100 Chinese cities sounded air-raid
sirens and alarms to commemorate the day.
(Xinhua News Agency September 19, 2005)
