Nanking massacre memorial day is no different to Pearl Harbour remembrance, says Beijing
Remembering rape of Nanking and victory day similar to how Pearl Harbour attack and D-Day are treated in US and Europe, ministry says
Beijing yesterday said commemorating the Nanking massacre was as natural as Americans remembering the attack on Pearl Harbour, in an attempt to rebut Tokyo's questioning of China's designation of two war-remembrance days.
The National People's Congress this week designated September 3 as victory day and December 13 as a day to remember those killed by Japanese troops in Nanjing .
China maintains that Japanese troops slaughtered more than 300,000 soldiers and civilians during a six-week campaign of terror, beginning on December 13, 1937, known as the rape of Nanking. Some foreign academics have given a lower death toll but most historians agree the massacre took place.
"I would like to stress that nearly 70 years after the second world war, some people and some countries are forgetful about history, and have selective memory loss," foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said at a daily press briefing yesterday.
"The Chinese people will never forget their great and huge sacrifice in the war against Japanese aggression, nor will they forget the [Nanking] massacre."