China marks 84th anniversary of Nanking massacre amid charged relations with Japan
- ‘We are willing to build a Sino-Japanese relationship that meets the requirements of the new era,’ Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan says
- China estimates more than 300,000 civilians and soldiers died in the six weeks after Japanese troops entered Nanking – a figure disputed by Japan
Speaking at the ceremony, which was broadcast live on state broadcaster CCTV, Sun Chunlan, vice-premier and a Politburo member, said the service showed the will of the Chinese people to learn from history and their unswerving desire to follow a path of peaceful development.
“Only by correctly understanding history can we grasp the way forward. We are willing to build a Sino-Japanese relationship that meets the requirements of the new era … and work with all peace-loving people in the world to build a world of lasting peace and universal security, common prosperity, openness and tolerance, cleanness and beauty,” she said.
The day has always been a source of bitter grievance in China about wartime history. According to China’s official estimate, more than 300,000 civilians and soldiers were killed in the six weeks after Japanese troops entered Nanking, then the national capital, on December 13, 1937.
The number is disputed by Japan, which only concedes that “the killing of a large number of non-combatants, looting and other acts occurred”. Japan says it is difficult to determine precise figures.
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Previously, there were hopes bilateral relations could at least warm slightly after Fumio Kishida, long known as a moderate politician, became Japan’s prime minister in October.
Besides the memorial service, an array of activities was held across the country on Monday, including the exhibition of photos taken during World War II, film screenings in universities and vigils.
Tom Han, 29, has lived in Nanjing for four years and works for a public transport company, helping to manage traffic.
“It’s a bit busier than usual because the bus and subway stations near Yunjin Road [where the public ceremony was held] were closed,” he said, adding that he was so busy with meetings he didn’t hear the air defence alarm marking the occasion.
He had visited the memorial museum when he was 15 years old, but it made little impression then.
Han said he had complex feelings about China’s neighbour while also being a fan of Japanese brands, Japanese cookware and appliances.
“[I have] a little bit of national hatred, I think, from history textbooks and mainstream film and television propaganda, but I only discuss it with people close to me. We would not do anything radical,” he said.
“I hope that China and Japan can still deep cooperate with each other, it’s most beneficial to the people. Japan’s technology is really excellent.”
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The memorial hall stores oral histories about the massacre and has established a digital database and profile for each survivor.
Song Shaopeng, a professor of gender and politics at Renmin University of China, said that since the 1990s, the narratives of the comfort women had shifted from “sexual service” to “sexual violence.
“The comfort women’s victimisation narratives are in line with the Chinese ‘victim nationalism’, thus making them visible as evidence of national oppression during a historical period of rising nationalist/patriotic discourse,” Song said.