China is awaiting the upcoming memorial of one of the most tragic events in world history. The 13th of December is the day of memorial for the “Rape of Nanking” in 1931 during Japan’s invasion of China during the Second World War. According to Yonhap News, descendants of victims or those who lost family members in this atrocity are reported to have filed a resolution to the United Nations, heavily criticizing the Japanese government.
In the early 1930s, when even before Nazi Germany had invaded Poland, the Japanese military invaded Manchuria and Chinese mainland in their quest for world domination. In just weeks, Japanese forces captured all of China’s major cities including Beijing, Hong Kong, Macao and Shanghai.
Nanking was another city that was occupied by the Japanese military during the Second World War. This city was bombarded and captured by Japanese infantry. Thousands of civilians were massacred by Japanese soldiers and driven out of their homes. Numerous Chinese women were forced to serve as prostitutes for the Japanese forces, which earned the event its name, the “Rape of Nanking”.
Unlike Germany however, Japan has made no movements to compensate for any of the war crime it had committed during World War II. In addition, it is known that the Shinzo Abe administration and institutes of education are removing information regarding such war crimes from history text books. In response, descendants of victims of the Rape of Nanking, and those who had lost families during this atrocity had mailed a resolution signed by 3,380 people on the 28th of November.
The purpose of this resolution was to persuade the Japanese government to stop forging historical facts that present Japan as another victim of World War II, and to make compensation to all the victims of Japan’s war crimes. The resolution was written in Chinese, English, Japanese, French and German. It is uncertain whether the U.N. has received it yet or not.
On the 13th, the anniversary of the Rape of Nanking, there will be a special ceremony to remember those who died and suffered during the massacre, and Chinese chairman, Xi Jinping and other lead figures will be present at the event.
