On Saturday, Dec. 13, President Xi Jinping and Xia Shuqin were joined by 1.3 billion countrymen to commemorate the Nanjing Massacre victims.
Xia was an 85-year-old lady that survived the brutal killings by Japanese troops 77 years ago. To remember the victims, Xi with Xia and a school boy unveiled a type of ancient Chinese cauldron signifying state power and opulence called a memorial "ding."
They were joined by some 10,000 representatives from all over China in all walks of life. They wore white flowers on the collar, which is a sign of sympathy in China.
China stood still at 10 a.m. as happenings for the first ever National Memorial in recognition of the Nanjing Massacre victims were ensued in Nanjing and the whole of China.
"The purpose of the memorial ceremony for Nanjing Massacre victims is to recall that every good-hearted person yearns for and holds a firm stance of peace, but does not try to prolong hatred," Xi said.
On Dec. 13, 1937, Japanese troops invaded the then capital of China, Nanjing, and started a 40-day rampage of slaughter. Over 20,000 women were raped and more than 300,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians were executed.
In the words of Xia, a team of 30 Japanese soldiers raided their home and killed her father, her mother, her one-year-old sister, her grandparents, and raped her elder sisters in another room.
"I hid in the quilt. I didn't dare to cry loudly, but was stabbed three times by Japanese soldiers. I lost consciousness, but woke up from my four-year-old sister's cry. The dead bodies of my family were everywhere. We yelled, 'Mom, mom,' but nobody responded," Xia recalled.
Amid recurring denials of war crimes by Japanese nationalist right-wing groups, China intends to spearhead the National Memorial Day. President Xi Jinping states that anyone who tries to deny the massacre will not be allowed by history, according to China.org.
The event also comes a year ahead of the 70th victory anniversary of China's war against the Japanese invaders and triumph in WWII.