China Daily Global Edition (USA)
Keeper of the past for the present
Wang Jianxue, a professor at the Party School of Liaoning province, who also serves as a consultant to the 9.18 Historical Museum in Shenyang, the capital of the province, has long been committed to promoting and protecting the city’s sites and history related to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45).
“Shenyang not only has many memorable war-related buildings, it is also home to many iconic figures such as Wang Tiehan, a hero who led his men to fire back against Japanese aggression on the night of Sept 18, 1931, and nine men who voluntarily collected evidence of Japanese crimes in China during the war and submitted the evidence to the United Nations after the war,” Wang said.
“Those people showed strong patriotism and I’d like people to know more about them and respect what they did.” Wang has made great efforts to protect the historical sites and preserve the memory of local figures related to the War of Resistance over the past few years.
The Site Museum of Shenyang POW Camp of WWII Allied Forces has been opened to the public since May 18, 2013. Yet this key site from the war was almost destroyed, when a property developer planned to knock down the walls around it in 2005.
“It cannot be called a prisoners camp if there is no wall around the site. The results would be very serious,” Wang told local media in 2005.
The wall was finally saved and promoted by Wang, the camp has become a key protected national heritage site in Shenyang.
Wang serves as a consultant to the museum.
He also serves as a consultant to the China (Shenyang) Japanese Criminals Special Military Court Museum, which, after nearly 10
Wang Jianxue,
a professor at the Party School of Liaoning province
Shenyang not only has many memorable war-related buildings, it is also home to many iconic figures.”
years of development, opened on May 18, 2014.
Wang said the son of a Japanese soldier tried at the court found the site to be old and shabby, surrounded by new buildings, when he visited in 2006.
“I felt bad,” Wang said. “I could not tolerate its neglect.”
Apart from promoting the protection and renovation of heritage sites such as these, Wang has also long promoted the idea that the Chinese army in Northeast China fought against the invading Japanese troops since Sept 18, 1931, which is different from major historians’ opinion.
He confirmed this after he saw seven old photos, taken in 1931, in the collection of Zhan Hongge in 2008. China’s education authority accepted the opinion that the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression lasted 14 years and began promoting 1931 was the start of the war at the beginning of 2017.