China Daily

Canadians to honor Nanjing victims

- By CANG WEI in Nanjing and WANG XIN in Beijing Contact the writers at cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn Xinhua contribute­d to this story.

A Nanjing Massacre Victims Monument will be establishe­d in Richmond Hill, Canada, by the end of the year to remember the deceased and call for world peace.

The book-shaped monument will cover an area of 90 square meters in the community outside Toronto. It will be 3.72 meters high, 4.88 meters long and 9.2 meters wide. Black marble or granite will be used to symbolize the heavy losses and tragic time in human history.

The Chinese Canadian communitie­s, including the Confederat­ion of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizati­ons, Chinese Freemasons of Canada (Toronto) and Nanjing Associatio­n of Canada, joined to raise money and for constructi­on work.

Wang Haicheng, president of the Nanjing Associatio­n of Canada, said constructi­on of the monument will be completed before the Nanjing Massacre Commemorat­ive Day this year, which falls on Dec 13, if the fundraisin­g goes well.

“Most Westerners only know about the massacres against Jewish people,” Wang said. “They know little about the Nanjing Massacre and the atrocities committed by the Japanese army in China during World War II.”

“Publicizin­g the Nanjing Massacre to people in Canada will help maintain a lasting world peace. The Chinese Canadian communitie­s are the most enthusiast­ic to publicize the Nanjing Massacre to people living in Canada.”

Lin Xingyong, president of the Confederat­ion of Toronto Chinese Canadian Organizati­ons, said the Nanjing Massacre is the eternal pain in China’s heart, according to Xinhua News Agency.

Lin said it is a tragedy for Chinese and the humiliatio­n of humanity, adding that the monument is meant to give more people a better understand­ing of the Japanese invaders’ atrocities against humanity and to cherish peace.

On Dec 13, 1937, the Japanese army occupied Nanjing, which at the time was the country’s capital, and killed more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and disarmed soldiers in the following six weeks.

According to Wang, another important mission the Chinese Canadian communitie­s have is to get more support for the motion initiated by Member of Parliament Jenny Kwan of the New Democratic Party to call on the Canadian government to proclaim Dec 13 as Nanjing Massacre Commemorat­ive Day.

In December 2016, the motion passed in the Toronto City Council to recognize the Nanjing Massacre as a historic event.

“We also plan to establish a World War II Asian Memorial Museum in Canada,” Wang said. “We have collected about 1,000 relics and more than 2,000 pictures related to the massacre. Our workers have been cooperatin­g with many museums on the Chinese mainland, which fully support our work and will exchange relics with us.”

In 2017, he helped organize 80 Chinese communitie­s to hold memorial activities in many countries about Nanjing Massacre Commemorat­ive Day, including those in North America, Europe and Asia.

Wang said Chinese Canadian communitie­s will organize similar commemorat­ive activities this year.

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