China remembers dead of Nanjing
By Michael Bristow
BBC News, Nanjing
China is preparing to mark the 70th anniversary of the Nanjing massacre, during which 300,000 Chinese people are thought to have died.
The killings were carried out by Japanese soldiers after the capture of Nanjing on 13 December 1937.
A memorial hall that details the atrocities is due to reopen in the city after two years of renovations.
The Nanjing Massacre has come to symbolise imperial Japanese aggression in China.
New revelation
After capturing what was then the Chinese capital, invading Japanese soldiers went on an orgy of violence.
They raped, murdered, looted and tortured.
Although the killings took place seven decades ago, the memory is still fresh in many people's minds.
That is partly because in China, history is believed to be a guide to the future.
But the memory is also kept alive by continuing research into the atrocities.
A new monument has just been unveiled to mark a previously unknown incident during the massacre in which 1,300 Chinese people died.
That story came to light only because a Japanese researcher persuaded former solders to tell their stories.
It is revelations like this, that ensure the memory is passed on to a new generation in China.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7141582.stm
Published: 2007/12/13 02:44:47 GMT
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