Services commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre have once again been held across our city, on this, 13 December. While much of the attention fell on the Nanjing Massacre Memorial, people all over Nanjing have been paying their respects.
With 3,000 mourners present, the only sound to be heard above the Memorial square in the moments leading up to the start of this morning’s ceremony was the slight flutter of the Chinese flag flying at half mast in the gentle breeze.
In contrast with the COVID era of 2020 and 2021, this year’s Memorial was a masks-on affair. During the previous two ceremonies, attendees were to wear masks until just before proceedings got under way.
Each year, a number of survivors of the Nanjing Massacre are also present at the ceremony. This year, front and centre, were five of those who had endured the events in Nanjing which commenced 85 years ago today.
Nanjing first recorded the number of survivors of the Massacre in 1987. That number was then 1,756. With the passage of time, the number of these historical witnesses has dwindled year by year. It stands today at just 54, with seven more having departed us in 2022.
On a wall inside the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, each survivor’s photo is illuminated. Its lamp goes out with the passing of each.
Also present today, healthcare workers and various representatives of the medical profession, by way of acknowledgment for their efforts in the fight against COVID.
As 10:00 came and went, there followed the sounding of the city’s air-raid sirens, the assembled bowing heads in observance of a minute of silence, the singing of the national anthem and a lengthy address by Cai Qi, the central government’s representative for this year’s Memorial.
A native of Fujian Province, Cai is currently a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, Chairman of the Organising Committee for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics, and Secretary of the Party Leadership Group.
Outside, all over Nanjing, people stopped their daily routine to pause for 1 minute’s silence. Traffic police stood, heads bowed, in front of columns of vehicles, as drivers emerged to follow suit.
Services of respect were also held in places such as John Rabe’s former residence, that of he who established, with others, the Nanking Safety Zone. The approximate size of Central Park in New York, the Zone is credited with saving 200,000 lives.
As the Peace Bell rang out to bring to a close this year’s Memorial, the key takeaway must surely be the increasing importance of remembering the tragedy of 1937. With evidence of the atrocities ever-more scarce, together with those who witnessed such, so history need be forever preserved, in order that we learn from it, rather than become a part of it.
