Nanjing Incident Memorial Held in China on 88th Anniversary

Nanjing, China, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)–A state memorial ceremony marking the 88th anniversary of the Nanjing incident perpetrated by the former Imperial Japanese Army was held in Nanjing in the eastern China province of Jiangsu on Saturday. “We will never tolerate any scheme to revive militarism, challenge the postwar international order or undermine world peace and stability,” Shi Taifeng, head of the Organization Department of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Committee, said in his speech at the ceremony, apparently warning against Japan’s possible tilting to the right. China has designated Dec. 13, when the incident broke out in 1937, as a national day of mourning since 2014. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s administration has positioned this year as the 80th anniversary of China’s victory in a war against Japan. Saturday’s ceremony took place amid strong protests from China over Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s recent remarks regarding a possible Taiwan contingency. The Japanese Embassy in Beijing has warned Japanese nationals living in China that anti-Japanese sentiment tends to rise on Dec. 13. It has urged them to take safety precautions, such as avoiding places likely to be perceived as frequently visited by Japanese nationals, particularly in light of recent Chinese media coverage related to Japan-China relations. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]