Leaders make peace the priority

Laborers remembered

In Paris on Monday and Tuesday, a photo exhibition —"Cherishing Peace through Remembering History of War"— will be held as a reminder of the often forgotten role played by Chinese laborers serving Allied Forces in WWI. The show was also held in the Belgian city of Bruges at the weekend.

About 140,000 Chinese laborers served the Allied Forces during WWI, most of them recruited by Britain and France from 1916 to 1918.

The workers provided important logistical support on the Western Front such as by digging trenches, building docks, laying tracks, unloading ships, repairing tanks and clearing battlefields.

Around 20,000 laborers were killed or missing, including 13 who died on Nov 15, 1917 during a bombing in Poperinge in Belgium.

In the city on Saturday, Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Cao Zhongming and local officials attended a ceremony commemorating the sacrifice made by the workers.

"Remembering history is to cherish peace and build a beautiful future," Cao said at the ceremony. "War is never a solution to any problem. It will only perpetuate hatred on ruins."

Reuters contributed to this story.