Canada to mark Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day with memorial

Wang Haicheng, curator of the World War II Asian Memorial Museum of Canada, introduces exhibits to Huang Sumei, a Chinese-Canadian lawmaker who proposed a bill to recognize Dec 13 as Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day in Ontario, at a photo exhibition displaying historical evidence of the Nanjing Massacre at the Toronto museum, Oct 28, 2017. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A mass rally and series of public commemorative activities will be held across Canada on Dec 13 to mark the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre in Toronto, according to a news conference in Canada's biggest city Saturday afternoon.

Wang Haicheng, president of the Nanjing Association of Canada, announced memorial services including candlelight vigils, a moment of silence and bouquet presentations will be organized on the night of Dec 12, local time, to keep pace with services back in China on National Memorial Day, Dec 13.

"Eighty Chinese communities will work jointly to organize memorial activities and hold exhibitions of survivors' testimonies and historical evidence," Wang said.

He added that the Nanjing Association has asked Chinese communities in 80 other countries and regions to hold commemorative activities on Dec 13.

A photo exhibition displaying historical evidence of the Nanjing Massacre, including historical material, texts and witness testimonies, was also held Saturday at the World War II Asian Memorial Museum of Canada in Toronto.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, in which more than 300,000 Chinese were killed in a six-week rampage from Dec 13, 1937 to January 1938 after Japanese troops captured Nanjing, China's capital at the time.

In February 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec 13 as National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims.

More than 300 people were present at the conference and exhibition to show their support, including local celebrities like Tan Geng, Canada's first member of Parliament with a background speaking Mandarin, Chinese-Canadian lawmaker Huang Sumei and Consul Yang Baohua of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Toronto.

On Thursday, Ontario's provincial parliament passed a nonbinding motion introduced by Huang, the first female Chinese-Canadian elected to the Ontario regional parliament, to designate Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day to remember the victims of the massacre. A bill to make the designation official awaits a third reading in the legislature.