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1st Ld-Writethru: China looks to TV, theaters to mark WWII anniversary

Xinhua, July 6, 2015 Adjust font size:

China's silver screens and theater stages will be dominated by a wave of war stories about Japan's invasion of China in the early half of the 20th century, as China prepares to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII on Sept. 3.

Officials with China's culture and publication authorities said on Monday that 183 war-themed stage performances, ranging from symphonies and concerts to traditional operas, puppet shows and acrobatic displays, will be staged nationwide from this month.

Production of some of the performances began as early as three years ago, Dong Wei, deputy minister of culture, told a press conference.

Another 10 movies, 12 TV series, 20 documentaries and three cartoon series -- all new -- will be aired nationwide, while more than 100 books and 20 electronic publications will be released.

"The goal is to illustrate the Chinese people's bitter journey towards victory, highlight the anchoring role the CPC played in the war and underline the oriental battleground's contribution to victory in the World Anti-fascist War," said Tian Jin, deputy head of the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television.

Entertainment authorities hope the campaign can make Chinese people more patriotic, Tian added.

Japanese troops invaded northeast China on September 18, 1931. A full-scale Japanese invasion began on July 7, 1937.

By the end of WWII, more than 35 million Chinese had been killed or wounded.

Japan signed its formal surrender to the Allies on Sept. 2, 1945, and China celebrated its victory the following day.

About 1.95 million Japanese soldiers were killed or wounded by allied forces in the eight years from 1937, according to Chinese archives. About 70 percent of these casualties came on Chinese battlefields.

China will hold a military parade in Beijing on Sept. 3.

Other scheduled commemoration activities include a TV gala, as well as war-themed art and photo exhibitions to be organized by the People's Liberation Army, the ministry of culture, and the country's literary and art circles.

The war has long been a popular subject for TV shows and movies in China, whose relations with Japan have been soured by territorial rows and Tokyo's failure to apologize adequately over WWII.

The September anniversary has prompted more such shows, some with plots that have draught criticism for being insensitive or outlandish.

One portrayed heroic Chinese as tearing Japanese soldiers apart with their bare hands. Another showed a woman making use of a grenade concealed in her crotch to kill Japanese soldiers. Endi