Yearender: Safeguarding WWII victory pivotal to keeping world safe, prosperous

Seventy years after the end of World War II (WWII), remembrance and reflections are still badly needed for keeping world peace and prosperity, when regional conflicts are causing untold sufferings and terrorist groups are wreaking havoc.

The year 2015 has witnessed various commemorative events, including China's military parade to commemorate the victory in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the country's contributions to world peace and prosperity.

REMEMBRANCE OF WWII

The world's anti-fascist war has left a good lesson to all people of the world and it deserves lasting remembrance, said Liu Jieyi, China's permanent representative to the UN.

Noting the victory of the world's anti-fascist war was won at a heavy price from the people of the world, including the people of China, Liu stressed that history should not be forgotten.

"We emphasize history not for extending our hatred but to call on people to respect peace and hold on to peace," Liu made the remarks in May at a special solemn meeting of the UN General Assembly in commemoration of the victims of the WWII.

"Only by remembering the scourge of war can we cherish the value of peace," Liu added.

Liu said that WWII brought untold sufferings to Asia, Europe, Africa and other regions in the world, and all the peace-loving nations formed a world anti-fascist coalition through painstaking and heroic fighting and won the victory of the anti-fascist war, leaving a far-reaching and profound impact on human civilization and progress.

In Beijing on Sept. 3, China commemorated the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII and the victory in the war of resistance against Japanese aggression with a full-dress military parade.

During his Victory Day speech, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that China will remain committed to peaceful development.

"No matter how much stronger it may become, China will never seek hegemony or expansion. It will never inflict its past suffering on any other nation," Xi said while announcing a cut of 300,000 troops from the country's military.

Similar parades were held around the world.

On May 9, Russia celebrated the 70th anniversary of the victory of the world anti-fascist war with a large-scale military parade at Red Square in Moscow.

The parade -- the largest one since the disintegration of the former Soviet Union in 1991 -- was attended by about 20 leaders of nations and international organizations, with the participation of military units from 10 countries.

In Paris, the "Victory in Europe" Day was held on May 8 to mark the Allied victory over Nazism in WWII in 1945 after five years of the bloodiest conflict in history.

CHINA'S CONTRIBUTIONS TO WORLD PEACE, PROSPERITY

Making huge contribution to the victory in the world anti-Fascist war, China has also been playing a constructive role in the global stage in terms of promoting world peace and development.

Speaking for the first time at the annual UN General Assembly high-level debate in September, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for a new type of international relations featuring win-win cooperation.

China is the first among the world's major countries to set win-win cooperation as its main objective in dealing with ties with other nations.

Peter J. Li, an expert on international relations at the University of Houston, said the new type of international relations is aimed at building a new world of mutual cooperation and mutual benefit.

In other words, China aims to foster the rise of a community of shared future. And this shared future has to be pursued with a high level of sensitivity to the needs, concerns, interests and aspirations of all members of the international community, said Li.

At the meeting, Xi pledged to establish a one-billion-U.S. dollar China-UN peace and development fund to support the UN work and advance multilateral cooperation.

China will also set up a fund, with initial contribution of 2 billion dollars, to support South-South cooperation and assist developing countries in implementing their post-2015 development agenda, Xi said at a UN sustainable development summit.

In addition, China will write off the debt of the outstanding intergovernmental interest-free loans due by the end of 2015 owed by the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing countries, the president said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that China is an important member of the international community, as well as an indispensable partner for UN agenda.

China has played a positive role and made remarkable contributions to promoting world peace and development as well as proper solutions to regional and international issues for a long period of time, the UN chief said while meeting with Xi on the sidelines of the 70th session of the UN General Assembly.

Describing Xi's proposals on supporting UN development agenda as encouraging, Ban said China's support is of great significance to the UN.

China's stance on international relations and commitments to the world have also been warmly welcomed by the international community.

Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said that Xi's speech illustrated China as a peace-loving country and that China attached great importance to the role of the United Nations in safeguarding world peace.

Severino Cabral, director of the Brazilian Institute for China and Asia-Pacific Studies, said Xi's speech showed that China has become an important force in promoting global development and safeguarding peace and stability of the world.

DISTORTION OF HISTORY UNACCEPTABLE

While celebrating the WWII victory, the international community should also bear in mind that peace and security remain elusive in certain parts of the world, and it is necessary to remain vigilant against remarks and acts that attempt to distort WWII history and deny the outcome of WWII.

In September, Japan abandoned the 70-year-long pacifism it had maintained since the end of WWII as the parliament enacted a controversial legislation pushed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government to remilitarize the pacifist nation.

The legislation's enactment was a grave mockery of the post-WWII world order as it marked an overhaul in Japan's purely defensive security posture, meaning the country could dispatch troops overseas to engage in armed conflicts for the first time in seven decades.

"It's somewhat ironic that what has been happening in the government is essentially an attempt to rewrite Japan's horrific past, in terms of its reign of terror in East Asia during WWII, or, put differently, try to 'wipe the slate clean,' while simultaneously gearing up again for overseas conflict," said Laurent Sinclair, a Pacific affairs research analyst.

"In the very year that marked the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII, Abe has reversed 70 years of constitutionally mandated pacifism by deriding the Supreme Law and the will of the public and along with his hand-picked Cabinet pals forced a new style of old-militarism on a reluctant nation," he said.

Abe, a well-known historical revisionist, stopped short of offering a fresh apology for the country's past barbarities and closed the door for the nation's future apology for heinous wrongdoings in a high-profile statement marking the 70th anniversary of the end of WWII.

History cannot be reversed. Justice will speak itself. However, the international community must maintain alert against the resurgence of militarism in Japan and any move that would seek to distort historical verdicts.

In October, Japan, the culprit of the notorious Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking, in late 1937 during WWII, protested against United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) decision to list one of the worst atrocities in history on its Memory of the World Register.

It was not the first time for the Japanese government to protest against the UN over WWII-related issues, as Tokyo regarded them as "anti-Japanese." In September, Japan was up in arms against Ban's participation in China's WWII Victory Day commemoration.

"What we're seeing here is a coordinated approach from multiple angles to revise history here, so as to grant Japan access to a global, militarized future without having to reflect, remember, recollect, recall or show remorse for any of its past wrongdoings. This is the height of ultranationalism," said political analyst Teruhisa Muramatsu.

"Abe, at first was subtle, then he hid in plain sight, now he's flaunting his revisionist, militaristic and imperialistic stance," Muramatsu said. Endi