Hong Kong holds memorial ceremony for Nanjing Massacre victims

HONG KONG, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Wednesday held an official memorial ceremony to commemorate the victims who died in the Nanjing Massacre and those who were killed during the Japanese invasion.

The ceremony was held at the Redoubt Courtyard of the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence on Wednesday morning. After playing the National Anthem, the host read the eulogy:"We gather here today to commemorate the victims who died in Nanjing Massacre."

"The Japanese invaders committed heinous crimes in China in 1937. This year is the 80th anniversary of Nanjing Massacre. We hope to take this opportunity to express the firm position that the Chinese people will maintain and safeguard the national sovereignty, territorial integrity and world peace," the eulogy read.

Chief Executive of HKSAR Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor attended the ceremony and laid a wreath.

Also present at the ceremony were Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Tung Chee Hwa and representatives of the Central People's Government organizations, among others.

Ma Shasha, a student from Puiying secondary school who attended the ceremony said that Hong Kong is part of China, and Hong Kong residents have the responsibility to know and remember the history.

Ma said she had a deeper understanding of the Nanjing Massacre after attending the ceremony,

Earlier in the day, Hong Kong residents also held various activities including picture exhibitions, assemblies and parades to commemorate the Nanjing Massacre.

Japan invaded northeast China in September 1931, and started a full-scale invasion of China on July 7, 1937.

Japanese troops captured Nanjing, then China's capital, on Dec.13, 1937 and started a 40-odd-day slaughter. About 300,000 civilians and unarmed Chinese soldiers were brutally murdered. Enditem