Why should we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese people in the war against Japanese aggression and the world war against fascism?

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that history is a mirror that reveals the present and the future. Therefore, we study history to find out the causes and consequences of past events and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past.

After 1840, due to the invasion of imperialist powers and the rule of the corrupt Qing Dynasty in China, the Chinese people faced a great crisis, and from there, the darkest chapter in Chinese history began. The most brutal page of that dark history was the long-term invasion of China by the Japanese army. In 1894, the Japanese reactionaries invaded and occupied China’s Taiwan and the Fang Archipelago; in 1900, they attacked Beijing together with other foreign invaders; in 1904, they started the Russo-Japanese War and invaded China’s northeastern territory; in 1914, they attacked and occupied the city of Qingdao; In 1915, it presented the “Twenty-One Claims” that violated China’s rights; in 1931, it reduced the “September 18” incident between the Chinese army and the Japanese army to a small scale, and invaded and occupied the entire northeastern region of China; in 1935, it launched a comprehensive war of aggression in China by carrying out the Central North China Incident and on July 7, 1937, it exploded the headquarters of Yuanfeng County and attacked the Marco Polo Bridge. At that time, it had a dream of colonizing the whole of China and then taking control of the whole of Asia and becoming a world power. These series of barbaric and barbaric acts brought unprecedented hardship to the Chinese people, and they also aroused the indomitable spirit of resistance among the Chinese people. When the country and the nation were at the crossroads of life and death, the Chinese Communist Party, with its extraordinary leadership and correct strategy and tactics, formed a unified united front against Japanese aggression and guided the Chinese war of resistance. By completely opposing compromise, division and renunciation of war, the Communist Party of China has become the pillar of hope and resistance of the Chinese nation, continuing the resistance war, unity and progress of the whole nation.

At that time, anti-fascist fighters from the Soviet Union, the United States, Korea, Vietnam, Canada, India, New Zealand, Poland, Denmark, Austria, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries directly participated in China’s war against Japanese aggression, providing China with invaluable support and assistance. At that time, Nepali heroes were also resisting the attack of the fascist powers together with the Allied forces in the battlefields of Europe, North Africa and Southeast Asia. A few days ago, I had the privilege of attending a program organized by the British Embassy in Nepal to commemorate the day when the Japanese army surrendered to the Allied forces and won victory over Japan. The British Gurkha Army in Pokhara also organized a parade.I was deeply moved to hear that during the Second World War, the Nepalese Gurkha army in the British Army, together with the Chinese army, made a very important contribution to defeating the Japanese army in the war in Burma. This is a unique contribution made by Nepal to truth and world peace, as well as a precious friendship between the Chinese and Nepalese peoples through blood.

After many years of bloody war, 80 years ago today, the Chinese people, together with the people of the world, completely defeated the fascists and completely defeated the Japanese militarist invaders. A great victory was achieved in the war of the Chinese people against the Japanese aggression and the war of the people of the world against the fascists. Finally, light triumphed over darkness, progress over regression. The souls of the heroes who did not hesitate to build the “Great Wall” with their own corpses have found peace.

What message has this terrible and brutal crisis and the great history of the fearless and heroic resistance war given us?

The mental basis of the existence and progress of a nation is the spirit of struggle. During the war against Japanese aggression, the spirit of the great resistance war was developed among the Chinese people. The Chinese people presented to the world the nationalism that the common people also have responsibility for the progress or decline of the country, the national pride that considers death as the final destination and does not surrender even if it means dying, the bravery that does not fear tyranny and fights to the last hour, and the confidence in victory that does not give up no matter how much trouble and how much suffering it has to endure. When faced with the powerful weapons of the fascists, the Chinese people thought of all sorts of tricks, but never thought of surrendering their souls.

The history of the two world wars proves that even if the attacked surrender, the invaders cannot commit genocide. Having the courage to fight, being proficient in war skills is the only way for any nation to become independent and powerful and miraculously succeed.

The country’s rich people are strong and the material basis of the country’s security is the material basis of the country’s security. President Xi Jinping has said, “Those who fall behind are beaten, and only through development can they become strong.” The fascist militarism dares to attack neighboring countries without hesitation because their economic situation and military strength are stronger than others. Even today, hegemonism and power politics have been promoting the need to trade with other countries on the basis of position and power in international politics, which proves that the “spectre of war” has not yet disappeared from the world. The Chinese people have deeply understood the importance of developing national power from this dark page of history. Today, China has the ability to resist any kind of external pressure. Every generation of Chinese people has made great achievements and demonstrated their self-confidence. I have repeatedly said that every development problem that Nepal is currently facing has a Chinese-style solution. If the development of China and Nepal is integrated, Nepal will be able to be confident at any time and opportunity.

A common destiny and a future are the fundamental path to maintaining power. On December 13, 1937, the Japanese invaders attacked Nanjing, China, and committed atrocities such as arson, rape, robbery, and massacre for more than 6 weeks, resulting in the deaths of at least 300,000 people. Recently, the historical film “Nanjing Photo Studio”, which was made with the tragic history of the Nanjing Massacre as a backdrop, was being screened in China. Many viewers shed tears of sorrow and anger after watching the film.

This kind of pain makes people feel that it is difficult to breathe. Having experienced the tragedy of the Japanese invasion, the Chinese nation has understood how important peace is and how important it is to respect others on the basis of equality. China will never impose the trauma of the war it has suffered on any other country, will never establish its hegemony, will never adopt an expansionist policy, or seek to create a sphere of influence. Chinese-style modernization is a truthful path of peaceful development, completely free from the old way of colonial plunder and the mistaken idea that a country will inevitably become a hegemon after becoming powerful. This is our solemn promise to the world. We want to jointly build a community of a common future for mankind with all countries in the world, including Nepal, and bring true peace and development to the world.

French historian Antoine Proust has written a remarkable thing in his book “Twelve Lessons of History”, “The study of history is not to increase the memory of mutual hatred and anger in the past, but to understand what happened in the past and why it happened.” Those who forget history will inevitably repeat the mistakes of the past; generations that do not care about history will have neither a past nor a future. This year, we are grandly celebrating the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. This has revealed our strong desire for peace. We will help the young generation around the world to cultivate peaceful values, which is indeed a sacred and noble task. We believe that our young talents will surely fulfill the responsibilities and missions of the coming era in a peaceful and friendly environment to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind.

The author is the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal.

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