September 18: China remembers the 1931 Japanese invasion

World Today

China has commemorated the 85th anniversary of the September 18th Incident, when Japanese troops began an invasion in the northeast of the country in 1931. A memorial ceremony was held this morning in the city of Shenyang, which was then called Mukden.

CCTV’s Lu Wei gave us this report.

In Shenyeng, they gather to remember the moment 85 years ago, when the Japanese imperial army used a staged pretext to open fire on Chinese troops. Chinese Vice Premiere Liu Yandong was there to address this assemblage.

“We should not forget the humiliation once imposed on us. We should turn the pain into our strength to develop our country,” said Liu. “History tells us that we will easily fall victim to bullies if we were left behind. Only through development can we make our nation strong.”

On September 18th, 1931, Japanese imperial troops blew up a section of rail under their control near Shenyang. They used it to accuse the Chinese military of sabotage, and declared war the same evening.

Five months later, the Japanese army occupied all the three provinces in northeastern China. It was the beginning of 14 years of colonial rule, which ended when Japan surrendered in World War Two in 1945.

During the war, Northeastern China was a home front for the Japanese army. They exploited the natural, farming and labor resources to fuel an offensive in the Asia-Pacific region.

Remembrance ceremon

Remembrance ceremony in the city of Shenyang, which was once called Mukden.

But today, to remember the suffering is not about holding on to hatred. Vice Premiere Liu stated the experience helped shape the nation’s priorities.

“We always set promoting peaceful development as our top obligation. We will continue to pursue the path of peaceful development and maintain friendly relations with other countries, and unswervingly safeguard the achievements from our victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World War Two, to establish a type of new international relations with win-win cooperation as the core.”

A clear message:
Peace and development. To seek common ground and cooperation, and avoid misunderstanding and conflict.