More than 5,000 local residents gathered at the major spots of the Nanjing Massacre, including Jiangdongmen, Yanziji and Beijige, in commemoration of the 63rd anniversary of the bloody day.

"The December 13, 1937 will always be remembered," said Gu Hao, deputy Party secretary of Jiangsu Province at a ceremony in Jiangdongmen, where 28,700 Chinese civilians were killed.

Li Xiuying, Xia Shuqing and Li Gaoshan, who escaped death in the massacre, urged the Japanese government to seriously consider its wartime history.

According to Li Xiuying, the ruling of the non-governmental Women's International War Crimes Tribunal on Tuesday concerning "comfort women" fully demonstrated the strong indignation of the victims.

The tribunal ruled that Japanese wartime Emperor Hirohito and his government were guilty of crimes against humanity for overseeing a system where Chinese women were made into sex slaves for the Japanese army. A 34-member delegation from Japan's East Railway Trade Union also attended the ceremony in Jiangdongmen. They vowed to remember the event and to cherish today's peace.

Ceremonies to remember the massacre were also held in Hong Kong and North America.

(China Daily 12/14/2000)