Israel's Yad Vashem, or Holocaust Memorial, announced on Tuesday that it had officially bestowed a honorary title on Ho Fengshan, a Chinese diplomat, for his aid to Jews during World War II.
Ho, who died in 1997, was the Chinese consul-general in Vienna, Austria from 1938 to 1940. He risked his life and career to issue hundreds of visas to Jewish refugees, which enabled them to go to Shanghai, China, to flee Nazis' rule over Austria, Yad Vashem official Mordecai Paldiel said.
Ho received the title of Righteous Among the Nations from Yad Vashem for his brave efforts, the official added.
Since 1963, Yad Vashem has bestowed the title on more than 17,000 non-Jews, who risked their lives, safety or personal freedom to save Jews.
During World War II, the Nazi regime deliberately carried out the systematic annihilation of the Jewish community in Europe, in which some 6 million Jews, including 1.5 million children, were slaughtered.
(Xinhua 10/26/2000)
