Ten o'clock, December 13, stirring siren wailing over the ancient city of Nanjing, capital of East China's Jiangsu Province, more than 2,000 residents gathered at the Nanjing Jiangdongmen Massacre Memorial Hall in commemoration of the 64th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre.
Li Yuanchao, deputy Party secretary of Jiangsu Province and Party secretary of Nanjing, spoke at the ceremony. He said: "Today we mourn the 300,000 civilians killed in the massacre and the 600,000 civilians killed in the whole province by the invading Japanese troops."
"The bloody day of December 13, 1937 will always be remembered."
"We, the people of Nanjing, will not forget that day. The Chinese people will not forget that day. All peace-loving people in the world, including those in Japan, will not forget that tragic day."
Nanjing fell to the Japanese Imperial Army on December 13, 1937. During the following six weeks, 300,000 people, mostly civilians, were massacred.
(China Daily December 13, 2001)
