More than 680 local groups will organize a series of commemorative programmes to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the victory in the War of Resistance against Japan (1937-45).

The June-August programmes would include photograph exhibitions, evening galas, seminars hosted by academics and war veterans and tours of battle sites in Hong Kong.

The organising committee said yesterday that two photo exhibitions featuring first-hand documents and rare photographs of wartime atrocities would be held at the Hong Kong Central Library from June to August, and that it expects 10,000 people to visit it.

A committee spokesman said: "This is the largest series of commemorative events to celebrate the victory 60 years ago. We hope they'd be able to raise the younger generation's awareness about our history and enhance their sense of patriotism. We expect about 300,000 people to participate in the activities."

The organising committee will also arrange two groups of local students to take part in educational tours of Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing and the northeastern provinces to learn about life in China during the resistance war, he said.

Other events include the publication of 20,000 copies of a commemorative magazine and film screenings.

"This is a chance to push forward the development of 'One Country, Two Systems' and the patriotic spirit in the territory. We must educate our youths about the lessons in history as Japan's right-wing politicians continue to deny and disguise acts of wartime aggression," the spokesman said.

"We hope the upcoming events will help our younger generation remember history and learn about the devastations of war and to cherish peace in the face of re-emerging militarism."

The resistance war that lasted 97 months and three days caused 35 million civilian casualties on the Chinese side, including 300,000 butchered in the Nanjing Massacre alone.

The loss of property amounted to roughly 50 times the GDP of Japan at that time.

(China Daily HK Edition May 27, 2005)