A Chinese aid organization announced on Tuesday it would reimburse some of the medical bills incurred by Nanjing Massacre survivors in their old age.
There are now 400 or so survivors of the Nanjing Massacre, which occurred after invading Japanese troops occupied Nanjing, then the capital of China, on December 13, 1937.
More than 300,000 Chinese civilians and captured Chinese soldiers were slain by the Japanese invaders, according to Qin Jie, chairman of the Aid Association for the Survivors of the Nanjing Massacre.
"The Nanjing Massacre survivors are now very old and most of them suffer from a variety of ailments," said Qin.
A document drafted by the organization, entitled Details Regarding Offering Medical Subsidies to Nanjing Massacre Survivors, states that, starting Monday, the aid organization will reimburse half the medical bills of Nanjing Massacre survivors or give them an equivalent subsidy.
The money used for the reimbursements will mainly come from donations collected by the aid organization.
The 61st anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II, which fell on Tuesday, was observed worldwide.
(Xinhua News Agency August 16, 2006)