For the Chinese people, July 7 is a day etched on their minds. It was the day which marked the beginning of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45).
In their attempt to annex the whole of China, the Japanese launched the Lugouqiao Incident in 1937.
On July 7, 1937, the Japanese army launched a military exercise near Lugouqiao (Marco Polo Bridge) in southwestern Beijing (Beiping). They later claimed one of their soldiers was missing and asked to enter the Wanping County to look for him. Knowing the Chinese army would reject the request, they used this as an excuse to launch a full scale attack, which marked the beginning of their all-out war against China.
"During the eight-year war, about 35 million Chinese citizens were killed," Luo Huanzhang, a senior research fellow told a seminar to commemorate the 66th anniversary of the Lugouqiao Incident. Luo was speaking at the Museum of the Chinese People's Fight against the Japanese Invasion in Beijing yesterday where the seminar was held.
"This war postponed China's industrialization process by at least 50 years," he said, adding that: "Direct financial losses reached US$100 billion and indirect ones US$500 billion."
In the years following the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Japan in 1972, Sino-Japanese ties have been characterized by fluctuations and setbacks, particularly when the Japanese side ignores and even rewrites historical facts of that period.
Lin Zhibo, a commentator with the People's Daily, echoed that the memory of a nation could not be easily erased.
Lin rejects the idea held by some Chinese scholars that it is time to relegate this period of history to the past and begins to view Sino-Japanese ties with a "new mindset."
He argues that the best way for China to deal with bilateral relations with Japan is from a position of strength and that can only be achieved by the nation improving its overall power.
"A friendly bilateral relationship between the two nations is good for both," said Lin.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Sino-Japanese friendship agreement.
Strong economic and social ties have been forged over the years, experts said. Bilateral issues should be managed subtly.
But the memory of the atrocities and humiliation inflicted on China during the first half of the 20th century lingers long, and is passed down the generations.
"As Chinese people, we could forget about ancient China's four great inventions, but we must remember the shameful history," said Cao Wei, a farmer from Heilongjiang, whose father died a slave laborer of the Japanese.
(China Daily July 8, 2003)
