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Nanjing Massacre Survivors Protest Japan's Approval of Distorted History Textbook
Amid protest across Asia against Japan's glossing over wartime atrocities in a new history textbook, Chinese massacre survivors shouted their indignation and protest in this city of Nanjing, where brutal Japanese troops slaughtered more than 300,000 people in 1937.
The protests come after the Japanese Education Ministry approved Tuesday the use in schools of the new history textbook.
Written by a group of right-wing scholars, the textbook gives a distorted view of history and attempts to whitewash atrocities committed by Japan against other Asian countries and regions during World War II.
The textbook intentionally blurs the nature of the aggressive war launched by Japanese invaders and fails to reflect the tragedies perpetrated on the Asian people by Japanese militarists, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao said at a press conference.
"Japanese rightists groups distort history and attempt to cover the truth of Nanjing Massacre. This makes me extremely angry," said Pan Kaiming, a 84-year-old man who survived a group killing 64 years ago in Nanjing.
On December 13, 1937, Pan and hundreds of Chinese people were taken to the bank of the Yangtze River and were mowed down by Japanese soldiers using machine guns. Pan was luckily covered by dead bodies and escaped the slaughter.
"The Japanese troops killed as many as 300,000 people. Nanjing city was soaked with bloodshed and piles of bodies were everywhere, " Pan said recalling appalling scenes he experienced.
"We by no means accept Japanese rightists' attempt to glorify wartime atrocities. It's the reemergence of Japanese militarism," he said.
Tang Shunshan, an 88-year-old survivor, recounted his experience during the wartime period. "Japanese soldiers killed any Chinese they encountered. I saw persons who fled with me were hacked at and beheaded by Japanese troops. Japanese cars and trucks rolled over stacks of human bodies on the roads."
Tang, like Pan, comes every year to the Nanjing Massacre Memorial to pay his respects to the victims in this Chinese Tomb- Sweeping Day, since the memorial was set up in 1985.
"Japanese right-wing groups have always refused to acknowledge Japan's invasion and Nanjing Massacre, and attempt to use a distorted history textbook to mislead Japanese young people," Tang said.
Zhu Chengshan, head of the memorial, pointed to piles of human bones excavated on one of massacre sites and said there was numerous irrefutable evidence proving that Nanjing Massacre did occur, including testimony of witnesses, material evidence and historical documents.
"Rightists in Japan revise history textbooks and attempt to justify atrocities Japanese invaders committed. We will keep fighting against such actions" Zhu said.
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