Ma Ying-jeou pays tribute to martyrs during war of resistance against Japanese aggression

CHONGQING, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Ma Ying-jeou, former chairman of the Chinese Kuomintang (KMT) party, on Tuesday visited a cemetery in Chongqing dedicated to General Zhang Zizhong, a senior officer killed during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and paid tribute to fallen heroes during the war.

The general was killed while fighting a battle in 1940 at the age of 49, and buried in the cemetery.

In front of the general's tomb, Ma observed a moment of silence and bowed three times, together with young people from Taiwan in his delegation, before presenting flowers.

When visiting a historic site museum in Chongqing, Ma said that China's resistance war restrained the main force of the Japanese army in the eastern battlefield, which was a great contribution.

He said that the Cairo Conference held in 1943 was extremely important, and cited stipulations from the Cairo Declaration that all Chinese territories seized by Japan should be returned to China.

During the ongoing trip, Ma has led a group of young people from Taiwan to visit memorial sites and cemeteries -- including the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in the city of Nanjing, as well as a memorial hall dedicated to military officers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and a historic site of a ceremony to accept the surrender of Japanese invaders in Hunan Province -- to relive the history of the resistance war.

According to Ma's itinerary, when he arrives in Shanghai, he will continue to visit venues in memory of the resistance war.