China on Wednesday Dec 13,2017 marked the 80th
anniversary of the Nanjing massacre by Japanese troops, an enduring
source of bad blood as present-day rivalry between the two countries
keeps a spotlight on historical animosities.
President Xi Jinping oversaw a memorial service with columns of black-clad mourners wearing a white flower on their jackets, braving freezing temperatures at a monument featuring statues of victims in the eastern city.
Sirens blared at the start of the ceremony, while a giant "peace bell" tolled as doves were released into the air.
According to China some 300,000 civilians and soldiers were killed in a frenzy of murder, torture, rape, arson and looting in the six weeks after the invading Japanese military entered Nanjing, then the capital city, on December 13, 1937.
It remains one of the most fraught anniversaries for the two powerful neighbours due to stubborn disputes over the toll and periodic denials by Japanese arch-conservatives that the episode even took place.
Many in China say this symbolises Japan's unwillingness to completely atone for its wartime aggression.
Officially, Japan concedes that "the killing of a large number of noncombatants, looting and other acts occurred" but says it is "difficult" to determine precise figures.
The issue receded during the Cold War but has re-emerged as China strikes an increasingly muscular stance under Xi, while critics say Japanese revisionists have grown bolder under conservative leader Shinzo Abe.
China in 2014 formally made the anniversary a National Day of Remembrance, effectively raising its profile.
President Xi Jinping oversaw a memorial service with columns of black-clad mourners wearing a white flower on their jackets, braving freezing temperatures at a monument featuring statues of victims in the eastern city.
Sirens blared at the start of the ceremony, while a giant "peace bell" tolled as doves were released into the air.
According to China some 300,000 civilians and soldiers were killed in a frenzy of murder, torture, rape, arson and looting in the six weeks after the invading Japanese military entered Nanjing, then the capital city, on December 13, 1937.
It remains one of the most fraught anniversaries for the two powerful neighbours due to stubborn disputes over the toll and periodic denials by Japanese arch-conservatives that the episode even took place.
Many in China say this symbolises Japan's unwillingness to completely atone for its wartime aggression.
Officially, Japan concedes that "the killing of a large number of noncombatants, looting and other acts occurred" but says it is "difficult" to determine precise figures.
The issue receded during the Cold War but has re-emerged as China strikes an increasingly muscular stance under Xi, while critics say Japanese revisionists have grown bolder under conservative leader Shinzo Abe.
China in 2014 formally made the anniversary a National Day of Remembrance, effectively raising its profile.
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