Ontario deals heavy blow to distorting of history

On Thursday, Canada's Ontario provincial parliament passed a motion to make Dec 13 as a day to commemorate the 300,000 Chinese killed by Japanese troops in Nanjing during World War II. Two experts shared their views with China Daily's Zhang Zhouxiang:

Decision is a triumph for justice

The move of Ontario provincial parliament is a triumph for all people who defend justice in the world. It shows the historical facts about Nanjing Massacre are known by increasingly more people, not only in East Asia, but also in the West.

Of course, by commemorating the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, neither we nor the people in Ontario mean to cast hate or revenge upon today's Japanese people. The Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day serves to let us remember that very dark page of history and so render efforts so it never happens again.

It should be noted that the Japanese government had tried hard to cover its evil deeds during World War II in the postwar period. Especially, as it joined the Western alliance, many people even politicians in the US and Europe simply know nothing about that part of history. They only remember the cruel deeds that the imperial Japanese army did to Europeans and Americans, such as the Bataan Death March, but hardly have any knowledge about Nanjing Massacre.

That has made it possible for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and some of his colleagues to distort history. Worse, when Chinese and Republic of Korea scholars speak of this in global forums, some Western politicians accuse them of “holding biased views” against Japan.

The provincial parliament of Ontario marks a good start because it shows Western countries are officially recognizing the crimes that imperial Japanese army committed in China. When more people in the East and the West join hands, they will prevent Abe from distorting history together.

-- Zhou Yongsheng, a professor of Japan studies at China Foreign Affairs University

Move can help counter Abe's revisionism

The provincial parliament of Ontario is the first regional legislature in the West to officially designate a day for commemorating the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. This is due to the constant efforts of Chinese-Canadians as well as others with good will. With more people becoming aware of the Nanjing Massacre, increasingly more regions and provinces in Western countries are expected to pass similar motions in the future.

The Ontario provincial parliament passed the motion at a time when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won a super majority in the parliamentary election on Oct 22. Abe is famous for his distortions of imperial Japan's expansion and his attempt to amend Japan's pacifist Constitution that prohibits it from having a military. The move of the Ontario provincial parliament deals a heavy blow to Abe's distortion of history and will hopefully help curb him from taking the move.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, and Dec 13 will fall very soon. It is time China held activities to commemorate the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre and let more people in the whole world know the truth.

-- Wang Haibin, an associate professor at the School of International Relations, University of International Business and Economics