Nanjing: China held a simple ceremony to commemorate the victims of the Nanjing Massacre of 1937, with President Xi Jinping notably absent, amid strained diplomatic relations between China and Japan over the Taiwan issue.

According to Thai News Agency, the commemoration ceremony took place at 8:00 AM at the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, attended by people from various sectors. The ceremony involved raising the Chinese national flag, which was then lowered to half-mast in mourning for the victims of the massacre during the Japanese invasion in the late 1930s and early 1940s.

The historical conflict between China and Japan remains a sensitive topic, with China frequently reminding its citizens of the atrocities committed during the 1937 Nanjing Massacre. While Chinese sources claim that Japanese soldiers killed 300,000 people, the Allied war crimes tribunal after World War II recorded the death toll at 142,000. The event’s historical narrative is further complicated by some conservative Japanese politicians and scholars who deny the occurrence of the massacre.

The Nanking Massacre, which began on December 13, 1937, marked a dark chapter in Sino-Japanese history when Japanese forces occupied Nanking, then the capital of China, leading to the deaths of numerous civilians and soldiers. This year’s commemoration holds additional significance, coinciding with the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese people’s war against Japanese aggression and the World War against Fascism.

China first designated December 13th as a national day of remembrance for the massacre victims in 2014. During that inaugural commemoration, President Xi Jinping called for both nations to move past their historical animosities to prevent further damage to current relations. Although Xi last attended the ceremony in 2017, he did not deliver a public speech on that occasion.