Solemn activities mark 90th anniversary of September 18 Incident

Commemorative activities were organized around the country on Saturday to mark the 90th anniversary of the September 18 Incident and urge the public to remember history.

As part of national events to mark the incident, bells rang and sirens wailed at 9:18 at the September 18 Incident History Museum in Shenyang, Liaoning province.

The bell sounded 14 times, symbolizing China's 14-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). Representatives of local government, veterans, soldiers and students attended the bell-ringing ceremony held in the museum.

Including Shenyang, 14 cities in Liaoning sounded air defense sirens for three minutes, with trains, ships and cars sounding their horns at the same time.

Zhao Leji, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, attended the ceremony in Shenyang and called for efforts to promote the spirit of resisting aggression.

Zhao urged the public to uphold a correct perspective of history and accurately understand the significance, historical course and mainstream nature of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, and draw on the wisdom and strength to move forward.

He stressed unswervingly following the path of peaceful development and working with peace-loving countries and peoples to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

On Sept 18, 1931, Japanese troops blew up a section of the railway in Liutiaohu of Shenyang, then accused the Chinese military of the act. Using the blast as an excuse, the Japanese attacked a garrison in the Beidaying area of the city and bombarded Shenyang on the same night, launching a full-scale invasion of Northeast China. The incident was the start of the 14-year war, which caused more than 35 million casualties in China.

Other cities such as Beijing, Chengdu in Sichuan province, Harbin in Heilongjiang province, and Xi'an in Shaanxi province also sounded air defense sirens to mark the incident. Many museums nationwide have held commemorative activities, and the public also carried out online memorial activities.

The Museum of the War of Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing laid flowers to the martyrs. It also jointly held a themed concert with the September 18 Incident History Museum to look back on history and remember martyrs.

Zhao Pufeng, 45, who attended the concert in Beijing, said that although he didn't experience the war, his grandparents had and he learned a lot from them.

"I think it is necessary to carry out these commemorative activities, through which we can always remember the history that our motherland had been invaded and remind us that a poor and undeveloped country can be easily bullied by another. History inspires us to seize all opportunities to build a stronger China," he said.