Foreign and Military Affairs
China: Int'l friends memorable in anti-Japanese war
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-15 20:52
 |
Large Medium Small |
BEIJING - This Sunday marked the 65th anniversary of China's victory in the "War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-1945)."
Among the unforgettable heroes, there were also tens of thousands of international friends who fought side-by-side with the Chinese people against Japanese aggressor troops and made great contribution to China's victory in the eight-year war.
Sixty-five years later, their names and great merits are still enshrined in China's history and hearts of the Chinese people.
Edgar Snow, a famous American journalist and writer, was the first Western journalist to report the realities of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Red Army.
He met with the late Chairman Mao Zedong and other Chinese revolutionary leaders after arriving at the Red Army base in Bao'an of Shaanxi Province in 1936 and finally came up with the famous book, "Red Star Over China," the first Western book that gave an accurate first-hand account of how the CPC, the Red Army and the people under the CPC's leadership were struggling to defend their country against the Japanese invasion and improve the people's welfare. It caught worldwide attention upon publication.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Snow managed to visit China again several times to report on the country's progress against the backdrop of Western powers' hostility.
Canadian surgeon Henry Norman Bethune traveled to China during the anti-Japanese war to help train Chinese surgeons and save numerous lives of the Chinese soldiers on the battlefields.
In 1939, Bethune died in China of blood poisoning contracted during surgery.
At the news of Bethune's death, Mao mourned over the loss of the great doctor and internationalist by saying: This foreigner made light of traveling thousands of miles to help us, selflessly adopted the liberation cause of the Chinese people as his own. No one failed to express admiration for Dr. Bethune whenever his name was mentioned.
In June 1938, Indian doctor Dwarkanath Kotnis, a member of the Indian medical aid mission, left Mumbai for distant China by ship.
In Yan'an, northern China, he treated the wounded fighters day and night, and succeeded in saving many young fighters' lives.
As the fierce war went on, more and more fighters suffered from injures in the battles. Kotnis left Yan'an, and went to the dangerous front to treat the wounded.
On December 9, 1942, he died of epilepsy due to overwork at the age of 32. Before his death, he regularly operated for over 72 hours to save more lives of the wounded.
Mao sorrowed at the news of Dr. Kotnis's death on the frontline, writing that: "The army has lost an arm's helping, and the nation has lost a friend. Let us always bear in mind his international spirit."
On August 1, 1941, US Gen. Claire Lee Chennault formed the American Volunteer Group, which later came to be known as the Flying Tigers, to help China drive out Japanese aggressor troops.
In August 1995, to commemorate the heroes, China built the Monument to the Aviator Martyears in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Nanjing.
The names of more than 3,000 martyears, including 870 Chinese, 2,186 Americans and 236 soldiers of the former Soviet Union, were inscribed on the monument in Chinese, English and Russian.
It is hard to list the names of all the international friends who fought shoulder by shoulder with the Chinese people against Japanese aggressor troops, but their bravery, great humanitarian spirit and achievements will stay in the memory of the Chinese people forever.
The Chinese people will always cherish the peace realized at the cost of blood and lives and value the friendship forged in the flames of war.
They will, together with peace-loving people around the world, strive to contribute to maintaining regional stability, and promoting world peace and common progress of humankind.
