Government and Policy

Memorial cancellation irks public

By Qian Yanfeng (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-18 08:06

SHANGHAI - The decision by local authorities not to ring alarms on Sept 18 - the 79th anniversary of the Japanese invasion of China - out of concern for the safety of Expo visitors, has come under fire.

Many residents believe the commemoration should not be sacrificed for the sake of an international fair.

Shanghai, like many other Chinese cities, has sounded sirens each year since 2007 on National Defense Education Day, the third Saturday of September, to raise public awareness on national defense.

Due to the proximity of dates, the day is closely associated with the Sept 18 anniversary in China, which marks the beginning of the 1931 Japanese invasion. Sirens wail in cities across China including Harbin, Shenyang, Changchun and Xi'an on that day to remind people of history.

This year's National Defense Education Day lands on Sept 18. Given the large number of visitors to the Expo from different countries and regions, Shanghai will cancel the alarms to avoid causing confusion and panic among visitors, according to an announcement on the website of the municipal civil defense office on Monday.

But the city will still hold a small air defense drill at the district level and distribute materials on national defense to inform the public, it said.

The decision, however, has touched off a storm of public questioning over the legitimacy of sacrificing a historical memorial for the sake of the Expo.

"Historical memorials should never be dispensed with as they serve as warnings to the present. I don't see Expo as a good enough reason," said Guo Wei, a doctoral candidate in Shanghai.

"Expo organizers could inform visitors about the alarms on that day, or find an alternate way to commemorate the anniversary instead of simply canceling it," said netizen lufeng1977 on tianya.cn, one of China's most popular online forums.

Yang Qinghua, an official with the municipal civil defense office, told Xinhua News Agency that local authorities made the decision out of safety concerns for Expo visitors, most of whom come from outside Shanghai and overseas and therefore may not know about the alarms.

"Unprepared, they may cause chaos and accidents Ensuring safety is our utmost priority," he was quoted as saying.

Safety and order have been top priorities for Expo organizers with the increase of visitors since the beginning of summer. Authorities earlier cancelled a long-anticipated concert by famous Japanese pop band SMAP on June 13 over safety concerns. The action came after scuffles and arguments occurred when tens of thousands of fans scrambled to get into an earlier concert by South Korean pop music singers.

China Daily

(China Daily 09/18/2010 page3)