China marks 89th anniversary of resistance war against Japanese aggression

BEIJING/TAIPEI — China marked the 89th anniversary of the start of whole-nation resistance against Japanese aggression Tuesday, with bells rung for peace and warnings sounded against Japan's gravitation toward neo-militarism.

While Japan's aggression against China began as early as 1931, the July 7th Incident in 1937, in which Japanese troops attacked the Chinese garrison on the outskirts of Beijing, marked the escalation of Japan's aggression into a full-scale invasion and the start of China's nationwide resistance.

As commemorative events took place across the nation, Chinese officials and scholars have underscored the contemporary significance of the national commemoration, particularly amid a string of recent provocative moves by Japan. These moves include easing export restrictions on lethal weapons, and openly hinting at military intervention should a "contingency" involving Taiwan arise — a region that Japan colonized for half a century.

In Beijing, a ceremony was held at the Museum of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression near the Lugou Bridge, where the incident took place 89 years ago.

Yin Li, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, presided over the ceremony. Attendees offered flowers and bowed to pay tribute to those who had sacrificed their lives in fighting Japanese aggression.