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ZOU JIANPING an NPC deputy from Jiangsu province and former director of the Nanjing University of the Arts |
The most memorable moment in my five years as a national legislator came in February 2014.
I was invited to a meeting of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislative body, which was voting to approve a national memorial day to honor the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre in 1937.
As a native of Jiangsu province, whose capital is Nanjing, I had already suggested establishing the memorial two years earlier.
All the lawmakers voted "yes", and nobody expressed any doubts. The day had long been anticipated by many people because the suggestion wasn't just the result of my efforts alone.
Since the mid-1990s, an annual memorial ceremony has been held at the provincial level on Dec 13, the date that Japanese troops captured Nanjing and started the massacre.
However, Jiangsu residents gradually realized that the massacre was not just a matter for Nanjing - it was a major historical event for the entire nation, and the provincial memorial wasn't significant enough.
Designating a day to remember the victims was first proposed in 2005 by Zhao Long, then-vice-chair of the Standing Committee of the Jiangsu Provincial People's Congress, but it didn't receive a response.
I decided to reintroduce the suggestion to the NPC in March 2012, after hearing Takashi Kawamura, mayor of Nagoya, Japan's fourth-most populous city, deny that the Japanese army had perpetrated the massacre.
I was also inspired by Zhu Chengshan, then-curator of the Memorial Hall of the Nanjing Massacre.
At the end of 2012, I was delighted to receive a reply from the top legislature saying the procedures to enact my suggestion would begin soon.
The massacre should be remembered by the whole nation, and around the world. I believe the designation of a national memorial day is an indication of the State's highest will and the desire of the Chinese people.
Even though that was three years ago, I often meet people who pat me on the shoulder and say, "Good work in making the proposal come true!"
If I could go back in time, I would tell myself to be better qualified for the role, because NPC deputies represent the people.
I haven't thought about being a deputy in the next five-year term. I've been a deputy for three consecutive terms and I'm already in my 60s. We should hand the baton to the younger generation.
Zou Jianping spoke with Zhou Wenting.
