Nation honors those who laid down their lives for their country
Print Edition
ACTIVITIES were held across China yesterday to honor deceased national heroes on the country’s third Martyrs Day.
President Xi Jinping and other senior leaders attended a ceremony in the morning at Tian’anmen Square in Beijing.
They were joined by veterans, family members of martyrs and representatives of all walks of life at the Monument to the People’s Heroes.
In east China’s Jiangsu Province, 95 newlyweds arrived at Yuhuatai Memorial Park of Martyrs in Nanjing at 9am to offer flowers.
Soldiers and relatives of martyrs also took part in the activity. After singing the national anthem and observing a minute’s silence, the couples laid flowers at the monument in the park.
Many martyrs had sacrificed their lives at Yuhuatai.
Liu Aiqin, 90, is the daughter of late state leader Liu Shaoqi. Her mother, He Baozhen, was martyred at Yuhuatai in 1934 after being betrayed. Liu had traveled from Beijing to take part in the commemoration.
“We should firmly remember the purpose of the martyrs’ sacrifice. We should acknowledge that what we have today is hard-earned, and never forget what the martyrs have sacrificed,” she said.
Newlyweds Ding Sicheng and Dai Bin, both police officers, grew up near Yuhuatai and had heard many stories about the martyrs.
“We should never forget them, and we should learn to cherish the present,” Ding said.
At 10am, a public memorial ceremony for martyrs was held in the Yingxiongshan martyrs’ memorial park in Jinan in east China’s Shandong Province.
Local resident Ma said that he was at the park on behalf of his father, who had fought in the Battle of Jinan and the Battle of Qingji in China’s civil war.
He said his father was not physically able to attend.
At 9am, a public memorial ceremony was held in the martyrs’ memorial museum of Qingdao.
A chorus of primary school students paid their respects through song, and citizens placed flower baskets in front of statues of martyrs.
Memorial parks for martyrs in Shandong also launched online memorial platforms on their official websites for people to pay their respects.
“We owe our happy life today to the sacrifice of the martyrs. Their spirits are immortal and will always encourage us to move forward,” wrote Song Mingchun.
In east China’s Jiangxi Province, officials, veterans and martyrs’ families attended an activity in the provincial martyrs’ memorial hall.
Chen Haining, a descendant of martyr Chen Xingfa, said: “We should remember history and cherish today, and we should all learn from the martyrs to hold fast to dreams and beliefs.”
China’s legislature approved September 30 as Martyrs’ Day in 2014 to commemorate those who lost their lives fighting for national causes.
Martyrs, as defined by the government, are “people who sacrificed their lives for national independence and prosperity, as well as the welfare of the people in modern times, or after the First Opium War (1840-1842).”
China recognizes an estimated 20 million martyrs.
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