About 100 Chinese cities will sound alarms and sirens
simultaneously on September 18 to commemorate the 1931 invasion of
Shenyang by the Japanese Imperial Army, according to a Shenyang
Evening News report.
Sunday, September 18 is the 74th anniversary of the September
18th Incident -- when the Japanese Imperial Army invaded the city
of Shenyang in 1931.
The Japanese army occupied Shenyang and later went on to capture
the entire northeast of China.
According to a report in the Shenyang Evening News on
Tuesday, the city of Shenyang has organized a choral singing event
and a ceremonial tolling of the bell near the September 18 History
Museum.
The bell will toll 14 times at 9:18 PM on Sunday, representing
the 14 years that people in northeast China suffered under Japanese
oppression.
Some 1000 people, including veterans, soldiers, governmental
officials, college students and businessmen from Taiwan, are
expected to participate in the memorial events.
In addition, about 100 cities around China will simultaneously
sound alarms and sirens for three minutes to commemorate the
anniversary.
This initiative was first proposed in September 1995 to the
Shenyang Municipal Committee and Shenyang government by Mr. He
Songqing, 83, a local resident who survived the invasion. Alarms
were sounded in 1995 to call on people not to forget history. Other
cities soon followed suit.
(CRI September 14, 2005)