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)
