Chinese Canadians mourn victims of Nanjing Massacre

Members from the Chinese Canadian communities gathered in Markham on Monday to mourn victims of the Nanjing Massacre on Tomb-Sweeping Festival (Qingming). They also released a joint declaration to support Bill 79 by signing a petition for its third reading in Ontario's legislature. [Photo by Na Li/chinadaily.com.cn]

Members of Chinese Canadian communities gathered in Markham on Monday during the Chinese Tomb-Sweeping Festival, or Qingming, to mourn victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

They also called on Ontario residents to sign a petition in support of Bill 79, the Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day Act. If the Ontario legislature passes the bill, it would make Dec 13 of each year Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day in Ontario.

The bill was proposed by MPP Soo Wong. It passed a second reading debate in the legislature on Dec 8, 2016. However, according to Wong, as a private member's bill, even with more than 60,000 signatures and more that are expected, petitions do not guarantee that a bill will pass the legislature.

Chinese communities announced a campaign for 100,000 signatures across Ontario from beginning of this year to tell the legislature that Ontarians want the bill passed.

"This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Canadian Confederation. Chinese were in Canada before the Confederation. We have contributed much," said Soo Wong, "But this bill is not just about Chinese, it is about human rights, social justice and humanity. This atrocity against humanity that happened was ignored, it is not acceptable in Ontario and Canada that we don't talk about what happened in history."

Wong appealed to people to educate their neighbors, friends and family about Bill 79, and to encourage them to sign the petition.

"It's a very important historic event that needs commemoration," said Johnson Ji, one of the bill's supporters and president of Real Force Inc. "I will talk to my friends, my clients and business partners about the history. We have to teach our future generations to know the truth, to remember history and cherish peace," he said.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre. In Nanjing, China, at the Memorial Hall of the Victims, fellows of the Nanjing Association of Canada (NAC) attended a ceremony to mourn the victims of the Nanjing Massacre who were killed by Japanese invaders. Memorial Hall was built in 1985 by the Nanjing Municipal Government in memory of the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

The Memorial Hall members said they hope to exhibit the draft of Wong's bill – the Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day Act – as part of the hall's permanent collection "to let more peace-lovers know and remember this history".

Members from the Chinese Canadian communities gathered in Markham on Monday to mourn victims of the Nanjing Massacre on Tomb-Sweeping Festival (Qingming). They also released a joint declaration to support Bill 79 by signing a petition for its third reading in Ontario's legislature. [Photo by Na Li/chinadaily.com.cn]