Ontario institutes Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day
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E-mail Xinhua, October 27, 2017
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Soo Wong (C), a member of Provincial Parliament of Canada's Ontario, celebrates her motion approved with colleagues at the provincial parliament in Toronto, Canada, on Oct 26, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua] |
Canada's Ontario provincial parliament Thursday passed a motion designating Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day to commemorate the mass killing of 300,000 Chinese by Japanese troops in Nanjing during World War II.
The passing of the motion declaring Dec. 13 annually the Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day "is significant in promoting peace and inclusive, respectful future," said Soo Wong, a member of the parliament of Ontario province who tabled the motion.
She said in a press release that the designation of Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day will "allow all Ontarians to reflect, to honour and to remember the victims, survivors and the families affected by the atrocity that occurred 80 years ago in Asia."
The parliament of Ontario, home to Canada's largest Asian community with more than 3 million of Asian descent, becomes the first regional legislature in Western countries to adopt the motion.
According to Canadian federal law, a motion, though non-binding, shows the official viewpoint of the legislature.
Dr. Joseph Wong, founder of Toronto Alpha (Association for Learning and Preserving the History of the Second World War in Asia), said, "For the Chinese and other Asian communities in Ontario, this Motion is of great importance."
"It shows the provincial legislature for the first time recognizes that atrocities in Asia's WWII, symbolized by the horrors of the Nanjing Massacre, did occur and important enough to be remembered every year, and promoted in our education system," he said in a press release.
Dec. 13, 2017 marks the 80th anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking in the Western world.
In December 1937, Japanese troops captured the city of Nanjing, then capital of China, and committed mass murder and raping with more than 300,000 local Chinese being killed.
Since last year, Wong, the first female Chinese-Canadian to be elected to the Ontario legislature, has devoted her efforts to introducing a private member's Bill 79 to designate every Dec. 13 as Nanjing Massacre Commemoration Day in the east-central province of Ontario.
The bill passed the second reading last December, and will go through a third reading in December this year. If passed, Dec. 13 will become an official commemorative day in the province.
Up to date, about 100,000 signatures have been collected across the province in support of the bill.
However, the bill has encountered strong opposition from Japan. Some Japanese lawmakers reportedly have sent a letter to the Ontario government against the bill and will lobby against the third hearing.
"My motion is very similar to what I introduced last year Bill 79. It's no difference. If passed, the motion will recognize every December 13 Nanjing Massacre Commemorative Day in Ontario," Wong said in an earlier interview with Xinhua.
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