I Remember the Rape of Nanking

I would like to take a moment to remember the fallen victims of the Japanese invasion and subjugation of the Chinese city of Nanking in December of 1937. After capturing the city, the Japanese sought to pacify hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians by killing them. They were not shipped off secretly to forced labour camps, although I am sure some were. The majority of the victims were shot dead in the streets or on the shore of the Yangtze river. While the Germans took mass genocide to a new level of efficiency, the Japanese did their genocide with swords and bullets. Thousands of women were raped in what can only be described as one of the most horrifying episodes that any major city has ever experienced.

In University I read the book the Rape of Nanking. Reading a book like that is disturbing, but at the same time it does serve to remind you that there are evil people in the world, and that sometimes it is necessary to send our brave soldiers into war to fight them. It is just a shame that Mao usurped power so soon after the end of the war and embarked on several missions to expand Chinese Communist influence into South Asia, Tibet, and Korea.

To Chinese-Canadians who had relatives die in the Rape of Nanking, I remember.