This year marks the 82nd anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre, in which more than 300,000 Chinese were killed by the Japanese invaders who occupied Nanjing on Dec 13, 1937, marking the start of six weeks of destruction, pillage, rape and slaughter in the city.

　　79 years ago today, Japanese troops broke into Nanjing and then started a six-week massacre in the capital of then Nationalist government. Chinese records show more than 300,000 disarmed soldiers and ordinary people were killed while thousands of women were raped.

　　By Dec 12, 2019, the number of registered survivors of the massacre has decreased to 78.

　　This is neither the time nor the place for rehashing the polemics of justification and recrimination, and claims and counterclaims about the remote and immediate causes of the war.A nation must always examine itself and reflect on its journey.

　　We cannot change the past, but it is within our power to ensure that history does not repeat itself and that we never again confront the awful consequences.In any event, it is evident that the cost of resolving our differences peacefully through dialogue is far less than trying to do so through war.

　　In the face of history, we should take history as a mirror. At the special moment of mourning the dead and remembering history, we should cherish the happy life and devote ourselves to study and work tirelessly to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation.