Nanjing massacre sites lock out the public on remembrance day
Nanjing residents gather at memorial hall and at several parks only to find entry restricted
PUBLISHED : Sunday, 14 December, 2014, 5:59am
UPDATED : Sunday, 14 December, 2014, 8:54am
Alice Yan [email protected]
An 85-year-old woman survivor cries in front of a monument as she pays tribute during a memorial ceremony for the massacre in Nanjing . Dozens of events were held across the city. Photo: Reuters
Nanjing residents criticised the city's handling of the Nanking massacre remembrance, saying it was unfair to keep the public away from official ceremonies where they hoped to pay respects to the victims.
One elderly man asked why authorities banned regular people from events aimed at fostering patriotism.
President Xi Jinping gave a strongly worded speech at the Nanking massacre memorial hall in front of an audience of high-ranking officials, PLA soldiers and pupils all meticulously hand-picked, according to an official at the site.
"People without a pass can't enter the hall while the state memorial ceremony is being held," said the official, who declined to give her name. "Since last month municipal authorities have been screening the ceremony's audience and only those without political black marks can receive a pass."
This annoyed some people who were hoping take part in the ceremony. "They attracted us to respond [to the national day] and now block us. What do they really want to do?" said Pei Xiaolong, an 18-year-old student who made a one-hour subway journey from Southeast University only to be denied entrance. "Why didn't the authorities inform us that the memorial hall was closed today?"
A notice posted outside said a religious ritual attended by monks from China, Japan and South Korea was being conducted inside the hall. The official said regular admission would begin today.
At the front gate of Yanziji Park, one of 17 mass burial sites and where another ceremony was being held, residents complained that only PLA soldiers and primary school pupils were being admitted. "I can't accept this unreasonable arrangement. It's us ordinary citizens who most need patriotism education, but the authorities block us," said an elderly man, who lived nearby and had arrived at the park early with neighbours. "Does this mean that our country relies on those officials to protect the motherland? I think they will run as fast as they can if there is any invasion."
A police officer said crowd restrictions were necessary because the park was small.
Cheng Min, an office administration manager at a state-owned property developer in Nanjing, went to the park with 20 colleagues, hoping to mourn the victims.
After they were refused entry, they went to the banks of the nearby Yangtze River and laid down yellow chrysanthemums. "We have many Nanjing-native employees. They told me that the establishment of the state memorial day is a solace to those dead victims," she said.
Pei said the observance was a good idea. Mainland TV dramas only depicted Chinese army victories against the Japanese soldiers, who were cast as weak, he said. "That's not the truth and many of us young people don't know the war was full of hardship and sadness," he said.
