During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, many patriots, soldiers and civilians emerged, who selflessly dedicated and even gave their lives in order to drive away the invaders.
To remember the heroes who sacrificed their lives for our country, we built statues of them in China. At the same time, in order to warn future generations, we have created some statues of Japanese war criminals to make them kneel forever on the pillar of shame in history.
Among them, the cemetery in Tengchong, Yunnan Province attracts a large number of visitors every year because of its special display method.
In a corner of the cemetery, the statues of the four Japanese knelt on the ground in pain, just like Qin Hui kneeling in front of Yue Fei, silent, as if in deep reflection. Not far away, there is a tombstone with the word "倭塚" engraved on it.
However, in the 90s of the 20th century, a Japanese company ranked among the world's top 500 suddenly proposed a plan to invest in Tengchong.
Demolition of "Wazuka". The county was uncompromising on this and resolutely decided not to accept the investment. The people of Tengchong expressed their appreciation for the decisive decision of the county. Although the Japanese side has always demanded the removal of the four statues, each time they have been firmly refused.
Tengchong, located in the western part of China's Yunnan Province and adjacent to Myanmar, is an important gateway from China to South Asia. Before the Qing Dynasty, Tengchong was known as Tengyue, and it was changed to Tengchong County in 1913.
Well, Tengchong's"Wazuka"What are the three conditions that our country has put forward to Japan? What follows will answer your questions about both of these questions.
The 14-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression kicked off in the September 18 Incident in 1931, and in the face of Japanese aggression, the Chinese people of all nationalities resolutely resisted and bravely launched a resistance.
After the Battle of Wuhan in 1938, the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression entered a phase of stalemate. Although the Japanese army invested a large number of troops in Chinese mainland, the gains were small and it was unable to break through the stalemate.
In 1941, in order to change the tide of the war, the Japanese army turned its attention to the Southeast Asian theater, planning to win by outflanking China by a detour. They first invaded Burma and quickly occupied the Burma Highway, thereby cutting off China's international aid in an attempt to leave China isolated.
At the critical moment of the Yunnan-Burma Highway, the Chinese Expeditionary Force and the Japanese army launched a fierce battle. At first, the Chinese Expeditionary Force fought side by side with the British ** team to resist the Japanese invasion.
However, in 1942, the British army retreated abruptly and without warning, leaving the Chinese Expeditionary Force in a difficult position, unable to complete its mission, and losing control of the Burma Highway.
This defeat has brought great challenges to China's military operations.
As the Japanese occupied Burma, they would gradually advance towards the Chinese border. The Japanese have already captured a number of cities in China, and Tengchong will be their next target. The commander of the Kuomintang army, Long Shenwu, cowardly fled the battlefield, leaving Tengchong an unsuspecting empty city.
This means that the people of Tengchong will face the cruelty of the Japanese army**.
The Japanese captured Tengchong without much effort, and the ruthless destruction and catastrophe of the city ensued. They treated the Chinese civilians with indifference and ruthlessness, treating them as insignificant, not only wantonly plundering China's food and property, but also carrying out inhumane ** against the Chinese civilians, using extremely cruel methods, including the elderly, children and pregnant women, and innocent people, including the elderly, children and pregnant women. ”
They ruthlessly devastated their captured female compatriots, and then brutally took their lives; What is even more distressing is that they have dropped bacteriological bombs in the area, leaving the local population deeply exposed to a variety of painful diseases...All in all, the Japanese committed unimaginably grave crimes in this place, and their evil deeds are heartbreaking.
In May 1944, the residents of Tengchong showed great tenacity and perseverance. In order to ensure the smooth passage of Yunnan-Burma transportation, the 20th Army of the Kuomintang army launched a battle to recapture Tengchong.
Tengchong County is a difficult county, easy to defend and difficult to attack, but the residents did not back down because of this, but firmly fought side by side with the army to defend their homes. Despite the difficulties they faced, they persevered and showed great courage and perseverance.
Despite knowing that it was an extremely difficult battle, the Kuomintang army did not back down from it. During the Japanese occupation of Tengchong, they built a large number of pillboxes and artillery towers, turning Tengchong into an impregnable military fortress with unusually powerful firepower.
The fierce battle lasted 127 days, during which there were more than 40 fierce encounters. In the end, the Kuomintang army succeeded in eliminating the Japanese Major General Yasumi Kurashige and more than 6,000 Japanese soldiers under his command.
Although our expeditionary force was victorious in this battle, we paid a huge price. On the morning of September 14, 1944, our expeditionary force fought bravely and successfully annihilated the remaining Japanese troops in Tengchong City, marking the return of Tengchong, which had been occupied for more than two years, to the embrace of the motherland.
In order to commemorate the strategic significance of this battle for a long time, especially to pay the highest respect to the soldiers of the 20th Army who bravely sacrificed their lives in the battle, local *** and famous democrats launched a proposal to build a martyrs' cemetery in the second half of 1944, in order to forever remember the great achievements of these selfless heroes.
The construction of this martyr's cemetery was completed in less than half a year, which fully reflects the speed and efficiency of its construction. In particular, it is worth mentioning that the calligrapher Yu Youren personally inscribed the three big characters of "Loyal Martyrs' Shrine", which added a solemn and solemn atmosphere to the entire cemetery.
At the same time as Tengchong was building this cemetery, a cemetery was specially planned, which was later called "Wazuka", as a permanent memorial to the crimes committed by the Japanese in China.
At the time of burial, the Japanese were tied with their hands tied behind their backs and asked to kneel, and their burial site faced the cemetery of the soldiers of the expeditionary force. In order to express deep remorse for these crimes, four kneeling and repentant statues were made, including the statue of Kurashige Yasumi.
After learning of the existence of Japanese Japanese statues and kneeling sculptures in the National Memorial Cemetery, instead of reflecting on their own actions, the Japanese side brazenly demanded that the statues be removed and the remains of the Japanese soldiers returned.
In the face of such unreasonable demands, the Chinese people will naturally not give in. However, in order to resolve the issue peacefully, the Chinese side put forward three conditions. As long as the Japanese side meets these three conditions, we are willing to consider dismantling these statues.
First of all, the first condition put forward by the Chinese side is that Japan should make a public apology in a formal manner to China's Tengchong and all regions and peoples that have suffered Japanese aggression.
In order to show the world that Japan is committed to maintaining global peace and promoting friendly relations with neighboring countries, we need Japan to first dismantle the Yasukuni Shrine.
The purpose of this demand is to get Japan to take concrete actions, abandon the militaristic ideology of the past, and devote itself to building a peaceful and stable international environment. The third condition emphasizes that Japan should face history squarely and remove incorrect remarks from textbooks in order to correct the perception of the people at home.
By revising textbooks, we can ensure that the younger generation has a correct understanding of history and avoid repeating the mistakes of the past, so as to promote peace and friendly relations among nations. This is a reasonable demand put forward by China to safeguard historical truth and promote peace and development in Asia.
However, in the face of these three conditions, Japan did not respond, so if Japan did not agree to our conditions, what qualifications did it have to demand that we dismantle the "Wazuka"?
We are ready to wait for the Japanese side to meet our conditions before we come to discuss the issue of dismantling the "Wazuka." What's more, the people of Tengchong are firmly committed to one principle: never provide any accommodation or food for the Japanese.
With an unwavering attitude, the people of Tengchong conveyed to the world their opposition to the act of aggression and demonstrated their deep reverence for the dignity and justice of the country. To this day, we often hear people advocating forgiveness for Japan's actions back then.
However, have we ever thought about the heroes who died heroically? Who are we to comfort their spirits in heaven? Therefore, it is our duty to defend dignity and never forget history.
The national mourning of the past is still there, and the immortal soul lives forever! We respect the tenacious spirit of the martyrs, carry a heavy historical mission, overcome obstacles, and move forward towards the goal of building a more prosperous, strong and prosperous country!
Let us be grateful, remember the past, and work together to firmly believe that we can create a better future with harmony, tolerance and friendship.