Senior leaders of the Communist Party of China and the government will join 10,000 people in attending a grand flower dedication ceremony to be held at the Tian'anmen Square in Beijing on September 3 to mark the 60th anniversary of victory in China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
"This will be one of the five major events to mark the occasion," said Wang Guoqing, deputy director of the State Council's Information Office, at a news briefing held in Beijing Tuesday.
Outlining four other events, Wang said, an evening party will be held on September 2 at the Great Hall of the People, which will be attended by 6,000 people including senior Party and government leaders.
On the morning of September 3, President Hu Jintao will confer medals on representatives of 700,000 war veterans, patriots and military officers who served in the war, at the Great Hall of the People.
A commemorative conference will be held at 10:00 AM September 3 at the Great Hall of the People. More than 6,000 people, including Party and state leaders, will attend.
A reception is to be held at 6:00 PM September 3 at the Great Hall of the People, drawing 2,100 participants.
Besides, other events such as seminars and exhibitions will also be held.
So far, Wang said, more than 1,500 veterans from home and abroad have been invited to join the commemorative activities, including 600 war veterans, 400 retired officials, 350 patriots from home and abroad, high-ranking military officers who had served in the war or their family members, and 210 guests from 20 countries.
A press center for covering the commemorative events is to open to reporters in Beijing from September 1.
In response to a question on Sino-Japanese relations, Chen Haosu, president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC), said China's commemoration of the 60th anniversary of victory in the anti-Japanese war is not anti-Japan education. China is willing to develop long-term friendly cooperative ties with Japan in a spirit of taking history as a mirror and looking up to the future.
Vice Foreign Minister Lu Xinhua said Japan's correct understanding of its militaristic past is an important political foundation for developing Sino-Japanese relations. "We hold that the Japanese government will translate their promise into real action."
Wang Zaixi, deputy director of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office, spoke highly of the role of Kuomintang troops and Taiwan compatriots in the anti-Japanese war.
He said the major battles fought by Kuomintang troops on the frontline battlefields had given heavy blow to intruding Japanese troops, which are important component of China's anti-Japanese war. Taiwan compatriots had also made indelible contribution to the victory of the war.
(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2005)
