UNESCO has added Nanjing Massacre historical documents to its Memory of the World Register, a move Beijing “welcomes,” Chinese state media reports.
The documents include 11 sets of files on the Nanjing Massacre, also known as the Rape of Nanking, including film, photographs and text recorded between 1937 and 1948, Xinhua said.
Japan invaded China in the 1930s during World War II. The Chinese government says about 300,000 people died during a weeks-long spree of mass killings, rape and looting after the Japanese military occupied Nanjing. The Japanese government disputes the scale of the incident.
“China will ensure these valuable documents are protected and circulated, and make them play a positive role in remembering history, cherishing peace, looking into the future and safeguarding human dignity,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told Chinese state media outlet Xinhua.
The UNESCO Memory of the World Register was established in 1992 with the aim of preserving documentary heritage. It includes everything from the archives of the Dutch East India company and the diary of Anne Frank to the music of Romantic composer Johannes Brahms.
Objections from Japan
China filed the application with UNESCO more than a year ago, facing strong objection from Japan. The country, which extended its empire prior to, and during, World War II, disputes the scale of the massacre.
“It is extremely regrettable that China used UNESCO politically to unnecessarily play up the negative legacy on a certain period of the history of the both countries when we need effort for the improvement on the bilateral relationship,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at the time.
“We cannot deny that there (were) murders and looting against non-combatants after the Japanese imperial army entered into Nanjing. However there are several estimates about the scale and it is difficult for the government to determine clearly.”
The incident is a persistent flashpoint in Sino-Japan relations. Beijing charges that Tokyo has failed to properly apologize for the wartime atrocity.