HKSAR holds commemoration for Nanjing Massacre victims

Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) John Lee lays a wreath at a memorial ceremony to mourn the victims of the Nanjing Massacre in Hong Kong, south China, Dec. 13, 2022. (Information Services Department of the Government of the HKSAR/Handout via Xinhua)

HONG KONG, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) held a memorial ceremony Tuesday to mourn the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Leung Chun-ying, Chief Executive of the HKSAR John Lee, and principal officials of the HKSAR government attended the ceremony and observed a moment of silence.

Lee laid a wreath in memory of the victims at the ceremony held at the HKSAR government headquarters.

"Today, we pay our highest tribute to the victims," he said. "I wish to take this opportunity to show the Chinese people's firm stance of resolutely safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity, and world peace."

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec. 13 as the national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

The Nanjing Massacre took place after the Japanese troops captured the city on Dec. 13, 1937. Over six weeks, they killed more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in one of the most barbaric episodes of World War II.