On February 27, TIME magazine (Asian edition) published an article titled “For shared memory, Nanjing is forever grateful to evidence providers”. The article introduced Western readers to the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders — an authoritative platform where people can learn about the historical truth behind the Nanjing Massacre and where memories of the massacre are well kept. The article also expressed Nanjing’s respect for those who have made efforts to reveal and spread the historical truth behind the Nanjing Massacre.
The search for truth is never easy, the article pointed out. The collection, sorting and presentation of evidence about the Nanjing Massacre underwent a complicated and long process. A lot of irrefutable evidence (such as The Diaries of John Rabe) only began to be unearthed in the 1980s and 1990s with the help of international friends, especially overseas Chinese. So far, the Memorial Hall boasts more than 192,000 cultural relics and historical materials that come from China and beyond. Nanjing Massacre was a tragedy for the entire humanity that took place 86 years ago, and it is the shared memory that cannot be forgotten by humanity. For this reason, Documents of the Nanjing Massacre were officially inscribed on the Memory of the World by the UNESCO in 2015. To make the memory more complete, Nanjing is still trying to restore the historical truth behind the Nanjing Massacre, and it welcomes relevant evidence from people around the world.
Last September, Evan Kail, a pawnshop owner in the US state of Minnesota, posted on social media that he discovered “new evidence documenting the Nanjing Massacre”. His post became a trending topic revolving around “re-recognizing the historical truth behind the Nanjing Massacre”. Countless overseas netizens felt shocked by the historical truth. The TIME magazine article pointed out that “the process of discovering and learning about the truth usually needs to be repeated across generations … but such truth unearthed because of righteous efforts always has the power to touch the heart.”
“Nanjing will always be grateful to the providers of historical evidence of the massacre. Collections require a professional and scientific process of verification. But the search for historical truth is a worthy endeavor in and of itself that will enlighten future generations and benefit the world,” the article cited Zhou Feng, director of the Memorial Hall, as saying.
