NEW YORK, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) -- An event commemorating the 80th anniversary of the opening of the Tokyo Trial was held Friday at the Chinese Consulate General in New York.
The event, themed "Learning from History and Upholding Justice, Aspiring for Peace," was attended by over 100 guests from various sectors.
Doug Fitch, grandson of George Fitch, an American missionary who served as director of the International Committee for the Nanjing Safety Zone, spoke at the event, recalling how his grandfather helped shelter Chinese civilians from Japanese invaders during the Nanjing Massacre in 1937 and secretly carried film footage documenting Japanese atrocities out of Nanjing and made it public.
"Our job now is to tell those stories so beautifully that people will want to hear them. That's how memory becomes justice and how friendship between the American and Chinese people is kept alive," Doug Fitch said.
Franziska Seraphim, a historian at Boston College, said in a video address that the Tokyo Trial remains relatively little known compared with the Nuremberg trials, noting that the history of the war in Asia is poorly understood in the West.
"We must firmly resist any resurgence of militarism in new forms," Ma Xiaoxiao, acting Chinese consul general in New York, said during the event, adding that truth must never be distorted, aggression glorified or peace undermined.
The event also included a screening of the Chinese historical film Dead to Rights and a photo exhibition featuring historical photographs and archival materials of the Tokyo Trial.
After watching the film, many guests said that they had a deeper understanding of the profound and lasting significance of the Tokyo Trial, and that peace should never be taken for granted and the lessons of history must always be remembered. ■
