China marks anniversary of Japan’s 9/18 invasion day

With air raid sirens ringing throughout the city of Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China on Thursday commemorated the 83rd anniversary of the 9/18 Incident, an event that led to Japan's full-scale invasion of China.

The commemoration is part of a series of World War II memorial events scheduled this year, which analysts say will continue to be carried out in a high-profile fashion as relations between the two Asian powers remain strained over territorial disputes and historical issues.

Senior Party leader Liu Yunshan on Thursday attended the commemoration. He joined officials and public representatives in striking a bell 14 times, representing the 14 years Chinese people spent fighting against Japanese aggression.

The bell was engraved with the words "never forget national humiliation."

Air raid sirens were then sounded at exactly 9:18 am across Shenyang, where the incident took place, as well as other cities across Northeast China's Liaoning Province.

In a speech, Liu said the purpose of commemorating the 9/18 Incident is to "remind people of history, honor the martyrs, call on people to remember national humiliation and join the drive to realize the Chinese dream." He was also quoted by the Xinhua News Agency as saying that the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) highlighted the importance of promoting national strength and fostering a patriotic spirit among Chinese people.

The 9/18 Incident, or "Mukden Incident," occurred on September 18, 1931, when Japanese troops blew up a section of the railway near Shenyang and accused Chinese troops of sabotage as a pretext for a large-scale invasion of Northeast China. It is also remembered by many as the "Day of National Humiliation" as the Chinese army later retreated, following a non-resistance policy.

The commemoration is the third high-profile memorial event attended by a top Party official in the past three months, following the July 7 anniversary of the beginning of the war of resistance and the September 3 anniversary of victory in that war. The latter two events were attended by all seven members of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, China's top leadership.

"The event is a counterattack against behaviors from the Japanese side. In fact, the high-profile commemorations will very likely become routine under the current circumstances," Lü Yaodong, a scholar with the Japanese Studies Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), told the Global Times.

A growing number of senior Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, have paid visits to the Yasukuni Shrine over the past few years. Abe also pushed to revise Japan's formerly pacifist constitution to remove several constraints on the Japanese military's operation overseas.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei Thursday urged Japan to "honor its commitment on historic issues and follow a peaceful development path" in his comments on the occasion.

Chinese commentators are discussing what historic lessons should be drawn from the 9/18 Incident.

Xing Anchen, a history professor from Liaoning University, believed that the Kuomintang government's initial non-resistance policy had the opposite of its intended effect, leading to a full-blown war rather than avoiding it.

Anti-monopoly report on Japanese firms 'not related' to war anniversary

China's top price regulator Thursday released detailed reports on its decision to fine 12 Japanese auto parts suppliers 1.24 billion yuan ($201 million) for price manipulation.

The Japanese firms include Hitachi, Denso, Aisan, Mitsubishi Electric, Mitsuba, Yazaki, Furukawa, Sumitomo and bearing makers Nachi, NSK, JTEKT and NTN, according to reports on the website of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

A brief report outlining the NDRC's decision was released on August 20. The Thursday reports listed each of the 12 companies' violations of Chinese anti-monopoly law and why the regulator decided on fine amounts for each company. Hitachi and Nachi were exempt from the punishment as they were the first Japanese companies to report their monopoly agreements, the NDRC said.

The timing of the release of the latest reports, September 18, the anniversary of the day when Japanese troops invaded Northeast China during WWII, prompted speculation as to whether it was a deliberate move on the part of Chinese authorities.

However, Lü Yaodong, a research fellow of Japanese studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), said the NDRC's latest reports could have coincided with the 9/18 anniversary. "The NDRC had already announced the decision to fine the Japanese companies earlier, the two things are not related," he said.

Ma Yong, an expert on China's modern history with CASS, echoed Lü's comment.