Chinese President Xi Jinping said Monday that history and facts can never be changed while attending a ceremony commemorating the start of the war of resistance against Japanese invasion, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
"History is history and facts are facts. Nobody can change history and facts. Anyone who intends to deny, distort or beautify history will not find agreement among Chinese people and people of all other countries," Xi said, referring to concern that Japan is trying to distort the history of the war.
Xi delivered a speech at a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, also known as the Lugou Bridge Incident, a clash on July 7, 1937 when China's resistance against Japanese invasion began.
The eight-year resistance ended with Japan's WW II defeat in 1945.
The ceremony was held at the Museum of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. "It's a pity that a small minority of people still ignore the iron-clad history and the fact that tens of millions of innocent people sacrificed their lives in the war nearly 70 years after the victory of the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the world anti- fascist war," the president said.
"This minority has repeatedly denied or even beautified the history of invasion, undermining mutual trust among states and creating regional tensions. Such behavior has been strongly condemned by the world's peace-loving people, said Xi. "History is the best textbook, as well as the best dose of sobriety," Xi said, adding that Chinese people who remember the torment of war have always been in pursuit of peace.