PLA Daily 2005-08-28

        It is well known that there were roughly two battlefields in the world anti-fascist war: One was the Eastern battlefield where battles were fought against Japanese fascist invaders, the other was the Western battlefield where battles were fought against the Nazi Germany-centered aggressors. 
        In the East, the Chinese battlefront was the main battlefield against Japanese fascists in the Asia -Pacific region. At first, China fought independently against Japan, and then it joined the united operations of the allied countries against Japan, making important contributions to victory in the world anti-fascist war. 
        However, in the history research on World War II, due to various reasons, the Chinese anti-Japanese war didn't receive adequate attention from the international community and the historical position of China's war of resistance to Japan was not given full recognition, and so has to be supplemented and clarified in future history studies. In affirming the historical position of China's war of resistance, some basic, important facts listed below must be given attention.
The first flames of war of the world fascist aggression were ignited by Japan in China, and that was the "September 18" incident in 1931, thereby forming the first source of war in the Far East. The "July 7" incident in 1937 marked the beginning of China's all-out war of resistance against Japanese aggression, and thus raising the curtain of the world anti-fascist war, and opening up the first large-scale anti-fascist battlefield in the East of the world. Chairman of the US WWII History Committee, and others, clearly pointed out that the Lugouqiao (Marco Polo) Bridge incident was the beginning of World War II. As far as the whole WWII history is concerned, Japan's surrender to China and the Asia-Pacific region should be regarded as the end of WWII. 
        In the world anti-fascist war, the Chinese battlefield had always been the main force resisting and containing Japanese troops. By October 1938, Japan's armed forces in their invasion of China respectively accounted for 94 percent of its total ground force, 66 percent of its navy and 60 percent of its air force. Due to China's persistence in the war of resistance, Japan's "advance northward" plan for aggression against the Soviet Union was forced to suspend and its "advance southward" plan was delayed time and again. After the outbreak of the Pacific war, Japanese main force was tied down in China, by November 1943 when US troops launched strategic counteroffensive in the Pacific battlefield, Japan's ground force in the Pacific was less than 30 percent. During WWII, due to the existence of the Chinese battlefield, German, Italian and Japanese fascists had never been able to launch joint operations. 
        During the world anti-fascist war, more than 1.55 million people of the Japanese troops were killed, injured and captured in the Chinese battlefield, accounting for over 60 percent of the casualties inflicted upon Japanese troops during WWII. When Japanese troops surrendered in 1945, Japan's overseas aggressive troops totaled more than 3.52 million people. Of this total, over 1.28 million surrendered to China, a number exceeding the total of Japanese troops in Southeast Asia and various Pacific islands. 
        During the world anti-fascist war, the fearless spirit shown by the Chinese people in their heroic struggles represented a great inspiration to the anti-fascist war waged by various countries around the world. When German military planes were wantonly bombing Britain in 1940, the British Prime Minister raised the slogan of "following the example of China" in order to stimulate fighting will. When German troops reached the city gates of Moscow in 1941, Joseph Stalin also put forward the slogan of "following the example of China" so as to boost morale. The fighting spirit of China has become an important spiritual wealth in the world anti-fascist war. 
        In the world anti-fascist war, the Chinese anti-Japanese war lasted the longest time: 14 years counting from the "September 18" incident in 1931, and eight years counting from the "July 7" incident in 1937, the longest among the Allied countries in WWII. During the world anti-fascist war, China suffered the heaviest national sacrifice, with the casualties of soldiers and civilians running up to over 35 million people (including over 4.13 million army men). 
        History and fact have proved that the Chinese anti-Japanese war made important contributions to victory in the world anti-fascist war. The heroic sacrifice and historical meritorious services rendered by Chinese predecessors in the Chinese war of resistance should be engraved in the contemporary history of China and the world. Their descendants will always bear all this in mind. 
        This article by senior editor Huang Qing of People's Daily Overseas Edition was carried on the paper's front page, August 26 and translated by People's Daily Online