China to set up database for Nanjing Massacre files after UNESCO listing

Visitors pay tribute to war victims at The Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders in Nanjing, East China's Jiangsu province. In the Nanjing Massacre, more than 300,000 people were slaughtered and 80,000 women were raped by Japanese invasion troops. The horror began on the morning of December 13, 1937, when the Japanese Imperial Army captured Nanjing. [Photo/IC]

NANJING - China will set up a special database and upgrade the protection of documents regarding the Nanjing Massacre after files on the atrocity were listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register.

A number of domestic archives will jointly establish the database, which will be open to the public at home and abroad, said a source with the Second Historical Archives of China on Sunday.

The database can help people learn more about the historical calamity caused by war, said the source.

Lasting more than six weeks, from December 13, 1937 until January of 1938, the Nanjing Massacre saw the deaths of 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers after the city fell into the hands of the Japanese.

On Friday, 11 sets of Nanjing Massacre files, including film, photographs and text taken and written between 1937 and 1948, were

listed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register, despite Japan's protest.

There are a large amount of archives on the slaughter from the aggressor, victims and third parties, said Guo Biqiang, a researcher with the Second Historical Archives of China.

The amount and variety of the documents were unmatched compared with similar heritage events, he said.

"China will ensure these valuable documents are protected and circulated, and make them play a positive role in remembering history, cherishing peace, looking into the future and safeguarding human dignity," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

Nanjing Massacre documents are mainly housed in the Second Historical Archives of China, the Nanjing Municipal Archives and the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.