Editor's note: Xu Qinduo is CRI's former chief correspondent to Washington, DC, and a senior fellow of the Pangoal Institution. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
China marked its fifth Martyrs' Day on September 30, 2018, with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other senior officials and people from all walks of life laying flowers before the Monument to the People's Heroes at Tian'anmen Square in Beijing. The remembrance of those who died for the independence and prosperity of the republic is of significance to the identity of the Chinese – who they are and what they intend to achieve.
The notion of the martyr is inclusive. It not only includes those who fought for the Communist Party of China against the Japanese aggression in the 1930s and early 1940s as well as the Civil War later on against the Nationalists, better known as KMT. It goes back to the First Opium War in 1840 when China's door was forcefully opened for trade and foreign intervention.
Since then, China suffered tremendously during what is known as “a hundred years of humiliation.” It lost its independence and was unable to fully exercise its sovereignty. It was forced to give away part of its territories. Facing an external threat, millions of Chinese people joined numerous protests and battles to fight for the independence of the nation and regain its sovereignty. Many of them died for the idea of an independent country.
Students protested in the May Fourth Movement in 1919 against the Beiyang government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles. /VCG Photo
By remembering its fallen soldiers, China tries to strike a balance between rapid economic development and the strengthening of social cohesion. The Martyrs' Day was approved in 2014 by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, the top legislature. But efforts had been going on for some 10 years before the idea was put into practice.
Following decades of rapid economic growth, China witnesses a similar fast process of diversity in social values. Diversity itself is, in general, a good thing. But it doesn't look that beautiful when the mainstream ideas and values were undercut to a level that national heroes are laughed at and their reputation sometimes at risk.
For example, a company in Xi'an published a short video in May in which they replaced the phrase “for freedom” from a poem by former Chinese army general Ye Ting with “for painless abortion.” The poet was once imprisoned by the KMT in the Civil War and penned a poem which is well known in China to express his love for freedom.
The family members of General Ye filed a lawsuit soon after the video was released. The court ruled on September 28 that the company had violated the nation's Law on Protection of Heroes and Martyrs, which went into effect on May 1, and should be punished accordingly. The law represents another step in the effort to clarify what we hold dear to our hearts as a nation and what must be defended.
Few would deny that there's a need for the nation to establish a cohesive sense of what it is to be China after 40 years of reform and opening-up. With such efforts, a common identity and a set of shared values are being highlighted and reinforced to define who the Chinese are.
Chinese Armed Police of Beihai Branch pay tribute in front of the Martyrs' Monument in Guangxi Province, September 30, 2018. /VCG Photo
As the second largest economy and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), China is to be reckoned with. History usually serves as a guide to the future. China's past speaks a lot about what it is doing today.
For example, China provides the largest peacekeepers to the UN mission among the five permanent members of the UNSC. It's also the second largest contributor to the funding of UN peacekeeping missions. Going through a hundred years of wars and conflicts, China surely understands very well how valuable peace and stability are to a country.
The fact that China was subjugated to foreign powers during those years may explain why China, in dealing with relations with other countries, stresses so much that countries, large or small, are equal and should be treated with respect.
By honoring those who died for the nation, the Chinese remember who they are, where they are from and what they do and don't. Their philosophy lies in not only the Golden Rule “Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to yourself," but also their own history.
(If you want to contribute and have a specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)