Ｃｅｒｅｍｏｎｙ ｏｆ Ｓｉｇｎｉｎｇ Ｂｅｉｊｉｎｇ Ｐｅａｃｅ Ｄｅｃｌａｒａｔｉｏｎ ａｎｄ Ｕｎｖｅｉｌｉｎｇ……

Sixtieth Anniversary of Victory of Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War Commemorated

Ceremony of Signing Beijing Peace Declaration and Unveiling

Beijing Peace Monument Held in Chaoyang Park

Our Staff Reporter

Yesterday

We served in the armed forces

Sixty years ago， we experienced the Second World War.

Today

We are the survivors

Sixty years later， we are the last witnesses of that war.

Tomorrow

For our children， grandchildren， and for coming generations

Our hope is for better tomorrows.

Here we declare our hopes:

Love life， cherish peace.

——Beijing Peace Declaration

This is the first peace declaration signed in the name of World War II veterans. On the afternoon of September 2， more than 200 WWII veterans and their surviving families and over 100 famous Chinese army commanders during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and former soldiers of the Northeast Anti-Japanese Allied Army gathered in the Beijing Chaoyang Park to attend the signing ceremony of the Beijing Peace Declaration and the unveiling of the Beijing Peace Monument in their capacity as signatories to the declaration.

It is a rare get-together in history. Having gone through the most heroic period of their lives， the WWII veterans， as participants and survivors of that war， met in Beijing to sign the Beijing Peace Declaration and called for lasting world peace with broad vision.

In his speech at the ceremony， CPAFFC President Chen Haosu highly appraised the great sacrifices the Chinese and foreign veterans made in the war of resistance against fascists and to safeguard world peace 60 years ago and the immortal feats they performed for the progressive cause of humanity. He called on the peace-loving people to join their efforts to build a Great Wall of friendship.

Chen Xiao， a Chinese WWII veteran， said in his speech: “We fought in the war that brought calamity to the Chinese and world people and built the Great Wall of peace for the nation， the country and the progressive cause of humanity with our flesh and blood. Today， we are here to sign the Beijing Peace Declaration to express our aspiration for maintaining lasting world peace for the comrades-in-arms who sacrificed their lives in the war and those who are too old to come.”

American veteran Alfred Gardner spoke on behalf of the veterans from foreign countries. He said: “We came to this land in war from our far away countries and fought with the brave Chinese people 60 years ago. We shed blood and laid down our lives to fight against the fascists for world peace. Now we have come again 60 years later to contribute our bit to the maintenance of world peace. This year is the 60th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. Commemorative ceremonies have been held in France’s Normandy， Russia’s Moscow and Britain’s London. Today we are gathering in Beijing， the capital of China， by the lake of this beautiful park， to sign the Beijing Peace Declaration in order to express the earnest desire of the people who saw the war fire， blood and death with their own eyes. The desire is that the world peace will be everlasting like this tall and solid Beijing Peace Monument.”

At the ceremony the veterans in white caps that symbolized peace rose to their feet to pay silent tribute to the anti-fascist fighters who died in WWII when the military band started to play. At 15:00， veteran representatives solemnly put their signatures on the Beijing Peace Declaration. At 15:20， the Chinese and foreign veterans together pulled down the red curtain that covered the Peace Monument. A hundred peace doves were let fly. Veterans from different countries hugged warmly.

The Peace Monument is built on a peninsula of the lake in Chaoyang Park. It consists of 2 main walls， 14 sidewalls and a square. The main walls are 10 metres in height. The whole monument is 60 metres long on an elevated plot with 60 steps， symbolizing the 60th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. On the front of the main walls are engraved the Beijing Peace Declaration in 5 languages——Chinese， English， Russian， French and Spanish. Around the walls are engraved the signatures of the veterans who have signed the Beijing Peace Declaration.

This event sponsored by the CPAFFC is one of the five major activities in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.