Songs in Praise of Victory and Peace

o commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Victory of the World Anti-Fascist War， the Sichuan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries （SIFA） held a concert， featuring songs of the former Soviet Union， in Chengdu on May 8. Among some 400 Chinese and foreign attendees were a goodwill delegation from New Zealand led by Mr. Bill Willmott， Cobi Yanovsky， Deputy Consul General of Israel to Chengdu， as well as Russian， American， British， French， Danish， Ukrainian， Kazakhstani， Canadian， Peruvian， Australian， Ugandan and Zambian people living and working in Sichuan.

In her speech before the concert， SIFA President Luo Yubin said， “Today is the 70th anniversary of Victory in the world anti-fascist war. The havoc of war brought horrible disaster to the world’s people. China and the Soviet Union as the main battlefields in Asia and Europe， respectively， made great contributions to final victory.

“The Soviet Union sent an air force volunteer team to China to aid China （against the invading Japanese）. More than 200 pilots lost their lives.” The team leader Kulishenko actually perished in Sichuan （now Wanxian County of Chongqing） in 1939 after shooting down six Japanese warplanes.

She went on： “It is to remember history， recollect the memory of the martyrs， cherish peace and create the future that we solemnly commemorate this anniversary today so as to work hand in hand to safeguard the fruits of that victory and ensure world peace.”

At the concert， Chengdu High-Tech District Xiaojiahe Community Chorus， Chengdu Russian Folk Song Chorus and the Art College Choir of Sichuan University sang with great passion the songs of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union and Russian folk songs including Sacred War； The Song of Young Communist Leaguers； Bravely， Comrades， Keep Step； Katyusha， as well as the Chinese song Song of the Guerrillas， the Italian song Bella Ciao and some Ukrainian and New Zealand songs. The songs of the Patriotic War of the Soviet Union are deeply loved by the Chinese people. When the melody of Katyusha rose， people in the audience and the choruses on the stage sang together. It was such a stirring scene.

Foreign friends who have watched the performance spoke highly of the concert. Mr. Bill Willmott， an old friend of the Chinese people who is now over 80， said that the concert took him back to the days of the resistance war when he had lived in Chengdu and experienced the bombing of Huaxiba by Japanese airplanes and he deeply felt the tremendous sufferings Japanese invaders had brought to the Chinese people.

New Zealand had also participated in the Pacific War against the Japanese militarists and made sacrifices. The people of both New Zealand and China shouldered the responsibility to educate their younger generation not to forget history and to work together to safeguard world peace.

Mrs. Delf， a judicial assistant from Oregon whose father had been born in Yibin， Sichuan， had also endured the anti-Japanese war. She was especially deeply touched by the passionate singing of Sacred War performed by Sichuan university students.

The concert was staged after more than four months of preparation and rehearsal. As a people-to-people cultural exchange activity of Sichuan Province， it has helped to deepen friendship between the people of Sichuan and those of other countries.