国内英语新闻:Interview: Cambodian scholars back Chinese President Xi's remarks at state memorial ceremony

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian experts on Saturday voiced their support for Chinese President Xi Jinping's remarks at China's first state memorial ceremony for Nanjing massacre victims.

While attending the ceremony which was held at the memorial hall for the massacre victims in the east China city of Nanjing, Xi said the Nanjing Massacre, committed by Japanese aggressors, was one of three major massacres during WWII. It was an atrocious anti-human crime and a dark page in the history of humanity.

"Anyone who tries to deny the massacre will not be allowed by history, the souls of the 300,000 deceased victims, the 1.3 billion Chinese people, and all people who love peace and justice in the world," Xi said.

Japanese troops captured Nanjing, then China's capital, on Dec. 13, 1937 and started a slaughter of 40 days. More than 300,000 Chinese soldiers, who had laid down their arms, and civilians were murdered and about 20,000 women were raped.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Cambodia's Council of Ministers, said the commemoration provided lessons from the history to younger generations and encouraged people to love peace. "I support China's commemoration for Nanjing massacre victims and Xi's remarks at the ceremony," he told Xinhua. "It is essential for younger generations to learn from the past history so as to avoid the repeat of such brutality in the future." "The commemoration is also a wake-up call for countries to love and maintain peace," he said.

Pou Sovachana, a senior research fellow at the Cambodian Institute for Cooperation and Peace, also voiced his support to Xi ' s remarks, saying that it is necessary to honor all the Chinese victims who were brutally killed at that time. "As a scholar, I support China's commemoration for Nanjing massacre victims and Xi's speech because this will remind the world that such brutal act must not happen again and wars are not solutions to issues," he said.

"It is to tell the world that the brutal murdering of innocent people must not be forgotten."