I.

September 3 marks the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Eight decades ago, the Chinese people, through unwavering resolve and heroic struggle, achieved a monumental victory in the War of Resistance. On September 2, 1945, aboard the USS Missouri anchored in Tokyo Bay, Japan signed the instrument of surrender under the witness of representatives from nine Allied nations, including China. September 3 was thus designated as the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, simultaneously commemorating the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War.

Eight decades ago, 3.4 million Sichuan soldiers fought valiantly on the front lines while the people of Sichuan provided robust support on the home front, embodying the heroic legacy that "no army was complete without Sichuanese" and making indelible contributions to the war effort.

On September 3, 2025, a grand ceremony to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War is held in Tian'anmen Square, Beijing, which includes a massive military parade lasting approximately 70 minutes.

Having endured a long stretch of darkness, one better appreciates the value of peace. As unprecedented global changes are unfolding at a faster pace and the historical pendulum strikes the alarm bell of peace, China reiterates historical justice through a grand military parade. At this very moment, the echo of history resounds powerfully: "Justice prevails! Peace prevails! The people prevail!"

Remembering history, safeguarding peace, demonstrating strength, and asserting justice—the grand commemorative activities ignite the torch of history, bridging the past, present and future to illuminate the path forward.

II.

On August 22, the thematic exhibition "Great Victory, Sichuan-Chongqing Contributions: Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War" opened at the Sichuan Museum. Among the exhibited artifacts are photographs capturing the devastation of Chengdu after Japanese aerial bombings, documenting the aggressors' brutality; aircraft nameplates belonging to Japan's "King of Bombing" shot down over Sichuan, testifying to Chinese resilience; and original issues of Ta Kung Pao and Japan's Mainichi Shimbun announcing Japan's surrender and China's victory, serving as irrefutable evidence.

The history of victory shall not be erased, nor shall the history of aggression be rewritten. In a signed article titled "Learning from History to Build Together a Brighter Future", published in the Russian Gazette newspaper this May, President Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must uphold a correct historical perspective on WWII." Just over a month later, President Xi Jinping attended the second China-Central Asia Summit, reiterating the imperative to promote the correct view of history, defend the fruits of the victory of World War II (WWII), uphold the U.N.-centered international system, and provide more stability and certainty for world peace and development.

What is the correct historical perspective on WWII? China and the Soviet Union were the principal theaters of WWII in Asia and Europe, respectively. The two countries served as the mainstay of resistance against Japanese militarism and German Nazism, making a pivotal contribution to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression began the earliest and lasted the longest. United as one under the banner of the Chinese united front against Japanese aggression, which was advocated and established by the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese people launched a relentless struggle against and defeated the brutal Japanese militarists. With immense sacrifice, they carved out an immortal epic of heroic resistance and ultimate victory against Japanese aggression. Any attempt to justify or whitewash the history of Japanese militarist aggression is bound to fail—this is a universally recognized historical truth.

However, on August 6, 2025, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson made the statement that "eighty years ago, the United States and Japan concluded a devastating war in the Pacific region", distorting historical facts through misleading rhetoric. Moreover, prior to the military parade, Japan attempted to dissuade various countries from attending China's September 3 commemoration event, exposing its refusal to face history squarely and its attempts to whitewash past atrocities. In recent years, the persistent emergence of historical distortions, such as the "Six-Year WWII" theory, "Western-centralism" narratives, "overlooking China's role in WWII", and portraying "Japan as a victim", represents nothing but historical nihilism that subverts truth and falsifies historical records. This attempt to reconstruct historical memory aims to undermine the international discourse power of China and Russia, facilitate the resurrection of Japanese militarism, deconstruct the post-war order, and challenge the stability and fairness of global multilateral mechanisms.

Any schemes or actions that deny, distort, or tamper with the history of WWII constitute a reversal of the course of history and will never gain popular support. "What would have become of Asia and the world had China been defeated?" Engaging in this counterfactual reasoning reveals that WWII "would have continued with no foreseeable conclusion". As the principal theater in the East during the World Anti-Fascist War, the battlefield in China consistently contained and resisted against the bulk of Japanese militarist forces, annihilating over 1.5 million Japanese troops and playing a decisive role in the ultimate defeat of the Japanese aggressors. China's protracted resistance forced the Japanese military into a quagmire of prolonged warfare, effectively coordinating with and bolstering the operations in the European and Pacific theaters. During the grueling 14 years of tenacious resistance, the Chinese people suffered devastating casualties totaling 35 million. Throughout the long and arduous years of the War of Resistance, China fought not only for the future and destiny of the Chinese nation, but also for the future and destiny of all humanity. This is the profound historical significance and stature of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression!

The great victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression reestablished China's stature as a major power in the world and marked a historic turning point toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. On June 26, 1945, at the War Veterans Memorial Building in San Francisco, Chinese representatives, including Gu Weijun and Dong Biwu, were among the first to sign the United Nations Charter. China has been a permanent member of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, undertaking the mission to maintain world peace and order.

The debate over historical interpretation is, at its core, a clash of values and a contest for hearts and minds. Though devoid of gunfire, it is no less intense; it is a battle with far-reaching implications that may ultimately shape humanity's future.

Eighty years later, the world remains far from peaceful. At the beginning of the year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark warning at the UN General Assembly in New York: humanity has unleashed "a modern-day Pandora's box of ills", and these ills could, "at worst, upend our very existence".

A correct view of history requires not only observing the current international situation but also looking back through the telescope of history to summarize its laws while looking forward to grasping the overarching trend of historical progress. China, by upholding and promoting a correct view of WWII history, consistently stands on the right side of history and on the side of human progress. It is an upholder of world peace, contributor to global development and defender of the international order. The stronger China's capabilities grow, the greater the hope for world peace becomes.

Igniting our path forward with the torch of history. Eighty years of global peace and development have been secured through the blood and sacrifice of the Chinese people and peace-loving people worldwide. The Chinese people, having paid immense sacrifices, will resolutely defend the history written with blood and life, and safeguard fairness and justice in the world.

III.

"We must cast aside all considerations of personal safety, knowing that resistance against the enemy was our sole and central mission." On August 26, 1937, Sichuan's Huaxi Daily published the "Proclamation to the Soldiers and Civilians of Sichuan and Xikang", which served as the declaration of the Sichuan Army's expedition to resist Japanese aggression. The document was drafted by Zhang Xiushu, a member of the CPC.

Prior to this, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Zhu De personally promoted united front work targeting Sichuan Army commanders. The formal establishment of the Sichuan united front against Japanese aggression was marked by two pivotal events in September 1937: Liu Xiang leading his troops out of Sichuan to engage in resistance against Japanese aggression and the founding of the Sichuan Province Anti-Enemy Support Association.

Sichuan is a microcosm of the Party-led nationwide total resistance against Japanese aggression. Under the banner of the Chinese united front against Japanese aggression upheld by the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people forged a Great Wall of steel with their flesh and blood to save the nation from peril and defend its dignity, composing a monumental chapter of the Chinese nation's successful resistance against foreign aggression in modern history.

Japan's prolonged aggression against China and its scheme to annex the country as a colony represent the darkest chapter in modern Chinese history, bringing the Chinese nation to its most perilous moment. "To resist is to survive; to surrender is to perish. Resisting Japan and saving the nation have become the sacred duty of every compatriot." In August 1935, the CPC publicly issued the renowned August First Declaration, pioneering the earliest and most resolute resistance against aggression. In December of the same year, the CPC Central Committee convened an expanded meeting of the Political Bureau in Wayaobu, establishing the strategic policy of forming a national united front against Japanese aggression. Unity brought strength.

What defines a pillar of strength? It is the courage to shoulder responsibility when the edifice nears collapse, the valor to shed blood in sacrifice, and the fortitude to endure humiliation for a greater cause. As later pointed out by Comrade Mao Zedong, without the CPC, the Eighth Route Army, the New Fourth Army, and the Shaan-Gan-Ning Border Region sincerely advocating for an end to the civil war and unified resistance against Japanese aggression, there would have been no one to initiate the national united front against Japanese aggression, no one to lead the peaceful settlement of the Xi'an Incident, and thus no way to carry out the War of Resistance.

In 1938, as vast territories across north China, east China, and south China fell successively into enemy hands, the crisis of national subjugation and extinction loomed over the land and the people like a dark cloud. In July of that year, Comrade Mao Zedong authored On Protracted War, stating: "To win victory, we must persevere in the War of Resistance, in the united front and in the protracted war"... and "the final victory will belong to China." These powerfully penetrating words became a pillar of spiritual strength for the Chinese people, sustaining their resolve to resist to the end under the most arduous conditions.

During the darkest, most disorienting, and perilous moments of the War of Resistance, it was the Communist Party of China that stepped forward to chart a path—long yet certain—toward victory. When the war entered the stage of strategic stalemate, and Kuomintang die-hards passively resisted Japan but actively opposed the Communist Party, even instigating bloody clashes, it was the Communist Party of China that prioritized the overall interest, safeguarding the national united front against Japanese aggression as the fundamental foundation for final victory. The backstage battlefields, pioneered and led by the Communist Party of China, and the center stage battlefields commanded by the Kuomintang, operated in coordination. This collaboration forced the aggressors into a strategic dilemma of fighting on two fronts, attacked from both ahead and behind, creating a remarkable phenomenon in the history of the World Anti-Fascist War and even in the annals of Chinese and global military history.

The mainstay role of the Communist Party of China served as the key to victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has embraced the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as its historical mission. It has proven to be the most steadfast in defending national independence, the most resolute in safeguarding national interests, and the most courageous in resisting foreign aggression.

Without the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the achievement of national independence and liberation would likely have been delayed, exacting an even greater price. Throughout this journey, without the CPC's leadership, New China could not have attained its present developmental achievements, let alone its current international stature.

Igniting our path forward with the torch of history. The CPC is always the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation necessitates unwavering adherence to the Party's leadership. All political parties, people's organizations, ethnic groups and people of all sectors across the country should rally closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core and march forward with one heart and one mind.

IV.

On July 8, at the thematic exhibit titled "For National Liberation and World Peace: Exhibition of the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War", the Central Archives publicly disclosed Zhao Yiman's detailed files for the first time, offering a profound tribute to the 120th anniversary of the birth of this Sichuan-born resistance heroine. On August 2, 1936, Zhao Yiman, a member of the Communist Party of China, heroically sacrificed her life at the age of 31. As she wrote in her poem: "I did not hesitate to offer my head for the new nation, and willingly drench the land of China with my passionate blood."

At the Hall of Resistance by the Sichuan Military Force within the Sichuan Jianchuan Museum, the "Sacrifice Flag" stands particularly conspicuous. Before sending his son Wang Jiantang to the battlefield, Wang Zhecheng of Sichuan moved all to tears with his exhortation: "I do not wish you to practice filial piety by my side, but to fulfill loyalty to our nation." At the eastern gate of Chengdu People's Park, the Monument to Sichuan Army Soldiers Fallen in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression features a soldier statue facing the direction of the expedition from Sichuan. The figure is depicted in shorts with leg wrappings, carrying a straw hat and broadsword on his back, holding a long rifle, and with grenades strapped across his chest.

"Rather die than live as slaves to a conquered nation"—the awakening of the Chinese nation and the elevation of its national spirit reached unprecedented heights during the War of Resistance. Sichuan stood united as one, with all its people sharing a bitter hatred for the enemy—"marching forth with valor to answer the nation's call, facing death as calmly as returning home." During the 14-year War of Resistance, 3.4 million young and middle-aged Sichuanese marched out to fight, with less than one-tenth returning home victorious.

The Sichuan Army's blood-soaked valor on the front lines was both epic and moving, while the contributions of Sichuan civilians on the home front were equally indispensable. Sichuan not only contributed immense numbers of troops, funds, grain, and supplies, but also demonstrated magnanimity by accommodating the relocation of research and educational institutions from enemy-occupied areas in north and east China, as well as providing refuge for displaced populations fleeing other regions. A succinct telegram, "Tongji relocating to Sichuan, Lizhuang welcomes. All needs, local provision", transformed a small Sichuan town into one of the four major cultural hubs during the War of Resistance.

In October 1945, following the victory in the War of Resistance, the Xinhua Daily published an editorial titled "Gratitude to the People of Sichuan", which stated: "The people of Sichuan have fulfilled the utmost and most critical responsibilities toward the center stage battlefields."

The Sichuan Army's fearless spirit in the face of death played a significant role since the War of Resistance. During the war, the Sichuan Army suffered immense casualties and disappearances, with the number reaching over 640,000, making it the highest among all provinces in China. More than 60 years later, when the catastrophic "5.12" Wenchuan Earthquake struck Sichuan, the entire nation mobilized for relief efforts. A profoundly moving phrase echoed across China: Sichuan people have never failed the nation, and the nation will never fail Sichuan.

What enabled Sichuan's forces to unleash such tremendous energy? What motivation drove the people of Sichuan to dedicate all they had?

Be resolute, unafraid of sacrifice, and surmount every difficulty to win victory. The history of the War of Resistance is not merely a military chronicle, but also a spiritual epic; its victory signifies not only the recovery of lost territories, but also the rebirth of a national spirit.

The people and soldiers of Sichuan have epitomized the great spirit of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, forged by the Chinese people during that war. This spirit embodies the patriotic devotion that "survival of a nation is the responsibility of every individual", the national integrity of facing death unflinchingly and refusing to yield, the heroic mettle of defying brute force and fighting to the end, and the unwavering conviction of perseverance and determination to win. A nation that has risen spiritually is invincible.

The great spirit forged during the War of Resistance has also been etched into the blood of the Sichuan people, nourishing this land and shining brilliantly across the different historical periods of revolution, construction and reform. Sichuan's Third Front construction period, pioneering through adversity, its reform era marked by groundbreaking initiatives, and its transformative leap from an inland basin to a strategic highland, all represent contemporary expressions of this great spirit across different historical stages.

Igniting our path forward with the torch of history. The great spirit forged during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression remains, now and forever, a powerful force inspiring the Chinese people to overcome all obstacles in striving for national rejuvenation.

V.

The torch of history is passed down through generations, illuminating the journey from anguish to glory.

Today's China strides purposefully along the Chinese path to modernization, advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts.

Today's Sichuan surges upward in its ongoing pursuit of propelling the governance and development of the province to new heights. From its iron-willed legacy as a crucial rear area during the War of Resistance to its current strategic role as a national hinterland in the new era, the land of Bashu witnesses transformative developments with each passing day.

At this very moment, as we look back upon the past, the smoke of battle has long dissipated. Yet only through remembering history can we pioneer the future. While the past remains immutable, the future awaits our shaping.

At this solemn moment, we pay tribute to the heroes who made ultimate sacrifices for today's China. This thriving nation you envisioned has now become a reality. The finest tribute to heroes lies in carrying forward the great spirit forged during the War of Resistance under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, blazing trails through mountains and building bridges across rivers as we advance from victory to new victories.

At this pivotal moment when global attention converges on China, our nation advances in step with the logic of historical progress and develops in sync with the tide of our times. Chinese modernization will generate new opportunities for the world, advance the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, and further contribute new momentum to human civilization.

The torch of history burns bright, passed from generation to generation, illuminating the path toward our shared future.