88th Anniversary of the Nanjing Massacre: PLA Releases Poster Mentioning 'Dongwo' and Vows to 'Resolutely Sever the Filthy Head'

December 13 marks China’s National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre. At 8 a.m., the national memorial ceremony was held at the assembly plaza of the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders, with flags at half-mast at the main venue to express mourning. Events such as the World Peace Dharma Assembly and Candlelight Vigil: International Peace Gathering were also held. Various organizations, both within China and overseas, jointly organized commemorative activities.

Amid tense China-Japan relations, the official account of the PLA Eastern Theater Command released a themed poster on the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Day titled "Broadsword: Memorial," with the accompanying text, "Raise the blood-sacrificed broadsword high" and "Resolutely sever the filthy head."

The PLA Eastern Theater Command’s official public account posted the poster on the 13th, stating that 88 years have passed, yet “the ghost of militarism returns,” and “the annual National Memorial Day sounds a deafening alarm, reminding us always to uphold the blood-soaked broadsword, resolutely sever the filthy head, never allow militarism to return, and never allow the tragedy of history to be repeated.”

The accompanying text did not mention Japan by name, but in the closing quatrain referred to "Dongwo bringing disaster for nearly a thousand years, the sea of blood and deep hatred are still before our eyes." Here, “Dongwo” is a derogatory term for Japan.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remarks in November about the "Taiwan contingency" triggered a diplomatic dispute between China and Japan. Afterwards, Chinese Consul General in Osaka, Xue Jian, posted a message on X (Twitter), threatening to "unhesitatingly sever that filthy head," directly targeting the Japanese Prime Minister. China-Japan relations remain tense, and the situation has reached a fever pitch.

During the memorial events, all the province-wide anti-Japanese war-themed patriotic education bases in Jiangsu, 17 mass burial sites for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre and 12 communities in Nanjing, national anti-Japanese war-themed memorial halls (museums), over 130 Chinese community groups and international friends in more than 50 countries and regions globally, all held synchronized memorial activities. In addition, 100 elementary schools in China jointly held the 2025 "Learn History, Recite Peace, Read Together" National Memorial Day Online Cloud Class theme education event.

Looking back to December 13, eighty-eight years ago, the Japanese army invaded Nanjing, and in more than 40 days of massacre, an estimated 300,000 people were brutally slaughtered. In 2014, the Chinese government established December 13 as the National Memorial Day for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre through legislation, and each year on this day, flags are flown at half-mast at the main venue during the national memorial ceremony as a tribute to the victims.