Number of Nanjing Massacre survivors falls to 78

The number of registered survivors of the Nanjing Massacre fell to 78 following the death of two survivors in two days this week, the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders said.

Jin Maozhi, 91, died on Thursday after being hospitalized on Tuesday. He said he witnessed more than 20 people, including his father, being killed by Japanese soldiers during the massacre.

Jin and his mother led a hard life after his father's death. Sometimes they had to beg for a living.

On Dec 13, 1937, Japanese troops captured China's then capital, Nanjing, and killed more than 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers over six weeks.

Hu Xinjia, 95, died on Wednesday. As a 13-year-old he saw Japanese soldiers kill several Chinese people on a thrashing ground for wheat on the second day after they captured Nanjing. He managed to survive by hiding in piles of corn stalks.

The Chinese government has recorded the survivors' testimonies in both written and video forms.

In 2015, the documents on the massacre were listed by UNESCO in the Memory of the World Register.

Ma Tingbao, an 84-year-old survivor, said he feels deeply hurt each time he gives testimony, but he insists on doing it repeatedly.

"I give testimonies to ask for peace," he said. "I strongly oppose war and want people to learn from history and mistakes. I was only 2 years old when the massacre took place, but my mother told me the sad story again and again. The war ruined my childhood and the lives of many of my relatives."

To take better care of the survivors, the Memorial Hall for the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders often sends workers to visit them, provides physical examinations by working with local hospitals and invites them to take part in various activities.

It also invites them and their descendants to tell foreigners about the historical facts and express hopes for peace. Since April, the memorial hall has invited them to talk with more than 500 visitors from over 20 countries, including Japan, the United States and Germany.

The hall has also invited about 100 volunteers, college teachers and students to collect information about the survivors' descendants. By last month, they had collected information about more than 700.

Descendant Ge Fengjin and Nanjing Massacre research expert Sun Zhaiwei will visit four Japanese cities－Osaka, Nagoya, Shizuoka and Tokyo－from Dec 6 to 12 to discuss the massacre with local people.