Party's role in uniting armies, people during War of Resistance remembered

A researcher on Thursday highlighted the role that the Communist Party of China played behind enemy lines during the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), while also paying respect to the Kuomintang soldiers.

Gao Yongzhong, deputy head of the Party's history research office under the Central Committee, said the CPC united all armies and people to fight against the Japanese invasion, and played a key role in China's victory.

"Thirty-five million Chinese soldiers, as well as civilians, regardless of their political backgrounds, lost their lives in 14 years of fighting against Japanese aggression, and they all died defending China's independence and integrity, which is an unforgettable fact that will not change as time passes by," Gao said at a media briefing organized by the State Council on Thursday.

He also recalled the sacrifice of soldiers of the Kuomingtang, the Chinese Nationalist Party.

"We always honor every Kuomintang soldier who died in the fight because we are all Chinese people," Gao said.

Troops under the leadership of the CPC killed 1.7 million Japanese soldiers as well as puppet soldiers, and seized 694,000 guns and more than 1,800 cannons, Gao said, citing Party research.

"The CPC opened up vast battlefields behind enemy lines and established the anti-Japanese democratic bases. The Chinese people's armed forces under the leadership of the CPC gradually became the backbone and the main force in the anti-Japanese war," Gao said.

By acknowledging every detail of the war, China is educating its people to avoid repeating history, and warning other countries not to wage war on the Chinese people again, he said.

China has planned a series of commemoration events in the coming month, including a military parade through Tian'anmen Square on Sept 3, to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Xinhua contributed to this story.