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Ambassador Guo Shaochun Special Correspondent
Today 75 years ago, the heroic Chinese people won a historic victory against Japanese aggression, sealing the defeat of fascism in the world.

It was a milestone in human history.

Justice prevailed over evil, humanity over madness, and hope over hate.

As the main theatre of war in the Far East, China made huge sacrifices and enormous contribution.

China’s frontline spanned 5 000 kilometres.

Chinese forces conducted 22 large-scale campaigns, more than 200 major operations and 200 000 battles, inflicting one and a half million casualties on the Japanese forces.

More than 35 million Chinese military personnel and civilians were killed or wounded.

In the Nanking (Nanjing) Massacre alone, some 300 000 Chinese were slain by the Japanese invaders. Property losses and the expense of war were estimated at US$100 billion.

The Japanese Army focused over two-thirds of its strength on the China theatre. In the initial stage of the Pacific War, 35 divisions out of a total of 51 were pinned down on the Chinese soil.

When the fighting was most intense, more than two million Japanese forces were kept at bay by over five million Chinese regular forces and two million guerrillas.

As we recall this great human tragedy, we must make sure its lessons are fully learned. At its heart, fascism is about premising the needs of one group, often defined by race and ethnicity, over the rest of humanity.

It sees the world as divided, rather than interconnected; it is quick to detect and accentuate difference, while blind to our common humanity; it believes the only way to secure the survival of one is to annihilate another, denying the truth that human beings rise and fall together.

The War broke out also because there was no international architecture to keep the free wills of individual States from running wild.

Without restraint from any kind of human law or consensus-building mechanism, big powers aligned to contain each other and engaged in a relentless arms race, carving out spheres of influence to determine the fate of the entire world.

The power and will of one State or one leader easily translated into unilateral actions.

Countless lives were thus lost. And the best way to pay tribute is to make sure the mistakes are never repeated.

Today, in place of violence, intolerance and hatred, we must champion the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind.

The myriad challenges before the international community, not least the Covid-19 pandemic, have driven home the fact that this is an era of inter-connected interests of all countries, and the world is increasingly an indivisible community.

Solidarity is not only the way for us to all fare better.

It is our only choice to survive and overcome one crisis after another. We must call for solidarity and cooperation and reject self-conceit and beggar-thy-neighbour practices.

Instead of power politics and hegemonism, we must advocate multilateralism.

The United Nations, created out of the ruins of the Second World War, was and remains the essential institution to foster peace, international cooperation and prevent future conflicts.

In the ensuing years of peace after WWII, the UN has also taken on important roles in promoting common development and responding to unconventional challenges, such as climate change.

Its position as the centre of multilateralism must be strengthened, and the purposes and principles of the UN fully respected.

On top of this, we should also stand up for greater democracy in international relations and safeguard the post-war international order underpinned by international law.

In difficult times, extreme ideologies tend to grow.

The evil ideas of fascism infiltrated the minds of many when human nature was tested by economic hardships and social ills.

Today, we find ourselves in the face of another demanding test, with Covid-19 changing and devastating lives around the world.

Seventy-five years ago, it was an unyielding spirit of solidarity that triumphed over fascism. The people of a nation fought as one to repel intruders; the nations of the world fought as one to crush fascist ideals.

Today, we owe it to our fallen heroes and the future generations to honour this legacy. Let equality, peace, and solidarity rule the day, so that the dark years of unspeakable atrocities, of lost faith and lost humanity are never repeated.

Guo Shaochun is the Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe.