China Marks 95th Anniversary of September 18 Incident in Shenyang

On September 18, senior Chinese officials and approximately 1,000 attendees gathered in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, to mark the 95th anniversary of the 1931 September 18 Incident. Led by Politburo member and National People's Congress Standing Committee Vice Chairman Li Hongzhong, participants rang the Warning Bell 14 times to commemorate China's 14-year resistance against Japanese aggression. Air defense sirens and vehicle horns sounded across Shenyang and broader Liaoning Province, while official speeches linked historical remembrance to national defense, Chinese modernization, and the comprehensive leadership of the Chinese Communist Party.

The 95th anniversary serves as a prominent historical milestone for Beijing. Amid ongoing regional security discussions in Northeast Asia, the high-profile ceremony in Shenyang—the site where the 1931 incident began—functions as a key platform to reinforce domestic cohesion, bolster national defense awareness, and solidify the state's historical narrative regarding the anti-fascist war and Party leadership.

Chinese state, military, and regional leaders gathered on the morning of September 18 in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, to observe the 95th anniversary of the 1931 September 18 Incident, state media reported. The ceremony was held at the Broken Calendar Monument plaza outside the 9.18 Historical Museum. Li Hongzhong, a member of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Politburo and vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, attended and delivered the keynote address. Other senior officials in attendance included Wang Xiaohong, Zhang Shengmin, and Shao Hong, alongside leadership from the Northern Theater Command and provincial officials from Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang. The event began shortly after 9:00 a.m. with the singing of the national anthem. At 9:18 a.m., bell-ringers and officials struck the Warning Bell, which is inscribed with the phrase 'Do Not Forget National Humiliation.' The bell was sounded 14 times, symbolizing what official historiography defines as China's 14-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Simultaneously, air defense sirens sounded for three minutes across Liaoning Province, while trains, ships, and automobiles in Shenyang sounded their horns. In his address, Li stated that Japanese invaders launched the September 18 Incident 95 years ago and credited the Chinese Communist Party with leading the nation to its first complete victory against foreign invasion in modern times. Li called for using history as a mirror to guide the future, adhering unswervingly to the Party's comprehensive leadership, advancing Chinese modernization, and pursuing a community with a shared future under the Party Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core. Following the ceremony, attendees—including wartime veterans, martyrs' families, and student representatives—toured an on-site exhibition titled 'Truth: Ironclad Evidence of Japanese Aggression in Northeast China.' Reporting by China News Service highlighted remarks from 93-year-old veteran Ma Xiuxiang, who pointed to China's present strength as a guarantor against future foreign challenges, calling on the public to continue developing the country.