Embrace Peace from History
以史为鉴，拥抱和平
Signed Article by Chinese Ambassador to Timor-Leste Xiao Jianguo Published on Independente
驻东帝汶大使肖建国在《独立报》上发表署名文章
3 September 2020
2020年9月3日
September 3rd and September 5th are worthy of commemorating by Chinese and Timorese peoples. September 3rd this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. September 5th is the day when the Japanese military rendered its weaponry to the Timor-Leste authority in 1945. The World War II is an unprecedented holocaust in the history of mankind. It raged across Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania, involving more than 2 billion people in more than 80 countries and regions, including China and Timor-Leste, and brought a huge disaster to world peace and human civilization. The war was a victory of justice over evil, light over darkness and progress over reaction. The new international order centred on peace and multilateralism with the United Nations at its core, which was established after the war, has become the fundamental guarantee for our enjoyment of 75-year’s peace and development, as well as brings significant and far-reaching influence on the progress of human civilization.
9月3日和9月5日是值得中东两国人民纪念的日子。今年9月3日，是中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利75周年纪念日。5日，是75年前日本侵略军向东帝汶行政当局放下武器投降的日子。第二次世界大战是人类历史上一场空前浩劫，战火遍及亚洲、欧洲、非洲、大洋洲，包括中国、东帝汶在内的80多个国家和地区、约20多亿人口卷入其中，给世界和平与人类文明带来巨大灾难。这场战争也是一场正义战胜邪恶、光明战胜黑暗、进步战胜反动的伟大战争，战后以和平为中心建立起来的国际新秩序，以联合国为核心的多边主义，成为我们享受75年安宁与发展的根本保障，为人类文明进步带来重大而深远的影响。
The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, as an integral part of the World War II, began the earliest and lasted the longest. Under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese people began their War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 1931, which lasted for 14 years and made great sacrifice. According to incomplete statistics, there were 35 million military and civilian casualties in China, and the economic losses amounted to 600 billion US dollars. For a long time, the Chinese battlefield contained and fought against the main forces of the Japanese militarism, and played a decisive role in the complete victory against the Japanese invaders. The Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression strategically supported the allied forces in their war of resistance against Japanese expansion, and delayed the Japanese aggressors’ invasion of other countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including countries in Southeast Asia. The great victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression has made an indelible historic contribution to the cause of ultimately defeating the world’s fascist forces and safeguarding world peace.
中国人民抗日战争是世界反法西斯战争的重要组成部分，开始时间最早，延续时间最长。在中国共产党的领导下，中国人民于1931年日本入侵开始抗战，历时14年，牺牲最惨重。据不完全统计，中国军民伤亡3500万人，经济损失达6000亿美元。中国战场长期牵制和抗击了日本军国主义的主要兵力，对彻底覆灭日本侵略者起到决定性作用。中国人民抗日战争在战略上策应和支持了盟国作战，迟滞了日本侵略者进犯亚太其他国家，包括东南亚国家的时间和步伐。中国人民抗日战争的伟大胜利，为最终战胜世界法西斯反动势力、维护世界和平的伟大事业作出了不可磨灭的历史贡献。
China and Timor-Leste share the common experience of being invaded and enslaved by the Japanese militarists. In China, the Japanese invaders committed a series of inhuman massacres such as the Nanjing Massacre and other heinous crimes. In Timor-Leste, Japan occupied the country in the spring of 1942. In order to fight Japanese aggression, many Timorese joined in the Anti-Japanese commandos set up by Australians, even more Timorese supported the guerrilla fighters by other means, such as providing food and shelter, carrying heavy equipment or being guides. But they were brutally repressed by the Japanese army. Within three years of Japanese occupation of Timor-Leste, the Japanese army had killed more than 60,000 local civilians, which means nearly 12% of Timorese inhabitants were killed. Timor-Leste has one of the highest rates of death during the World War II.
中东两国人民有着被日本军国主义者侵略、奴役的共同遭遇。在中国，日本侵略者制造了南京大屠杀等一系列灭绝人性的惨案，犯下了令人发指的罪行。在东帝汶，日本借二战之机于1942年春占领东帝汶。为了抗击日本侵略，许多东帝汶民众参加了澳大利亚人组建的抗日游击队，更多的东民众通过提供粮食、避难所、辎重，担任向导等方式支持游击队，但都遭到日军的血腥镇压。日军占领东帝汶三年内，残忍杀害了6万余百姓，近12％的东居民被战争夺去生命。东成为在战争中丧生比率最高的国家之一。
Past experience guide for the future. It has been 75 years since the war, and our generations were born after the war. We have never experienced the cruelty of war and have no experience of the price for peace paid by our predecessors. However, the concept of “never forget history, oppose war and cherish peace” will never go out of date. Both Chinese people and Timorese people are peace-loving nations. Our two countries bear history in mind, and remember the fallen soldiers and civilians, which is not to perpetuate hatred, but to better oppose war and cherish peace.
前事不忘，后事之师。战争已经过去了75年，我们这一代人都出生在战后，从未经历战争的残酷，对先辈们为了争取和平付出的代价没有切身感受，但“勿忘历史、反对战争、珍视和平”的理念永不过时。中东人民都是热爱和平的民族，中东两国铭记历史、缅怀先烈，并不是为了延续仇恨，而是为了更好地反对战争，珍爱和平。
The World War II has taught us that, peace is like air and sunshine, which is hardly noticed when people are benefiting from it. But none of us can live without it. Today, peace and development have become the themes of our times, but the world we live in is still not completely secure and prosperous. Countries such as Libya, Yemen and Syria are still in armed conflict, and universal peace is far from being achieved. The spread of unilateralism and protectionism is disrupting global supply and industrial value chains, undermining world trade, and the global economy is struggling with uncertainties. The COVID-19 is posing an imminent threat to humanity. The fight of pandemic has fully demonstrated that mankind is a community with a shared future. We should oppose to unilateralism, work together with solidarity and cooperation to win the battle.
第二次世界大战启示我们，和平犹如空气和阳光，受益而不觉，失之则难存。今天，和平与发展已经成为时代主题，但我们所处的世界仍不安定、发展不平衡。利比亚、也门和叙利亚等地仍处于武装冲突中，普遍和平远未实现。单边主义和保护主义搅乱全球供应链和价值链，损害国际贸易，世界经济在不确定性中艰难挣扎。特别是当今新冠疫情给人类带来威胁，再次充分说明人类是休戚与共的命运共同体，我们必须反对单边主义，携手团结合作，才能取得抗疫胜利。
Taking history as a mirror and cherishing peace, China is ready to work with Timor-Leste, to jointly uphold the international order and system underpinned by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and advance the noble cause of global peace and development together, with an aim to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity for future generations.
以史为鉴，珍爱和平。中国愿和东帝汶一道，共同维护以联合国宪章宗旨和原则为核心的国际秩序和国际体系，共同推进世界和平与发展的崇高事业，为子孙后代建设一个持久和平、普遍安全、共同繁荣、开放包容、清洁美丽的世界。