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Incident site revisited to mark CPC birthday

By Ma Chenguang (China Daily Anhui Bureau)
Updated: 2011-06-29 11:04

To celebrate the 90th birthday of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) which falls on July 1, Anhui province organized a bulky team of journalists to visit the former site of Wannan Incident on June 28 in Jingxian County, in a bid to remind them of the Party's glorious achievement as well as hardships met in the past.

Wannan Incident, or Southern Anhui Incident, happened between January 6 and 13, 1941 in Jingxian County under the city of Xuancheng during China's War against the Japanese Aggression (1937-45), marked a tragic episode in which most of the 9,000 people from the New Fourth Army headquarters and its detachments were killed or captured by the then-ruling Kuomintang soldiers.

"By reviewing the hardships and sacrifices suffered by the New Fourth Army of our Party as well as its unity and resolute belief, we should come to a firm stand by sticking to the leadership of the CPC and the road of building socialism with China's characteristics, as our present day achievement comes from our forefathers' struggles," said Li Bing, deputy director of the Party History Research Office under the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee, at the site of the press conference in Jingxian.

The event, part of "Red Flag Flying in Anhui" celebration arrangement, was co-organized by the Publicity Department, the Overseas Publicity Office and the Party History Research Office under the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee, as well as the Xuancheng City Committee and the Jingxian County Committee of the CPC, drawing journalists from news organizations located within Anhui province in East China.

During China's War against the Japanese Aggression, the New Fourth Army headquarters, the Southeast Bureau, the Central Plains Bureau and the Central China Bureau of the CPC Central Committee were all based in Anhui, organizing numerous battles against the Japanese invaders and the reactionary forces of the then-ruling Kuomintang.

According to Xiao Shanwu, secretary of CPC Jingxian County Committee, his county, which has a history of more than 2,100 years, is now known as a famous tourism destination due to its rich travel resources such as the Wannan Incident Martyrs Cemetery and the Former Site of the New Fourth Army, drawing numerous visitors each year from home and overseas.

On June 28, the event participants also visited the Wannan Incident Martyrs Cemetery, the Former Site of the New Fourth Army and the newly-opened Memorial Hall of the Former Site of the New Fourth Army.