By Zhang Jinruo
On the Beach Road in downtown Singapore stands the Civilian War Memorial, built in 1967 to commemorate victims of the Japanese occupation. Four white pillars rise side by side, like four candles pointing straight to the sky. This is Singapore's first memorial dedicated to civilian victims during the Japanese occupation. The four pillars symbolize the shared suffering of the Chinese, Malay, Indian and Eurasian communities. Standing in the heart of a modern metropolis, the memorial is not only a place to mourn the dead, but also serves as a reminder that war is never a distant or abstract concept. Only by remembering where we came from can we know where we are going.
The memory of war has never truly faded from Singapore. Not long ago, Sim Ann, Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs, revisited "the darkest chapter" in a public speech, the painful memories of the Japanese occupation, particularly the Operation Sook Ching experienced by the Chinese community. Her remarks struck a strong chord, "We remember this history not to reopen wounds, but to ensure we never lose sight of its lessons."
The Operation Sook Ching was a massacre carried out by the Japanese military after the fall of Singapore in 1942. According to materials from the Singapore's national library, the Japanese forces, under the pretext of screening, ordered large numbers of Chinese men to screening centers. Those deemed "anti-Japanese elements" were often taken away and executed. The massacre came to be associated with a so-called screening process, because those who were released were marked by the Japanese military police with a small paper stamped with the character meaning screened, and later, when the papers ran out, the character was indiscriminately stamped on the clothing or any part of the bodies of those who were permitted to go.
The Operation Sook Ching was far from the full extent of the atrocities committed by the Japanese military in Singapore. During the occupation, the Kempeitai (the Japanese military police) arbitrarily arrested, interrogated, and tortured civilians in an attempt to "crush all resistance." In the Double Tenth Incident, 1943, many civilians and detainees were subjected to prolonged torture, a case that later became an important example in postwar war crimes trials. At the same time, the Japanese occupation authorities extorted the so-called “atonement payments” from the local Chinese community under the pretext of punishing "anti-Japanese activities," taking lives while humiliating dignity, a stark reflection of the true nature of the aggression war.
Singapore has neither allowed this history to sink into oblivion, nor simply equated "looking forward" with “forgetting the past”. Commemorative activities held each year around February 15 (the anniversary of the fall of Singapore in 1942) as part of the Total Defence Day have become an integral part of public memory. From February 21 to March 8 this year, the National Heritage Board of Singapore organized a series of commemorative events, including guided tours, lectures, and site visits, etc. to help the public better understand wartime sites and historical trauma.
True reconciliation never comes from forgetting, but from fully embracing and honestly confronting history. For countries and people that have suffered, it is only natural to expect the culprits to face up to their aggression, acknowledge their crimes, and cherish the hard-won peace. As Sim Ann has noted, “we recognize that the severity of the damage and suffering caused by Japan during the Second World War” and “only honest remembrance and continued efforts at reconciliation can strengthen regional trust.”
A nation's attitude toward history often shapes the path it takes into the future. To counter reckless oblivion with honest remembrance, and to safeguard hard-won peace with clear-eyed reflection—this is not only a tribute to those who perished, but also a responsibility to the future. Only by facing history squarely can peace be more than empty words; only by remembering history can the region embrace a future with fewer shadows and greater tranquility.
Editor's note: Originally published on people.com.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.