When sirens wailed Sunday morning in cities across China to observe the 80th anniversary of the Sept. 18 Incident, the Chinese people should be reminded of the history of national humiliation.

A flag-raising ceremony is held in front of the Sept 18 Museum in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, on Sunday. More than 1,000 people attended the event that marked the 80th anniversary of Japan's invasion of China and the start of a 14-year occupation up to the end of World War II. [Photo by Li Gang / Xinhua]

On Sept. 18, 1931, Japanese troops blew up a section of the railway under its control near Shenyang, then accused Chinese troops of sabotage as a pretext and bombarded the barracks of the Chinese troops near Shenyang the same evening, thus starting a large-scale armed invasion of northeast China.

Four months later, Japanese troops occupied 1.28 million km of Chinese territory in northeast China, 3.5 times the land mass of the whole of Japan.

The incident was followed by Japan's full-scale invasion of China and the rest of Asia, and triggered a 14-year war of resistance against Japanese aggression.

Awakened by the incident, the Chinese people commenced the 14-year anti-aggression war under the banner of the national united front proposed by the Communist Party of China (CPC), and won the first overall victory over foreign invaders in China's modern history.

The victory was also an important contribution to the war against Fascism in the world and the peace for all humans.

The humiliation and the lesson of the Sept. 18 Incident should be remembered by every Chinese people.

Today's China has become an important part in maintaining world peace and is gaining more respect from other countries.

The contrast between the past and today illustrates that only by continuous efforts to strengthen the national power can China make further contributions to the world's peaceful development and human civilization.

China's development also needs the people's unity and solidarity. The separation and wars among China's warlords had been taken advantage of by foreign invaders, whereas the CPC had united the whole nation to fight the invaders and strive for the nation's prosperity and the people's happiness.

China should, under the leadership of the CPC, adhere to the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the outlook on scientific development, and make more efforts in promoting the national power and improving the people's livelihood.

The past humiliation should be remembered, and it should also be taken as a driving force for the Chinese people to strive for the country's rejuvenation.