PRESIDENT Xi Jinping and other leaders of the Communist Party of China and the State attended a ceremony to present flower baskets to deceased national heroes at Tian’anmen Square in Beijing yesterday morning.

The event was held to mark Martyrs’ Day, a day ahead of the National Day. Some 1,800 representatives from all walks of life also attended the ceremony and all those participants observed a moment of silence.

Set up in 2014 by China’s legislature, Martyrs’ Day aims to commemorate those who lost their lives fighting for national causes. It is also one of China’s three annual national memorial days, the others being Victory Day of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression on Sept. 3 and National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims on Dec. 13.

It is believed that China has about 20 million martyrs. However, there are only 1.93 million martyrs in the government records, with many unknown being searched and identified. On average, about 300 more people are identified as martyrs each year.

In April 2018, China’s top legislature passed a new law protecting the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs, and provide better care to martyrs’ survived family members.

The new law bans behaviors that defame heroes and martyrs, and outlaws acts to glorify invasions, with offenders facing administrative or criminal punishments according to the severity of the actions.

(CGTN)