TOUNGOO, Myanmar, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese embassy in Myanmar organized a tour to Toungoo in Myanmar's Bago region Thursday to pay respect to fallen members of the Chinese Expeditionary Forces (CEF) in commemoration of their sacrifice in helping Myanmar fight against Japanese aggression during the World War II.
A renovated memorial monument and a related museum were inaugurated in Toungoo on the day. The site was once a battlefield of war of resistance against the Japanese invasion. The Toungoo Defense War was marked as the first victory against the Japanese scored by the CEF soon after they entered Myanmar.
Chinese diplomats go and lay wreathes at the monument during the traditional Qingming Festival, or Tomb-Sweeping Festival every year.
Chinese Ambassador to Myanmar Hong Liang told the memorial ceremony that the CEF had paid a great cost in defending Myanmar's independence as well as Chinese sovereignty in resistance against Japanese invasion, making great contribution to the victory of the war of resistance against Japan and the world's anti-Fascist war.
He attributed the enjoyment of peaceful living in the present era to the sacrifice of the people in the past.
Attending the memorial ceremony were also Chinese company employees investing in Myanmar and Chinese students studying in Myanmar, as well as CEF's younger generation and representatives of Myanmar-Chinese associations.
In 1942, China sent 100,000 expeditionary soldiers to Myanmar and India to fight against Japanese forces with the Allies. During the war, nearly half of the Chinese soldiers were killed or injured.
