China resounds with the hashtag – 牢记九一八#！(#Keep in mind 918#!) – to remember the millions of Chinese people (and Allies) that were killed or maimed in China’s War Against International Fascism (which lasted between 1931-1945 and included the Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945)! Imperial Japan was copying the Western model of imperialist and colonial aggression – and had invaded and occupied Northeast China in 1894-1895 (First Sino-Japanese War) and this aggressive behaviour eventually led to the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) – a conflict between an encroaching Czarist Russia an an ever-increasingly confident (modernising) Japan! Japan ended the conflict with controlling parts of Shenyang (formerly controlled by Czarist Russia) – but decided to launch a ‘War of Aggression’ from this platform on September 18th, 1931! Ironically, it would be the Soviet Red Army that would come to the aid of the Chinese people in 1945 and ‘crush’ the occupying Japanese Forces whilst completely ‘Liberating’ Northeast China – handing the captured territory (and material resources) to the control of the Communist Party of China!
