This year marks the 85th death anniversary of Bethune, who died of blood poisoning at the age of 49 on Nov. 12, 1939 in China while aiding the Chinese people in their fight against Japanese aggression. His remains were relocated to the cemetery in 1953.
The commemoration began at 10 a.m., with participants bowing before the surgeon’s tomb and presenting flower baskets.
“My father met Norman Bethune in Spain during his recovery from battle injuries. Influenced by him, my father aspired to come to China, where he met my mother and later had me,” said Michael Crook, chairman of the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives.
His parents, David and Isabel Crook, played an important role in training a large number of foreign-language professionals for China.
“The spirit of Bethune has not faded with time; instead, it has been widely inherited and carried forward in both China and Canada,” said Hu Jinqiang, director of the North China Military Martyrs Cemetery.