Significance of V-Day parade highlighted

BEIJING - China's V-Day parade in Beijing to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II (WWII) will shed light on history and pave the way for peace and reconciliation in Asia, statesmen and experts say.

It is a landmark event for China and the whole world, said Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, whose country has sent a guard of honor consisting of some 100 soldiers to join in the military parade on Sept 3.

The ceremony will serve as a reminder of the horrors of the bloodiest war in human history, as well as the terrible consequences caused by the war of aggression based on racial superiority, he said.

China's military parade symbolizes a sense of pride and is a celebration of heroism and the older generation's remarkable feats, he said.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who will be present at the event, said it is very important for the world community to learn from the past and move forward.

Asked about his response to Japan's concern over his upcoming China visit, Ban said that "the whole world is now commemorating the 70th anniversary of the ending of the Second World War, most tragic in the history of human beings and at the same time the founding of the United Nations."