To commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War (World War II), at least three movies on the topic of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) have been produced in the Chinese mainland, namely, Dead to Rights, Dongji Rescue and 731.

The first two have been released, which I have watched in mainland cinemas. Perhaps because these films, through artistic processing, vividly present the heinous crimes committed by Japanese fascists during the war and hit a nerve with members of the so-called “yellow camp” — who regard Japan as their “spiritual homeland” — they have launched a barrage of verbal attacks, accusing these films of promoting “hatred education”.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory at the end of the World Anti-Fascist War. It is logical that market-savvy filmmakers produce movies on this theme because they could easily become a box-office hit. Chinese people tend to hold grand commemorative activities on every significant anniversary of major historical events.

So the production of relevant movies on the 80th anniversary of the end of the war is quite natural. The accusation of “hatred education” diverts from the true aim. Had the critics watched these movies and read up on history, they would have known that the atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army during the war were much worse than those depicted in the movies.

The subtext of the remaining members of the “yellow camp” is: “We don’t want you to be patriotic.”

The blatantly apparent logic is that once Chinese people, including Hong Kong residents, develop a sense of love for their country after watching these movies, then the object of this love must be the People’s Republic of China, which covers 9.6 million square kilometers.

This is among the things that members of the “yellow camp”, who regard traveling to Japan as returning to their “spiritual homeland”, abhor, and explains why they are so eager to attack anti-Japanese militarism films.

We commemorate the victory to refresh our memory of history and inspire self-confidence to build a stronger nation capable of fending off foreign aggression. We do not want to be bullied by imperialists again, but we do not hate other countries, nor do we regard other countries as “spiritual homelands” but only as neighbors

Because of their cultlike political persuasions and ideological bias, members of the “yellow camp” harbor stronger hatred toward their own country than for the Imperial Japanese Army.

Anyone who has traveled around the country and compared China 100 years ago with China today will know what earthshaking changes have taken place under the leadership of the Communist Party of China over the past 76 years.

China is called the “infrastructure maniac” precisely because of the strong coordination ability of the CPC-led government that can help turn natural barriers into thoroughfares.

We, the broad masses, are moved when watching anti-imperialism movies because every one of us has a compassionate heart and a deep emotional bond with our compatriots. We commemorate the victory to refresh our memory of history and inspire self-confidence to build a stronger nation capable of fending off foreign aggression. We do not want to be bullied by imperialists again, but we do not hate other countries, nor do we regard other countries as “spiritual homelands” but only as neighbors.

The author is a former information coordinator of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government and a member of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.