September 18th Incident
The September 18th Incident refers to a pivotal event in Chinese history that occurred on September 18, 1931. This incident marked the beginning of the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, a region in northeastern China.
On that day, Japanese militants, allegedly without orders from the Japanese government, blew up a section of the South Manchurian Railway near Mukden (now Shenyang). They used the incident as a pretext to launch a military invasion of Manchuria. Within a matter of months, Japanese forces had occupied the region and established the puppet state of Manchukuo in March 1932, with the last Chinese emperor, Puyi, installed as its nominal leader.
The September 18th Incident was significant as it set the stage for the broader conflict of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945) and illustrated the increasing militarism of Japan during this period. The incident also underscored the weaknesses of the Chinese government and its inability to effectively respond to foreign aggression, which had far-reaching implications for China's political landscape leading up to World War II.
In present-day China, September 18 is commemorated annually as the "National Humiliation Day," a reminder of the struggle against imperialist aggression and the importance of sovereignty.