HONG KONG -- China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region held a ceremony on Friday to mourn the 300,000 victims of the Nanjing Massacre.

Vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Leung Chun-ying and Acting Chief Executive of the HKSAR Chan Kwok-ki attended the ceremony together with representatives of various central government agencies in Hong Kong, representatives of the HKSAR's judiciary, principal officials of the HKSAR government, members of the HKSAR Executive Council and the HKSAR Legislative Council, representatives of HKSAR deputies to the National People's Congress, representatives of HKSAR members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, former members of the Hong Kong-Kowloon Independent Brigade of the East River Column, as well as representatives of veteran groups and students.

The participants sang China's national anthem and observed a moment of silence. Chan, who laid a wreath and led the attendees to bow to mourn the victims, signed the commemorative album, followed by other attendees.

The Nanjing Massacre took place after the Japanese Imperial Army captured the city in eastern China on Dec. 13, 1937. The Japanese invaders brutally killed approximately 300,000 Chinese civilians and unarmed soldiers in over six weeks in one of the most barbaric atrocities during World War II.

In 2014, China's top legislature designated Dec. 13 as the national memorial day for the victims of the Nanjing Massacre. The HKSAR government and civil groups organize memorial ceremonies every year, hoping to demonstrate the Chinese people's firm stance in resolutely safeguarding national sovereignty, territorial integrity and world peace.