Message by UK Labour Leader Keir Starmer on V-J Day 2021
15 August, 2021
英国工党领袖凯尔·斯塔默在2021年对日战争胜利日致辞
2021年8月15日
Today is the anniversary of Japan’s surrender, marking the end of war in the Pacific and the end of the Second World War.
今天是日本投降纪念日，标志着太平洋战争的结束和第二次世界大战的结束。
I’m here at the Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum. The Gloucestershire Regiment served in South East Asia with personnel from across our country, across the Commonwealth, and with Allied troops in what was a brutal conflict.
Today, we mark the importance of V-J Day and we say to the veterans of that conflict and to their families that we will remember their sacrifices – always. We remember the prisoners of war whose treatment was particularly cruel. Many died in camps and through forced labour. And those who survived had to live with the scars for the rest of their lives. They fought to defend our country, to defend freedom throughout the world, and they fought for our future.
But as we look forward and reflect on how far we’ve come from the dark days of the Second World War, we must ensure that we use the memory of the past to inspire us for the future. We must draw on the spirit of the wartime generation who rebuilt our country after 1945 as we look to do the same after the pandemic. And we must work together with countries and people across the world to take on the challenges we face, from COVID to the climate crisis.
So today, we say thank you to all the men and women who sacrificed so much. We’re inspired by their spirit and by their courage as we make the changes we need to promote peace in the world and to deliver a prosperous future for the next generation.
