The Chinese Qingming Festival (Chinese 清明節 / 清明节, Pinyin qīngmíngjié, from 清明, qīngmíng – „bright and clear“) on April 4th or 5th, rarely on April 6th, is the Chinese commemoration of the dead. The Chinese feast of the dead falls on the 106th day according to the Chinese solar calendar (peasant calendar), 15 days after the spring equinox (春分, chūnfēn – „mid-spring“). The graves are swept with food, flowers and objects that the deceased liked during their lifetime are placed in front of the graves, incense sticks are lit and death money is burned. In the south, in the Cantonese-speaking part of China, you can see many traders on the streets at this time, who in addition to paper money also sell cars, suits and shoes made of paper, which are burned for this purpose. The burned things should be available to the ancestors and should make them friendly towards their descendants, whose destinies they guide. On this day, many Chinese only eat cold foods. Around the time of the Qingming Festival, temperatures rise and rain more frequently, which is favorable for sowing. April 4th has played an important role in China’s recent history. During the Cultural Revolution, the April 4th Movement used the day to criticize the gang of four with open grief over the death of longtime Prime Minister Zhou Enlai. The festival has been an official holiday in the People’s Republic of China since 2008. [2] In this way the socialist state ties in with tradition. In the Republic of China (Taiwan), the day is also a public holiday, which often coincides with the death of long-time head of state Chiang Kai-shek (April 5, 1975).

However the CCP tries to use the Qingming festival as a martyrs cult festival. This shows the foto collection in the Global Times “

“People pay tribute to the martyrs ahead of Qingming Festival”

https://www.globaltimes.cn/galleries/3838.html

Or the CCP also commemorates the alleged martyrs of the Sino-Indian boirder conflict:

“Chinese people pay respect to martyrs who sacrificed in China-India border clash ahead of Tomb-sweeping Day”

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202104/1220163.shtml

And the Global Times points out: “There are more than 20 million martyrs in China in the modern times but only about 1.96 million of them can be identified with names, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Saturday.”

So many martyrs of the past and present for the Chinese cause and maybe in future even moremartyrs  if the CCP will invade Taiwan and risk a war with the USA. Therefore this martyr cult is the mental preparation for future wars and suffering and sacrifice for the protracted war against the USA (Xi Jinping).

Another martyr cult now arises in Belgrad at the anniversary of the NATO bombing at the Chinese Embassy:..

“Chinese envoy to Serbia honors martyrs killed in NATO bombing

Chinese Ambassador to Serbia Chen Bo and other Chinese officials and diplomats on Saturday local time visited the old site of the Chinese Embassy to the former Yugoslavia and laid wreaths to commemorate three Chinese reporters killed in a bombing conducted by the NATO forces 22 years ago.

Saturday was also the first day of the Qingming Festival holidays in China, a festival when people pay tribute to the dead and worship their ancestors by visiting tombs and making offerings.

According to the Xinhua News Agency on Sunday, Chen said at the ceremony honoring the three martyrs that she believed that the three martyrs would be pleased to see the strength of China nowadays and the development of China-Serbia relations.

Chen said that “We will honor the martyrs by fully taking on and delivering our duties, and safeguard China’s interests and Chinese people’s dignity. We will also pass on the will of the martyrs, and make contributions to safeguarding justice and fairness in the world,” according to the Xinhua report.

On the late night of May 7, 1999, NATO bombed the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade with missiles during its campaign against the former Yugoslavia, killing three and injuring dozens. The three reporters killed were Shao Yunhuan from the Xinhua News Agency and Xu Xinghu and Zhu Ying from the Guangming Daily.

The bombing invoked strong protest from the Chinese government and people, followed by a wave of protests in many Chinese cities.

Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe also visited Belgrade on March 26 and made a special trip to the site of the bombed Chinese Embassy in former Yugoslavia to pay tribute to martyrs, according to the website of Chinese Ministry of National Defense.  

“The Chinese people will never forget this period of history and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army will never allow such history to repeat itself;”  the Chinese defense chief said. “We are fully capable and determined to safeguard our national sovereignty, security and development interests.” 

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202104/1220189.shtml

It was never sure if these were really just outdated NATO maps and that the bombing happened by accident and error. Especially since the Chinese gave protection to a Serbian radio station, according to SPIEGEL at the time .At that time, the German Chancellor Schröder made the canossa trip for the West to Beijing, because the USA did not want to apologize, presented this as unimportant and unplanned collateral damage and simply said: Shit happens. In the view of the Chinese, an outstanding humiliation and half declaration of war. Quite many Chinese were delighted at the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001 because they saw this as a just revenge, even though China then supported the US War on Terror, also with regard to the Uyghurs. That Defense Minister Wei Fenghe himself appears in Belgrade on Remembrance Day on his European tour now, makes it clear that the PLA would no longer allow this in the future. Therefore  the martyr cult.

„Chinese Defense Minister visits Europe to boost military ties, ‘future joint military drills, exchanges likely’  

By

Liu Xuanzun

Published: Mar 25, 2021 11:00 PM

Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe is currently on a visit to four European countries to boost cooperation with their militaries, at a time when some other European countries are sending warships to the South China Sea. 

Since foreign analysts will likely connect the two events, Chinese experts said on Thursday that China has a high level of potential regarding military cooperation with European countries, but it will also respond to provocative moves from others.

Wei is on a visit to Hungary, Serbia, Greece and North Macedonia from Wednesday to March 31 on the invitation of the four countries‘ defense ministers, Senior Colonel Ren Guoqiang, a spokesperson at China’s Ministry of National Defense, revealed at a routine press conference on Thursday.

The visit will boost China’s traditional friendship and pragmatic cooperation with these countries‘ defense authorities and militaries, pushing for the healthy and stable development of military-to-military relations, Ren said.

Media reported that some NATO members recently deployed or announced plans to deploy warships to the South China Sea for so-called Freedom of Navigation operations. This includes France, Germany and the UK.

Foreign analysts will tend to relate Wei’s visit to these NATO members‘ South China Sea schemes, Chinese observers said.

Wei’s visit to the four countries is based on China’s good bilateral relations with them, and military exchanges have always been ongoing, Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Thursday.

There is a high level of potential regarding military cooperation with European countries in both traditional and non-traditional security fields, like the consolidation of disarmament, nuclear nonproliferation, advanced military technologies like drones and AI, and cybersecurity, Cui said, noting that in the future there could be joint military exercises and exchange visits.

The cooperation on the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic could also be featured, analysts said.

Some NATO members are attempting to play certain security roles in the so-called „Indo-Pacific“ region. China can respond by getting involved in security affairs around Europe and allow NATO to understand more about China as a global security actor, Cui said.

Some of Wei’s destinations are also NATO member countries, and NATO is not of one mind on China, with many looking for cooperation instead of confrontation, analysts said.

China needs to boost military exchanges and security cooperation with European countries, Cui said, noting that the Chinese Navy could also send warships to conduct missions and visit friendly countries there.

„If they can come to the South China Sea, we can also go to the Mediterranean,“ Cui said”

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202103/1219500.shtml

It remains to be seen if the Chinese version of the martyr cult becomes some sort of Chinese jihad like the Islamists and maybe also with a blood well or blood fountain for martyrs like in Iran. Maybe this will be needed for all the coming martyrs of a Holy War against the USA for the reunification with Taiwan.