A dispute over whether or not to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War is raging within the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) and the Chinese-language United Daily News have joined forces in criticizing former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) visit to China to attend a military parade. However, the reasons they are using to denounce Lien contradict their previous attacks on former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) when he said Japan was his motherland.
This is a classic example of a party in decline. Tired, spent and fading, the KMT’s last resort is to commandeer history and in the process descend into sniping at each other.
The KMT has threatened to revoke Lee’s privileges as a former president, because as a former national leader he cannot call Japan his motherland in the same way an ordinary citizen can. The same argument was made by the United Daily News, which claimed Lien is a retired vice president and therefore cannot say he is visiting China in the capacity of an ordinary citizen.
So a former president cannot be an ordinary citizen. How is it, then, that a president can not only support other politicians’ election campaigns as an individual, he is actually commended for being able to separate his public and private spheres? This makes no sense.
Hau believes it was the KMT’s National Revolutionary Army (NRA) that fought against Japan, not the Eighth Route Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and definitely not the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Since only the NRA, which fought against Japan in World War II, can commemorate World War II, Taiwanese have less of a right to commemorate the victory than the PLA, which at least fought a guerrilla war with Japan. If the KMT thinks that the Eighth Route Army cannot take the credit for fighting against Japan, why does the KMT think that it is wrong for Lee to say Taiwanese did not fight against Japan in World War II, so Taiwanese should not commemorate it?
Furthermore, who among the nation’s current military personnel has fought against Japan? Who among the nation’s current government officials has fought against Japan? If the answer is no one, then who has the right to commemorate the victory? The KMT’s ultimate weapon is to claim that it is a historical fact that the Republic of China (ROC) government led the war against Japanese aggression from 1937 to 1945. Hence, whoever rules the ROC government should, in theory, have the right to commemorate the victory.
However, who did the ROC government lead? Chinese, of course. Who is leading Chinese now? The People’s Republic of China (PRC). So, if Chinese want to commemorate the war, and if the commemoration is not conducted by the PRC, then who should do it? The ROC?
There is only one reason for Taiwanese, who did not fight against Japan during the war and are currently ruled by the ROC, to commemorate the victory, and that is for the KMT to monopolize history. Or, more specifically, to let Hau and his dwindling posse monopolize the history of World War II.
This is all they have left. Their vote is collapsing in Taiwan, so they have to capitalize on the past and their own interpretation of the war to monopolize voters, and thereby maintain their hold on the ROC.
This was why they closed ranks against Lee. When that led nowhere, they turned their sights on Lien. They are angry at Lien for having the audacity to expose the truth that it was the Chinese who fought against Japan, and that the ROC government does not govern China.
Shih Chih-yu is a professor of political science at National Taiwan University.
Translated by Ethan Zhan
Shortly after Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) stepped down as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 2012, his successor, Xi Jinping (習近平), articulated the “Chinese Dream,” which aims to rejuvenate the nation and restore its historical glory. While defense analysts and media often focus on China’s potential conflict with Taiwan, achieving “rejuvenation” would require Beijing to engage in at least six different conflicts with at least eight countries. These include territories ranging from the South China Sea and East China Sea to Inner Asia, the Himalayas and lands lost to Russia. Conflicts would involve Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia,
The Sino-Indian border dispute remains one of the most complex and enduring border issues in the world. Unlike China’s borders with Russia and Vietnam, which have seen conflicts, but eventually led to settled agreements, the border with India, particularly the region of Arunachal Pradesh, remains a point of contention. This op-ed explores the historical and geopolitical nuances that contribute to this unresolved border dispute. The crux of the Sino-Indian border dispute lies in the differing interpretations of historical boundaries. The McMahon Line, established by the 1914 Simla Convention, was accepted by British India and Tibet, but never recognized by China, which
In a recent interview with the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) called President William Lai (賴清德) “naive.” As always with Ma, one must first deconstruct what he is saying to fully understand the parallel universe he insists on defending. Who is being “naive,” Lai or Ma? The quickest way is to confront Ma with a series of pointed questions that force him to take clear stands on the complex issues involved and prevent him from his usual ramblings. Regarding China and Taiwan, the media should first begin with questions like these: “Did the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to bully Taiwan by conducting military drills extremely close to Taiwan in late May 2024 and announcing a legal opinion in June on how they would treat “Taiwan Independence diehards” according to the PRC’s Criminal Code. This article will describe how China’s Anaconda Strategy of psychological and legal asphyxiation is employed. The CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) conducted a “punishment military exercise” against Taiwan called “Joint Sword 2024A” from 23-24 May 2024, just three days after President William Lai (賴清德) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was sworn in and