Taiwan’s fate has never been, and will never be, determined by the Taiwanese themselves, former premier Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村) told a seminar yesterday celebrating the 70th anniversary of Japan’s World War II surrender.
The seminar, organized by the New Chinese Children’s Association, celebrated “the anniversary of victory in the anti-Japanese war.”
According to the association’s Web site, the event was aimed at helping young people learn about the history of the Republic of China’s (ROC) anti-Japanese war, expose the recent “bandit ambition” of Japanese militarists and “debunk the lies fabricated by the Japanese bandits’ slaves who overstayed in Taiwan (滯臺倭奴) and who have distorted the real history.”
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
Hau had been invited to give the opening speech, and in it he urged young Taiwanese to learn the “real history.”
It was too bad that while there is now a 228 Memorial Day and 228 Peace Memorial Park, “Retrocession Day” is no longer a holiday in Taiwan and there is no “retrocession park,” said the 96-year-old retired general, who had also served as chief of the general staff and minister of national defense.
Retrocession Day used to be celebrated on Oct. 25 to mark Japan’s Oct. 25, 1945, surrender of Taiwan after 50 years of Japanese rule.
Hau talked about a recent trip to China, where he said he “braved” Chinese Communist Party officials by insisting that it was former president Chang Kai-shek (蔣介石) who led China to victory in the war.
He visited China in July to take part in commemorations of the 77th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which is considered the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Hau yesterday discussed the idea that Taiwanese are the master of their own fate.
“The notion that Taiwan’s future is to be decided by Taiwanese themselves, proposed by the Democratic Progressive Party, while [justifiable] from the perspective of democracy, runs afoul of practical politics,” Hau said.
“Taiwan’s future has never been decided by Taiwan itself,” he said. “When the Qing [Dynasty] ceded Taiwan to Japan [in 1895], was it up to Taiwanese? When Taiwan was restored [to the ROC in 1945], was it an outcome of Taiwan’s own decision?”
Hau said he was not opposed to the idea, but “it was not possible in the past, is not possible now and will not be possible in the future.”
“Taiwan’s future is the Republic of China’s future, and the ROC’s future ought to be decided by all Chinese people (中國人), the Zhonghua minzu [Chinese ethnic group, 中華民族],” he said.
Underlining the geopolitical predicament Taiwan faces in a world shaped by great powers, Hau said the only reasonable road is to identify with the Zhonghua minzu, insist on the legitimacy and authority of the ROC Constitution and cling to the “1992 consensus,” according to which both the ROC and the People’s Republic of China agree that there is only one China.
“Taiwanese independence is a dead end,” he said.
“Today’s Taiwan would not exist if it was not for the Republic of China’s success in the anti-Japanese war. The happiness and prosperity enjoyed by Taiwanese would not have been possible without the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] and its implementation of the Three Principles of the People,” he said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College