The Presidential Office yesterday urged citizens to adhere to the principles of dignity and equality when visiting China, as former vice president Lien Chan’s (連戰) plans to attend events in Beijing to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II have created controversy.
“The Mainland Affairs Council [MAC] has repeatedly stated the government’s stance on the matter — that citizens visiting China should uphold the principles of reciprocity and dignity and promote the historical facts regarding the Republic of China’s [ROC] war against Japan,” Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen (陳以信) said.
The Presidential Office supports the council’s stance, Chen added.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
Chen’s remarks came one day after former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) vice secretary-general Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) confirmed that Lien, a former KMT chairman, would attend Beijing’s commemorative events next week, including a military parade on Thursday.
Chang said Lien would be traveling in a private capacity, accompanied by his wife, Lien Fan Yu (連方瑀), former KMT vice chairman Lin Feng-cheng (林豐正) and a few aides, and they were expected to arrive in Beijing before Tuesday.
Lien Chan is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during his visit, Chang said.
Lien Chan’s trip to China for the commemorations is controversial because Taipei and Beijing are divided over the historical interpretation of the ROC’s eight-year War of Resistance Against Japan from 1937 to 1945.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leadership has sought to highlight the role of party cadres in fighting the Japanese.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has repeatedly said that it was then-KMT leader Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) who led China to victory against the Japanese and that “no one is allowed to distort that.”
The council on Thursday last week issued a press release asking that Taiwanese who had been invited to attend Beijing’s commemorations take into consideration the public’s perception of such activities and refrain from going.
Former premier Hau Pei-tsun’s (郝柏村) office yesterday dismissed media reports that the retired four-star general was on Beijing’s invitation list.
The 96-year-old Hau “would definitely not go,” even if invited, his office said in a statement.
“Hau has pointed out on multiple occasions that the eight-year war was spearheaded by the KMT and that the CCP’s interpretation of that part of history is inaccurate,” the statement said.
Beijing’s claims that both the CCP and KMT forces had resisted Japan’s aggression were utterly unfair, it said, adding that the fight was “led by Chiang and he alone.”
Aides to former KMT chairman Wu Poh-hsiung (吳伯雄) also said that Wu would not attend Thursday’s parade due to health concerns.
KMT spokesperson Lin Yi-hua (林奕華) said no one holding a major KMT post, including Central Standing Committee members, would attend Beijing’s commemorations, even if they had been invited.
However, People First Party (PFP) spokesman Clarence Wu (吳崑玉) said PFP Secretary-General Chin Chin-sheng (秦金生) was going on behalf of Chairman James Soong (宋楚瑜), whose schedule would not allow him to attend.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) urged the KMT to be very cautious in handling Lien Chan’s planned trip.
“If [attending] the military parade would have some implication on the historical interpretation of the War of Resistance Against Japan, and since the Ma administration and the KMT have a different interpretation of the war’s history from China’s, it should be very cautious in handling the issue,” Tsai said.
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin
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