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
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
SHIFT: Taiwan’s better-than-expected first-quarter GDP and signs of weakness in the US have driven global capital back to emerging markets, the central bank head said The central bank yesterday blamed market speculation for the steep rise in the local currency, and urged exporters and financial institutions to stay calm and stop panic sell-offs to avoid hurting their own profitability. The nation’s top monetary policymaker said that it would step in, if necessary, to maintain order and stability in the foreign exchange market. The remarks came as the NT dollar yesterday closed up NT$0.919 to NT$30.145 against the US dollar in Taipei trading, after rising as high as NT$29.59 in intraday trading. The local currency has surged 5.85 percent against the greenback over the past two sessions, central
RSS