It is a historical fact that the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government led the war against Japanese aggression from 1937 to 1945, whether on the front lines or behind enemy lines, Presidential Office spokesperson Charles Chen (陳以信) said yesterday.
Chen was responding to remarks by former vice president Lien Chan (連戰), who said during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing yesterday that the KMT under the leadership of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) engaged directly with Japanese troops in major battles, handing the latter a major setback, and that Chinese Communist Party (CCP) troops led by former Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) also tied down the enemy behind their lines and eventually defeated the Japanese aggressors.
“The Nationalist forces ... fought a series of decisive and major battles on the front lines and dealt the Japanese military a heavy blow,” Lien told Xi, according to Shanghai news Web site guancha.cn.
Photo: CNA
“The Chinese Communist Party forces led by Mao Zedong effectively pinned down and intercepted the Japanese and the collaborationist militaries on the battlefield behind enemy lines,” added Lien, a former KMT chairman.
Xi said Nationalists and Communists “cooperated and coordinated” in the campaign and that “both made significant contributions to the victory of [the so-called ‘Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War’],” China’s Xinhua news agency reported.
“Chinese across the Taiwan Strait must keep history in mind, remember national heroes and become united to savor the fruits of victory and jointly advance the peaceful development of our relations,” Xinhua quoted Xi as saying.
The Presidential Office said that the CCP did little to resist Japanese aggression during the Second Sino-Japanese War.
“Whether it came to engaging in combat with Japanese troops on the front lines or behind enemy lines, it was all led by the Nationalist government, which is a historical fact that cannot be denied,” Chen said.
Chen said that the government’s stance is that “it is inappropriate” for Taiwanese to attend China’s military parade tomorrow — at which Lien is expected to be present.
Beijing has held a series of events to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II, with tomorrow’s military parade considered to be the highlight of the festivities.
The CCP — which defeated the KMT in the Chinese Civil War, forcing the latter to flee to Taiwan — depicts itself as having played the lead role in defeating Japan.
Taiwan said events being held by Beijing distort historical facts, as it was the KMT who fought all the major battles against Japan during an eight-year war before Allied forces intervened.
KMT presidential candidate Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) yesterday said that she has great respect for Lien, who she said has made significant contributions toward cross-strait peace.
However, Hung added that, given his position, Lien should consider the Taiwanese perspective when making public comments.
Additional reporting by Chang Hsiao-ti
CLASH OF WORDS: While China’s foreign minister insisted the US play a constructive role with China, Rubio stressed Washington’s commitment to its allies in the region The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday affirmed and welcomed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio statements expressing the US’ “serious concern over China’s coercive actions against Taiwan” and aggressive behavior in the South China Sea, in a telephone call with his Chinese counterpart. The ministry in a news release yesterday also said that the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had stated many fallacies about Taiwan in the call. “We solemnly emphasize again that our country and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and it has been an objective fact for a long time, as well as
‘CHARM OFFENSIVE’: Beijing has been sending senior Chinese officials to Okinawa as part of efforts to influence public opinion against the US, the ‘Telegraph’ reported Beijing is believed to be sowing divisions in Japan’s Okinawa Prefecture to better facilitate an invasion of Taiwan, British newspaper the Telegraph reported on Saturday. Less than 750km from Taiwan, Okinawa hosts nearly 30,000 US troops who would likely “play a pivotal role should Beijing order the invasion of Taiwan,” it wrote. To prevent US intervention in an invasion, China is carrying out a “silent invasion” of Okinawa by stoking the flames of discontent among locals toward the US presence in the prefecture, it said. Beijing is also allegedly funding separatists in the region, including Chosuke Yara, the head of the Ryukyu Independence
‘ARMED GROUP’: Two defendants used Chinese funds to form the ‘Republic of China Taiwan Military Government,’ posing a threat to national security, prosecutors said A retired lieutenant general has been charged after using funds from China to recruit military personnel for an “armed” group that would assist invading Chinese forces, prosecutors said yesterday. The retired officer, Kao An-kuo (高安國), was among six people indicted for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法), the High Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement. The group visited China multiple times, separately and together, from 2018 to last year, where they met Chinese military intelligence personnel for instructions and funding “to initiate and develop organizations for China,” prosecutors said. Their actions posed a “serious threat” to “national security and social stability,” the statement
‘VERY SHALLOW’: The center of Saturday’s quake in Tainan’s Dongshan District hit at a depth of 7.7km, while yesterday’s in Nansai was at a depth of 8.1km, the CWA said Two magnitude 5.7 earthquakes that struck on Saturday night and yesterday morning were aftershocks triggered by a magnitude 6.4 quake on Tuesday last week, a seismologist said, adding that the epicenters of the aftershocks are moving westward. Saturday and yesterday’s earthquakes occurred as people were preparing for the Lunar New Year holiday this week. As of 10am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) recorded 110 aftershocks from last week’s main earthquake, including six magnitude 5 to 6 quakes and 32 magnitude 4 to 5 tremors. Seventy-one of the earthquakes were smaller than magnitude 4. Thirty-one of the aftershocks were felt nationwide, while 79
RSS