Countries should uphold peace, and promote freedom and democracy, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as Taiwan marked 80 years since the end of World War II and the Second Sino-Japanese War.
Lai, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and other top officials in the morning attended a ceremony at the National Revolutionary Martyrs’ Shrine in Taipei’s Zhongshan District (中山) to honor those who sacrificed their lives in major battles.
“Taiwanese are peace-loving. Taiwan does not believe in commemorating peace by holding guns,” Lai wrote on Facebook afterward, apparently to highlight the contrast with the military parade in Beijing marking the same anniversary.
Photo: CNA
“We remember the martyrs and the lessons of history, and continue to safeguard our beliefs in freedom and democracy,” Lai said. “We believe guns in our hands are to protect our country and home, not to be used for invasion or expansion.”
On Sept. 2, 1945, Republic of China (ROC) general Hsu Yung-chang (徐永昌) signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender alongside other representatives of Allied nations, bringing WWII to an end, Lai said.
Japan, Germany and Italy have since become democratic countries that uphold human rights and the rule of law, he added.
“I sincerely hope countries that once suffered invasion can work together to safeguard peace, and make freedom and democracy the cornerstones of stability and prosperity,” he said.
Lai also warned against the resurgence of fascism, which he described as characterized by “extreme nationalism,” censorship and leader worship.
The comments were an apparent reference to the official title of the military parade in Beijing: “The 80th Anniversary of the Victory in the War Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-fascist War.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) presided over the event in Beijing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian among others.
The Second Sino-Japanese War was fought between the ROC, then based in China, and Japan from 1937 to 1945. The conflict is widely regarded as part of World War II.
The ROC government, led by Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), relocated to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the Chinese Civil War to Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) Chinese Communist Party. Mao established the People’s Republic of China in Beijing later that year.
Taipei says that the ROC played the central role in resisting Japan, while Beijing claims credit through commemorative events, including yesterday’s parade.
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