The Taiwanese military is to hold art exhibitions and a concert among other events to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II (WWII), and to bolster public sentiment on the need to defend the nation from Chinese threats — reminding the world it was not the government in Beijing that won the war.
World War II, and the full-scale Japanese invasion of China in 1937 that preceded the start of the world war in 1939, is a touchy historical subject in Taiwan and China.
The Republic of China (ROC) government ruled China at the time, and its forces did much of the fighting against Japan.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of National Defense
The republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) communists, and Beijing today largely downplays the role of the republican forces.
Major General Lou Woei-jye (樓偉傑), director of the Ministry of National Defense’s Political Warfare Bureau’s Cultural and Psychological Warfare Section, said yesterday in Taipei that the main theme of this year’s events, including exhibitions and concerts, would be “resist invasion, protect the homeland.”
They include photo exhibitions at 34 selected bus stations in Taipei, showcasing military-related photographs, and a memorial concert at the Taipei International Convention Center, while an outdoor carnival is to be held at Xiangti Avenue Plaza in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義), Lou said.
The ministry would also work with the Taiwan International Model Hobby Development Association to hold a military-themed model show and an art exhibition at National Taiwan Library, he said.
Aside from cultural events, the ministry is working with the private sector to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the ending of WWII, he said.
The Taipei-based Kuai Kuai Co, known for its widely popular Kuai Kuai bistro series of snacks, is coming out with three limited editions of snacks of the same name.
The snacks’ packaging would be adorned with three different themes related to the ROC’s role in World War II, Lou said.
“Our country, the ROC, is now likewise facing extremely serious challenges,” he said, referring to ongoing military and other threats from Beijing. “We hope that spirit of resisting invasion during World War II and fighting Japan can be brought to bear to the environment we are in now.”
It is not a matter of who has the right to speak about the war anniversary, but it is the ROC government that fought the war, because the People’s Republic of China (PRC) was not founded until 1949, he said.
“On the signing of all World War II documents, it is the ROC there and absolutely not the PRC,” Lou said. “This is an indisputable fact.”
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taiwan was a Japanese colony during the war and some Taiwanese fought alongside the Japanese military, making the anniversary even more potentially sensitive in Taiwan.
Asked whether China had invited veterans living in Taiwan to attend any war anniversary events there, as it had before, Lou said he had not heard anything.
“We want them to know that in their youth it was the ROC they were defending,” he said of veterans in Taiwan.
China is also expected to hold large-scale events to mark the end of the war, but has yet to release details.
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