Aggression only leads to defeat and as authoritarianism once again gathers strength, it is important that freedom and democracy prevail, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday in a post marking the anniversary of the end of World War II.
Taiwan has this year sought to cast the war as a lesson to China to show how aggression would end in failure, and to remind the world it was not the People’s Republic of China (PRC) government currently in Beijing that won the war.
In a post on Facebook yesterday that did not directly mention China, Lai said the war served as a stark reminder to the world that peace is priceless and war has no winners.
Photo: Taipei Times
“World War II was a catastrophe in history, triggered by the personal ambitions of a few dictators, extreme ideologies and military expansionism,” he wrote in Mandarin.
“No regime has the right to invade another land or deprive the people there of their freedom and happiness,” Lai said, adding that countries that cherish freedom and peace must unite with determination and strength to thwart any attempts of aggression.
Allied nations ended the war 80 years ago by fighting together, which showed that “unity leads to victory while aggression leads to defeat,” Lai said.
Photo: Lo Pei-de, Taipei Times
Freedom and democracy were won through the sacrifices of countless people, he said, adding that only through cooperation among democracies could those values endure.
“When authoritarianism once again gathers strength and expands ... we must stand firm and united so that aggression cannot prevail and freedom and democracy will endure,” he said.
Meanwhile, Taipei’s top China policymaker said that Taiwanese should spurn China’s events to commemorate the end of World War II, including a military parade next month in Beijing, given China’s “distortion” of history and threats against Taiwan.
China has invited Taiwanese veterans who fought against Japan to a parade in Beijing next month, which would be overseen by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平).
Taiwan has denounced China for using this year’s 80th anniversary of the war’s end for political purposes against Taipei, saying Beijing has falsely claimed it was the Chinese Communist Party that led the fighting against Japan rather than the Republic of China (ROC) government, which at the time ruled China.
The republican government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after being defeated by Mao Zedong (毛澤東), who established the PRC, while the ROC remains Taiwan’s official name.
In a video yesterday, Mainland Affairs Council Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said the PRC did not even exist during World War II.
“The Chinese communist regime has repeatedly distorted the facts in recent years, claiming that the war against Japan was led by the [Chinese] Communist Party, and has even fabricated the notion that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China,” Chiu said.
The government urges Taiwan’s people to “unite and jointly defend national sovereignty and dignity” and not take part in China’s war commemorations, like the parade, he added.
People should instead participate in Taiwan’s own events to express their resolve to protect Taiwan and oppose aggression, he said.
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