China commemorated 80 years since the end of World War II last week with a massive military parade against a backdrop of a disputed history about who ultimately defeated Japan.
The issues, including Japan’s reckoning with its wartime record in China, are bound to flare again in December, a flashpoint anniversary of the mass killing in Nanjing by invading Japanese troops.
Below is an explainer about what the different — and disputed — points of view are.
Photo: AP 照片：美聯社
WHAT IS CHINA’S VIEW?
For the Chinese government sitting in Beijing, this is a clear-cut issue: China sacrificed 35 million people in a heroic and brutal struggle against Japan that began in 1931 with the Japanese invasion of its northeastern region of Manchuria. Western countries, particularly the United States, have downplayed China’s contribution.
China calls the conflict the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and, for World War II, the World Anti-Fascist War. It says China and the Soviet Union served as the “mainstay” of resistance against Japan and Germany, with communist guerrilla forces acting as the “backbone” of the fighting in China.
Photo: EPA 照片：歐新社
WHAT ABOUT TAIWAN?
Some of the most bitter comments about how China has marked the anniversary have come from Taiwan, whose formal name is the Republic of China (ROC). During World War II, the island itself was a Japanese colony.
During the war, the ROC was China’s government. Much of the fighting against Japan was done by their forces, who put a civil war on hold to form an uneasy alliance with Mao Zedong’s communists. It was the ROC, under Chiang Kai-shek, who signed the Japanese surrender along with the other allies, and the “Flying Tigers” of volunteer US pilots flew for the ROC air force.
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
Taiwan’s government says Mao’s communists only used the war to strengthen their own forces, and that the Beijing government has no right to claim the victory as its own.
The civil war resumed after the end of World War II. Chiang and his government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after Mao was victorious and proclaimed the People’s Republic of China.
The de facto US embassy in Taiwan last week highlighted the role of the “Flying Tigers” on its Facebook page. “Their sacrifices not only protected lives and liberty but also forged a bond of friendship and solidarity that lasts to this day,” Raymond Greene, the top US diplomat in Taiwan, wrote.
Photo: AFP 照片：法新社
WHAT ROLE DID THE UNITED STATES PLAY?
US President Donald Trump said after the parade that China’s “beautiful ceremony” should have highlighted the role that the US played in Japan’s defeat.
The US provided military aid and training to the Chinese forces.
One notable area of cooperation was “the Hump,” where the US Air Force flew hazardous missions over the eastern part of the Himalayas to supply China.
There were no US government representatives at the 80th anniversary event.
WHAT ABOUT JAPAN’S RESPONSIBILITY?
Japan’s government has apologized for the suffering it caused in World War II going back to 1995. Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe angered China in 2015 by stopping short of a renewed apology, saying future generations of Japanese should not be “pre-destined to apologize.”
Former Japanese prime minister Yukio Hatoyama attended the 80th anniversary event in Beijing last week and offered a personal apology, prompting criticism by some in Japan.
China’s messaging last week focused more on its rise than Japan’s wartime responsibility. A gala in the Great Hall of the People attended by Chinese President Xi Jinping told the story of the war from 1937 to 1945 while avoiding any direct depiction of Japanese atrocities.
The performance depicted battles using the sound of offstage machine-gun fire that mowed down on-stage Chinese soldiers, some wearing light-blue uniforms historically associated with the ROC, rather than Mao’s communists.
(Reuters)
上週，中國以盛大閱兵紀念二戰結束八十週年。然而，這場活動的背後，是一段有爭議的歷史敘事：最終戰勝日本的究竟是誰？
其中涉及的問題，包括日本如何面對其在中國的戰爭罪行，這敏感的問題勢必在十二月的南京大屠殺紀念再次引爆。
以下解釋這些不同的立場與爭議的觀點。
中國的觀點
對北京的中國政府來說，結論毋庸置疑：自1931年日本入侵東北地區滿洲開始，中國在對日抗戰中，英勇而慘烈地犧牲了三千五百萬人。中國認為，西方國家，尤其是美國，長期淡化中國在戰爭中的貢獻。
中國將這場戰爭稱為「中國人民抗日戰爭」，並將第二次世界大戰稱為「世界反法西斯戰爭」。中國強調，中國與蘇聯是抵抗日本與德國的「中流砥柱」，而中國共產黨的游擊隊則是抗戰的「中堅力量」。
台灣的觀點
對於中國當局的紀念方式，最尖銳的一些批評來自台灣。台灣的正式名稱為「中華民國」，二戰期間，台灣島是日本殖民地。
二戰期間，中華民國是中國的合法政府，抗日的主力正是中華民國軍隊。為了抵抗日本的侵略，國民政府一度暫停了與毛澤東共產黨的內戰，而與其聯盟，但國共的合作關係脆弱。1945年，日本投降書正是由蔣介石領導下的中華民國代表，與其他同盟國一同簽署。而當年由美國志願飛行員組成的「飛虎隊」，則隸屬中華民國空軍。
台灣政府指出，毛澤東領導的共產黨只是藉抗戰壯大自身力量，北京當局沒有資格將勝利據為己有。
二戰結束後，國共內戰復燃，最終在1949年毛澤東取得勝利，宣布中華人民共和國成立，蔣介石及其政府逃往台灣。
上週，美國在台協會（實際上的美國大使館）在其臉書專頁特別提及「飛虎隊」的貢獻。美國在台最高外交官谷立言寫道：「他們的犧牲不僅捍衛了生命與自由，也奠定了一份持續至今的友誼與團結」。
美國扮演的角色
美國總統川普在閱兵後評論，中國的「美麗儀式」本應凸顯美國在擊敗日本中所扮演的角色。
美國當時向中國軍隊提供了軍事援助與訓練。
最具代表性的合作之一是「駝峰航線」：美國空軍飛越喜馬拉雅山東段，執行極為危險的空運任務，向中國提供物資補給。
值得注意的是，美國政府並未派遣任何代表出席此八十週年紀念活動。
日本的責任
自1995年以來，日本政府已多次為二戰期間造成的苦難致歉。然而，前首相安倍晉三於2015年發言時，並未重申道歉之意，而是強調日本後代「不應背負著繼續道歉的宿命」，此舉激怒了中國。
前首相鳩山由紀夫出席北京上週的紀念活動，並以個人名義道歉，卻在日本國內引發爭議。
中國此次紀念活動所傳遞的訊息，更著重於凸顯自身崛起，而非聚焦日本的戰爭責任。在人民大會堂舉辦的晚會有習近平出席，表演內容講述了1937年至1945年的戰爭歷程，卻刻意迴避了對日軍暴行的直接呈現。
表演中，機槍掃射的音效貫穿舞台，擊倒身穿淺藍色軍服的中國士兵，而該制服傳統上是屬於中華民國軍隊，而非毛澤東領導的共產黨部隊。
（台北時報林俐凱編譯）
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China commemorated 80 years since the end of World War II last week with a massive military parade against a backdrop of a disputed history about who ultimately defeated Japan. The issues, including Japan’s reckoning with its wartime record in China, are bound to flare again in December, a flashpoint anniversary of the mass killing in Nanjing by invading Japanese troops. Below is an explainer about what the different — and disputed — points of view are. WHAT IS CHINA’S VIEW? For the Chinese government sitting in Beijing, this is a clear-cut issue: China sacrificed 35 million people in a heroic and brutal struggle
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