Pro-localization groups and academics in Taipei yesterday staged a re-enactment of Japan’s surrender in 1945 with the raising of a “Taiwan flag” to rebut the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) long-held claims that it “liberated” Taiwan on Retrocession Day on Oct. 25, 1945.
According to Academia Sinica Institute of Modern History researcher Chen Yi-shen (陳儀深), after Japan’s declaration of surrender, then-Japanese governor-general of Taiwan Rikichi Ando, representing the Japanese government and garrison in Taiwan, surrendered to the Allied Forces in what is modern-day Zhongshan Hall in Taipei.
Chen said that the Japanese surrender had been made to the Allied forces and not the Republic of China (ROC), citing the presence of the flags of the US, the UK, Soviet Union and China at the surrender ceremony as evidence.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The then-KMT government represented the Allied forces in receiving the instrument of surrender, Chen said, adding that in accordance with the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, the Japanese Empire surrendered their claims to Taiwan, the Pescadores and surrounding islands, but had not stated explicitly to whom they surrendered the sovereignty of the islands.
The event yesterday gathered more than 20 pro-localization groups in front of Zhongshan Hall, where they made a joint statement that Taiwan does not belong to “the KMT government-in-exile” and has “nothing to do with China.”
Taiwan belongs to Taiwanese and all those who identify with the land have the right to establish a new country on the island, the groups said.
The KMT’s “liberation myth” must be debunked, the group said, adding that the raising of a “Taiwan flag” on Oct. 26 marked the true Retrocession Day for Taiwanese, in the sense that the nation was to be governed by Taiwanese and not outsiders.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
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