As Taiwan prepares to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, controversy is hanging over the administration of Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te as it faces criticism over its handling of the Republic of China’s (ROC) wartime legacy.
The Lai government has used commemorations under the theme “Resist Aggression, Protect the Homeland” to warn retired ranking officers – many affiliated with the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) – not to attend Beijing’s September 3 military parade, which will celebrate the same occasion.
The move has reignited long-standing tensions over Taiwan’s identity, the ownership of ROC history, and the reluctance of Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to fully embrace the ROC’s historical roots in mainland China.
Critics accused the administration of honouring the ROC’s wartime triumph without acknowledging its mainland roots before 1949.
Founded in 1912 after the fall of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the ROC fought Japan as a key Allied power under Chiang Kai-shek. After World War II, a civil war erupted between Chiang’s KMT forces and communist troops, ending with the KMT’s retreat to Taiwan in 1949. The KMT set up an interim government that continued to use the ROC as its official title.
However, Lai has maintained the DPP’s emphasis on Taiwan’s separate identity while downplaying the ROC’s legacy on the mainland.
