Taiwan Commemorates Martyrs on Anti-Japanese Memorial Day; CCP's Grand Parade Backfires

On August 9, Beijing will hold a rehearsal for the “September 3rd” military parade. After 6 p.m., Chang’an Avenue will be closed off; no vehicles or pedestrians will be allowed to enter. (Screenshot from video / Composite by Dajiyuan)

[People News] September 3 marks the Military Day of the Republic of China and the 80th anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II. On this day, President Lai Ching-te of the Republic of China led representatives from the five branches of government to the Martyrs' Shrine for the Autumn Sacrifice Ceremony.

According to media reports, during the Autumn Sacrifice at the Martyrs' Shrine, President Lai Ching-te expressed that the people of Taiwan cherish peace and do not commemorate it with weapons. Instead, they honour the martyrs and learn from historical lessons, steadfastly upholding their belief in freedom and democracy. He emphasised that the equipment they possess is intended for defending the homeland, not for aggression or expansion. President Lai candidly stated that if the countries that were invaded had disregarded the progress of human civilisation and followed the same old path, it would only lead to regret and sorrow for the world. He believes that if all citizens unite, they can certainly achieve the goal of 'Peace through strength.'

On the same day in Beijing, the authorities spent 36 billion yuan to hold a grand parade. Taiwanese media noted that the CCP's actions are aimed at seizing the narrative of World War II history and erasing the existence of the Republic of China.

According to publicly available information from the government of the Republic of China, the primary force in the War of Resistance against Japan was the National Revolutionary Army (NRA). Over the course of the eight-year conflict, 200 generals at the division level and above were killed. In total, 271 Kuomintang generals (including 19 generals, 81 lieutenant generals, and 171 major generals) lost their lives during the war. The army recorded a total of 3,211,419 casualties, which included those killed, wounded, and missing, while the air force suffered 4,321 fatalities and saw 2,468 aircraft destroyed. The Navy nearly lost all of its vessels.

On September 9, 1945, the surrender ceremony for the China theatre of World War II took place in Nanjing, where He Yingqin (何應欽), the commander-in-chief of the NRA, represented the Republic of China in accepting Japan's surrender documents.

During the War of Resistance against Japan, the main force of the Chinese Communist Party's Red Army took refuge in the relatively peaceful region of Yan'an in Shaanxi Province, where they cultivated land and grew hemp. According to information from Wikipedia, the opium produced by the Red Army was sold in areas controlled by the Kuomintang, with some being sold to the public and some directly to the Kuomintang military.

Despite the Chinese Communist Party's significant expenditure on a large-scale military parade in Beijing, which included the attendance of heads of state from 26 Asian, African, and Latin American countries, and Xi Jinping's presence alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the Tiananmen Gate, this cannot diminish the historical fact that the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China was a crucial force in the resistance against Japan. This significance was further highlighted by the appearance of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, as the leaders of the four nations—China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran—dubbed the new 'Axis of Evil' gathered together, attracting international attention. Numerous Chinese netizens criticized the Communist Party for inviting heads of state from countries with poor human rights records, such as North Korea, Myanmar, and Iran, to the parade.

On September 3, U.S. President Donald Trump took to the social media platform 'Truth Social' to assert that the simultaneous presence of Russian President Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Beijing is conspiring against the United States.'

Earlier, Trump had also stated in an interview that he was 'not worried at all' about the emergence of an anti-American axis involving China and Russia, given their leaders' joint appearance at the military parade in Beijing, as the United States possesses the strongest military power in the world to date.

American political commentator Tang Jingyuan told The Epoch Times that Trump's tweet implicitly accuses Xi Jinping of being ungrateful and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of being an ungrateful regime. Additionally, it sends a double warning. The first warning is directed at Xi Jinping. In his speech, Xi failed to acknowledge the significant assistance the United States provided to China during the Anti-Japanese War. Instead, he implicitly threatened whether the approach would be dialogue or confrontation, and whether the outcome would be win-win or zero-sum. This hints at a strategic competition with the United States. Trump's second warning targets Putin and Kim Jong-un, indicating that they are conspiring against the United States, as both are collaborating to advance the Russia-Ukraine war.

Tang Jingyuan believes that the collaboration between Russia and North Korea in promoting the Russia-Ukraine war has severely affected U.S. national interests and poses a threat to NATO's overall security. It appears that Trump has come to realise that this war is not as unrelated to the United States as he once thought; rather, it is directly opposing the U.S. Trump may have reassessed and redefined the nature of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Tang Jingyuan stated, 'The three countries of the 'axis of evil'—China, Russia, and North Korea—have clearly united. While Trump claims that Russia and North Korea are conspiring against the United States, in reality, these two nations are forming an anti-American conspiracy centred around the CCP.'

Additionally, Shen Mingshi, a researcher at the Taiwan National Defence Security Research Institute, told The Epoch Times that the significance of these dictators appearing together is to signal that these anti-American regimes are 'united.' This signal is likely to provoke a strong backlash from Trump.

Yuan Hongbing, a liberal scholar based in Australia, has indicated that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is currently trying to obstruct the improvement of relations between the United States and Russia. In particular, concerning the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Xi Jinping has reportedly signed a secret agreement with Putin, which supports Putin's efforts to reclaim all territories from the Soviet era in Europe.

Associate Professor Feng Chongyi from the University of Sydney commented that the military displays during the CCP's parades will only backfire. The entire Western democratic alliance is united against the CCP's militaristic actions that pose a threat to global peace, especially given the CCP's provocations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, which disrupt international order. The CCP's display of military might is likely to bolster the influence of hawks in democratic nations, leaving doves speechless.

Feng Chongyi further noted that historically, Japan's surrender was to the Nationalist Government, which was overthrown by the CCP's rebellion. After the CCP took power and established the state, how many heroes of the War of Resistance were executed? The CCP has no legitimacy in commemorating the War of Resistance. △