By Lawrence Chung
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.
On June 25, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) warned that retired generals who attend Beijing’s parade could be fined up to NT$10 million (US$345,000) and be stripped of their pensions and honours. The warnings were issued after Beijing invited KMT veterans to the parade, which it said would honour the shared sacrifices of all Chinese in the war.
Beijing’s Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian said the 80th anniversary would also mark Taiwan’s “Retrocession Day” – an annual commemoration of the end of Japanese rule of Taiwan – and called for joint commemoration. Taipei swiftly dismissed the idea, insisting that the war was led by the ROC and that the Communist Party “made no contribution” to the effort.
“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was not even established until 1949. No matter how much China spends on its celebrations, it cannot cover up the ironclad historical facts,” MAC spokesman Liang Wen-chieh said, accusing Beijing of hijacking the ROC’s victory to bolster its legitimacy.
Taiwanese Defence Minister Wellington Koo Li-hsiung echoed the sentiment, calling the war victory “undeniably” that of the ROC and warning of Beijing’s continued use of united front tactics to divide Taiwan. He urged veterans not to be misled and reminded them of the legal risks of accepting Beijing’s invitation.
Taiwan’s defence ministry and Veterans Affairs Council have organised dozens of commemorative events, including military exhibitions, community fairs, concerts and a World War II photography series at public bus stops across Taipei. But Lai’s administration has ruled out a grand military parade, with the MAC calling it wasteful.
The KMT’s information chief, Lin Kuan-jung, said the party did not want its members to violate the law; however, some KMT lawmakers said the DPP warnings were politically motivated.
KMT legislator Ma Wen-chun accused the Lai government of neglecting the ROC’s history and using historical revisionism to prevent veterans from engaging with their past. “If the DPP has discarded ROC history, can it blame Beijing for claiming it?” Ma asked. “If the ROC won the war, we should mark it with pride – not passively let others write that narrative.”
Analysts said Lai’s commemorations reflected an effort to redefine the ROC in Taiwan-centric terms while avoiding uncomfortable associations with its mainland China-based past. Ho Chih-yung, a professor of general education at Taiwan’s National Tsing Hua University, slammed the DPP for wanting “the moral authority of the anti-Japanese legacy without acknowledging the ROC that fought the war”.
“The ROC flag and military traditions are only honoured when it is politically convenient,” he said.
James Yifan Chen, a professor of diplomacy and international relations at Tamkang University in New Taipei City, warned that Lai’s reluctance to hold a more formal commemoration might allow Beijing to dominate the historical discourse.
“Neither the DPP nor the Communist Party led the ROC’s war effort,” he said. “It was the ROC under Chiang Kai-shek that defeated Japan. The Lai administration must acknowledge that or risk becoming historical revisionists.”
He added that Chinese President Xi Jinping had invited world leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and possibly US President Donald Trump, to the Beijing parade, further amplifying Beijing’s version of wartime history.
Chen said Lai won the presidency through opportunism – publicly claiming to defend the ROC while concealing his pro-independence agenda. “Most people in Taiwan, and leaders across the [Taiwan] Strait, are well aware of his tricks. Yet Lai has persisted – and is likely to continue – to maintain this facade to secure his grip on power.”
Meanwhile, Niu Tse-hsun, a professor of advertising at Chinese Culture University in Taipei, said that Lai’s messaging was likely aimed more at rallying DPP supporters than promoting historical accuracy. “Even if the KMT mounts a counter-narrative, it is unlikely to resonate with the DPP base, which is less concerned with the ROC’s pre-1949 legacy.”
Still, the optics are difficult to ignore, analysts said. “The government is urging citizens to reflect on a war fought on Chinese soil while denying the ROC’s historical roots on that same soil,” Tsing Hua University’s Ho said. “This dual messaging reflects a deepening identity paradox – one that risks severing an essential link in Taiwan’s historical narrative.”
Lai’s supporters have argued that the commemorations are meant to honour Taiwan’s values and sacrifices, not to endorse authoritarian figures like Chiang or validate Beijing’s claims. DPP spokesman Wu Cheng accused Beijing of manipulating the 80th anniversaries to “erase the ROC’s role and reshape global memory”.
“Japan surrendered to the ROC, not to the PRC,” Wu said, referring to the People’s Republic of China. “China’s narrative that it inherited Taiwan after the war is entirely false.”
For its part, Beijing has seized the opportunity to accuse Lai of hypocrisy and historical erasure. The mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office called Taiwan’s commemorations a “political stunt” and accused Lai of distorting shared history.
Beijing regards Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring the island under its control.
Since taking office as the island’s leader last year, Lai has called the mainland a “foreign hostile force” and said the two sides of the Taiwan Strait “are not subordinate to each other”. As a result, Beijing has intensified military activities near Taiwan to ramp up pressure on the island.
Like most countries, the United States does not recognise Taiwan as an independent state, but it opposes any forcible change to the cross-strait status quo and is legally obliged under the Taiwan Relations Act to help the island defend itself.