China and Taiwan's war of words ahead of anniversary parade

The 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two has "set off a bitter battle of narratives" between China and Taiwan, said Reuters.

China has accused Taiwan of "blaspheming" those who died fighting Japan during the war and tensions have been rising ahead of the military parade to mark the anniversary today, in Beijing.

'Shameless betrayal'

Taiwan says Beijing is falsely claiming credit for leading the fighting during the war, and insists that most of the combat was done by the forces of the Republic of China – a term Taiwan still uses as its formal name.

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The government in Taipei has called on people not to attend the military parade and threatened punishment, including loss of pension rights for current or former senior defence, intelligence and diplomatic officials, who do go along.

But Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, has accused Taiwan of "slandering and obliterating" the communist party's role as the "backbone" of fighting Japan, and said its claims are an insult to "all the loyal martyrs and heroes and a shameless betrayal of the entire Chinese nation". She went on to say that the people of Taiwan "should not, and cannot, be absent from the relevant commemorative activities" and any threats or attempts to disuade them were nothing but "despicable acts that betray history and the nation".

The war of words comes at a time of tension between the nations. Over the past five years, Taiwan has repeatedly complained about growing Chinese military activity, including war games surrounding the island, as Beijing ramps up pressure and territorial claims.

The president of Taiwan, Lai Ching-te , said yesterday that the "most valuable lesson" to be learned from conflict was that "unity ensures victory, while aggression inevitably fails".

'A major event'

The 80th-anniversary parade is a "major event" for China, said The Telegraph, and tens of thousands of soldiers and veterans will march in formation through Tiananmen Square. Xi Jinping is expected to give a speech and new, never-before-seen weapons, including a ship-destroying hypersonic missile, are set to be unveiled.

The spectacle will follow a meeting of world leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un will remain behind and watch the military parade as guests of honour.