TAIPEI (Reuters) -Taiwanese officials have been banned from attending events held by China next week to mark the 80th anniversary of the island’s “retrocession” to Chinese rule because Beijing is trying to distort history for its own aims, the government said on Friday.
Next Saturday marks the anniversary of Japan, which colonised Taiwan in 1895, handing the island to the Republic of China government in 1945. Both Taipei and Beijing refer to the handover as the “retrocession”.
China and democratically-governed Taiwan, which Beijing views as its own territory, have repeatedly clashed this year over their differing interpretations of the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two.
Taiwan says it was the Republic of China that fought the war, not the People’s Republic of China, which was founded by Mao Zedong’s communists in 1949 after they won the civil war. The Republic of China government fled to Taipei and the Republic of China remains Taiwan’s formal name.
In a video statement, Chiu Chui-cheng, head of Taiwan’s China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council, said Beijing had repeatedly fabricated “false narratives”.
In events related to the “retrocession”, Beijing has sought to “concoct the claim that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China.
“The ultimate goal is to eliminate the Republic of China and annex Taiwan.”
The government has banned Taiwanese officials, students and teachers from attending any events China may hold around the anniversary, and calls on all others to “put the national interest first” and also not take part, he said.
China, whose Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, has not yet announced what it might do on or around the anniversary.
On Wednesday, a spokesperson for the office told reporters in Beijing that the “retrocession” was an important outcome of the end of World War Two and a great triumph for all Chinese people, including those in Taiwan.
China marked last month’s anniversary of the end of World War Two with a massive military parade.
Taipei next Saturday will host East Asia’s largest Pride march, a riotous celebration of LGBTQ+ equality and diversity.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
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