Yesterday, Beijing marked the 60th anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule over Taiwan in festivities meant to affirm the mainland’s claim to the island.
Jia Qinglin, a member of the Communist Party’s Standing Committee, led an official ceremony at the Great Hall of the People, and delivered a speech titled “Strive for peaceful reunification of the motherland and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.” Meanwhile, The People’s Daily, a main party newspaper, declared in a front-page editorial that “Taiwan has never been a country but is instead an inalienable part of the Chinese territory.”
A photo exhibition on Taiwan opposing Japanese war atrocities is also held at the National Museum of China in Beijing, showing Taiwan people’s spirits and the island’s historical connection to the mainland.