President Ma Ying-jeou says former Vice President Lien Chan should not attend the upcoming Chinese military parade in Beijing.
Ma made the comments on Saturday. His remarks came as a response to Lien’s plan to attend the Chinese military parade commemorating the end of WWII. The Republic of China government, which relocated to Taiwan in 1949 following the Chinese Civil War, has maintained that the communists played only a minor role in China’s WWII war effort.
Former Vice President Lien Chan was once the chairman of the ruling Kuomintang (KMT). His decision to attend the Beijing military parade raised a few eyebrows in Taiwan. While in China, he is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Also on Saturday, Vice President Wu Den-yih said when Lien is in China, he should state the fact that it was the KMT government that led China through the war.
No current KMT officials will be attending events being held in China to commemorate the war’s end. The Chinese military parade is being boycotted by many Western leaders, who do not want to be seen as lending support to China’s efforts to build up its military might.