President Ma Ying-jeou on Monday lauded the efforts of Chinese soldiers in the Sino-Japanese War which ended 70 years ago. He was speaking at a book launch held by the Veteran Affairs Council (VAC).
The book, called “Immortal War Spirits” is a collection of the memories of 24 veterans.
Ma said that during the Sino-Japanese War, the government at the time decided to employ a “war of attrition” to hold off the Japanese invaders.
“[Oxford University] Professor Rana Mitter made a fair assessment after 70 years, saying that if it wasn’t for their valiant efforts, there’s no way that the Chinese army could have held back 800,000 Japanese soldiers, who were part of the most advanced military in the world," said Ma.
"[Mitter] said that the Allies’ victory in the European theatre post-Pearl Harbor was largely aided by the Chinese army’s relentless efforts on the Asia-Pacific front," said Ma.
The president said that perhaps Japanese aggression should be forgiven, but the war shall never be forgotten.
He called on Veterans Affairs Council to publish more books on the subject to commemorate the veteran’s contributions to the Republic of China.