Taiwan’s defense minister on Tuesday accused Beijing of conducting "cognitive warfare" after China marked the 81st anniversary of Japan handing over the island to Chinese rule with military propaganda and satellite images.
Japan ruled Taiwan from 1895 until 1945 when control was transferred to the Republic of China (ROC) government following World War II. On Sunday, China released high-resolution satellite photos of Taipei alongside a military poster displaying fighter jets and warships over a map of Taiwan with titled "Remember the history of the restoration."
Taiwan Defense Minister Wellington Koo dismissed Beijing's claims, emphasizing that the People's Republic of China (PRC) was only established in 1949 and played no part in the wartime handover.
"The War of Resistance has absolutely nothing to do with the People's Republic of China, this is a clear objective fact" Koo told reporters in Taipei.
Instead Taiwan's military commemorated the October 1949 battle of Kinmen and the island forces successfully repelled an invasion attempt by China's People's Liberation Army. Koo called that victory a far more relevant date to remember, warning that Beijing's ambition to take Taiwan by force remains unchanged.
Taiwan’s democratically elected government continues to reject Beijing’s sovereignty claims. Neither side formally recognizes the other and their competing interpretations of World War II history remain a regular point of friction across the Taiwan Strait.
