Taipei authorities have taken a softer line on Taiwanese individuals attending Beijing’s Victory Day military parade this week, despite repeated warnings in the weeks leading up to the event.
Former Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu defied the warnings and appeared on the rostrum overlooking Tiananmen Square on Wednesday, watching the parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.
The next day, Liang Wen-chieh, deputy minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said it was up to “each political party to bear responsibility for itself and to society”, and Hung’s decision was “not something to be punished by law”.
Liang added that, although Hung had previously served as deputy president of Taiwan’s legislature, the position fell outside the scope of legislation restricting retired Taiwanese officials from attending official celebrations hosted by Beijing.
However, he said, such actions “failed to actively uphold governmental dignity and defied public expectations, which we deeply regret”.
Before the parade, Taipei had repeatedly invoked its act governing cross-strait relations, warning certain retired officials and generals against going to Beijing for the ceremony.
Under the act, Taiwanese civil servants at all levels, former deputy ministers, retired major generals and above, and heads of intelligence agencies are prohibited from attending “celebrations or activities organised by political parties, military, administrative or other political institutions or organisations” in mainland China.
Penalties can include fines, suspension or revocation of pensions, and the forfeiture of medals.
Liang said the MAC’s position was consistent with its approach towards Taiwanese attendees at a similar parade in Beijing a decade earlier.
In 2015, while the KMT was still in power, former party chairman Lien Chan ignited controversy on the self-ruled island by watching a similar parade from the Tiananmen Square rostrum.
Entertainers had also been warned about aligning themselves with Beijing’s official positions but from Tuesday onwards, several Taiwanese artists with careers in mainland China – including actors, singers and TV presenters – reposted mainland state media posts about the anniversary and publicly praised the parade.
Liang also refrained from proposing penalties against these individuals, saying that the reposted content included appeals for peace and tributes to heroes, “neither diminishing the status of the Republic of China nor advocating military solutions to cross-strait issues”.
The Taiwanese attending Wednesday’s parade in Beijing included politicians, business leaders, and pro-Beijing university professors.
During the event, Beijing showcased multiple advanced weapon systems, including equipment deemed crucial for amphibious operations and for deterring US intervention in a potential Taiwan Strait conflict.
In Beijing on Thursday, Hung met Wang Huning, mainland China’s fourth-ranking official.
According to state news agency Xinhua, both Wang and Hung emphasised their opposition to Taiwanese independence.
Hung had previously defended her attendance at the parade as an act of remembrance.
“The war of resistance was a battle of national survival – our shared history, beyond province or party,” she said, adding that it was her duty to uphold the spirit of resistance and to “remind today’s generations never to forget national humiliation”.
However, the foreign ministry in Taipei said on Tuesday that Hung’s attendance “does not represent the position of Taiwan and all its citizens”.
In the 1930s and 1940s, the KMT, which then ruled mainland China, had formed an alliance with its former rival, the Communist Party, to resist the Japanese invasion.
The war concluded with Japan’s surrender in 1945, but the following Chinese civil war ended with the KMT retreating to Taiwan in 1949.
The KMT is now Taiwan’s biggest opposition party and is seen as being more friendly towards Beijing than the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The pro-independence DPP condemned the Tiananmen Square spectacle, describing it as a display of Communist ambitions rather than a peaceful commemoration.
The DPP also denounced the People’s Liberation Army for military exercises in the Taiwan Strait and the Communist Party’s line on the war against Japan.
Beijing sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary.
Most countries, including Taiwan’s main international backer, the United States, do not recognise the self-ruled island as an independent state. However, Washington opposes any attempt to seize Taiwan by force and is legally bound to supply the island with defensive weapons.
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