This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is set to hold a military parade in Beijing on September 3 to commemorate the victory in the war. Recent official propaganda from the CCP has been heavily promoting the so-called “central pillar role” played by the CCP in the war while belittling the contributions of the Nationalist government at the time. Many experts have criticized the CCP’s claims as feeble and ridiculous, and have exposed the CCP’s multiple motives behind organizing this military parade in the name of commemorating the war.
Nine days away from the parade in Beijing, the CCP’s main party mouthpiece, People’s Daily, published an article on August 25 written by Lu Yi, a researcher from the “Xi Thought Research Center” of the Central Party School. The article reiterated Xi Jinping’s statements, claiming that the CCP is “undoubtedly the central pillar and political leadership core of the Anti-Japanese War.”
Shen Mingshi, a researcher at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, told Epoch Times that Beijing is looking to dominate the narrative and interpretation of the war. However, it is widely known that significant battles during the resistance against Japan involved both the Nationalist army and the Japanese army.
“At the time the representative who accepted the Japanese surrender was a representative of the Republic of China government. The CCP regime had not yet been established. Not only had it not been established, (the Communist army) was actually incorporated into the ranks of the Republic of China, whether it was the New Fourth Army or the Eighth Route Army. So for them to come out and claim they were leading it, it’s simply not right. But why say this? It’s to highlight their attempt to seize control of the narrative of the resistance,” Shen said.
Lai Rongwei, Executive Director of the Taiwan Inspiration Association (TIA), expressed to Epoch Times that the CCP’s commemoration and propaganda surrounding the war are laughable and ironic. Holding a military parade only emphasizes that it is a dictatorship where ‘military weapons are considered more important than the people.’
Compared to Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, and Hu Jintao, who each held a military parade during their respective tenures to mark the National Day, Xi Jinping has broken convention. In addition to holding a military parade on National Day, he conducted the “9.3 Military Parade” in 2015 and held non-capital military parades in locations like Zhu Rihe in Inner Mongolia, making him the CCP’s leader with the most military parades since the so-called “reform and opening up.”
Lai Rongwei believes that Xi Jinping’s latest military parade on September 3 is in response to a new situation, that is, a crisis in his rule. He needs to show that he still holds the military power, but the truth is uncertain. Additionally, he needs to tell the people of China to be cautious and not revolt which might indicate internal power struggles within the party and dissatisfaction from society.
Su Ziyun, Director of the Strategic and Resources Department at the Taiwan Institute for National Defense and Security Studies, told Epoch Times that Beijing’s military parade serves multiple purposes. One is an attempt to distort the historical narrative to emphasize the legitimacy of its regime. However, during World War II, the flag of the Republic of China was among the five major powers: China, the US, the UK, France, and the Soviet Union. Furthermore, a representative of the Republic of China was invited to participate in the Victory Parade in London, highlighting that the Republic of China participated in World War II as a legitimate country resisting aggressors.
Su Ziyun mentioned that another objective of Beijing’s military parade is to shift the public’s perception of history, promote internal stability by diverting attention from economic downturns, and showcase its strategic weapons as a threat to Taiwan, the US, and even Europe.
The Chinese Academy of History, affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, released an article by the official WeChat account of the institute on August 22 criticizing the Kuomintang’s role in the war. The article, written by Guo Yang, an associate professor at the Marxism College of Nanjing University, accuses nationalists of emphasizing the Kuomintang’s contributions to the war through editing historical images and adapting TV drama plots. The institute had also criticized so-called “historical nihilists” in a previous article regarding the CCP’s actions during the war.
The information on the official website shows that the “Chinese Academy of History” was established under the leadership of Xi Jinping and was founded on January 3, 2019.
Shen Mingshi mentioned that the “Nationalist Fans” or “Republic Fans” on the Chinese mainland are those who are supportive of the Nationalist Party or sympathize with the Nationalist Government. The CCP is concerned that their study of history might have an impact on the CCP’s rule and could lead to a negative view of the CCP’s propaganda, hence disrupting their efforts to brainwash students or engage in domestic and foreign united front strategies. CCP scholars emphasize not highlighting the role of the Nationalist Party during the war, showing the CCP’s insecurity and lack of confidence, but history cannot be changed.
As the anniversary of the war draws near, four Chinese Coast Guard ships harassed the waters near Kinmen twice on August 24, and were driven away by Taiwan Coast Guard patrols.
Lai Rongwei stated that while the CCP commemorates its anti-invasion history, it supports Russia in the conflict with Ukraine, and in recent years, the CCP has been continuously inciting discord in democratic countries, infiltrating national security, disregarding mainstream opinion in Taiwan, and repeatedly intruding into Taiwan’s surrounding waters. “The CCP criticized Germany and Japan in the past, but now Germany and Japan have deeply reflected on their actions. As a result, China has become an even larger imperialist power. So, this kind of military parade commemorating the war is very ironic.”
The Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China in Taiwan issued a press release on August 14, stating that during the resistance against Japan, the CCP adopted a self-interested strategy of “one-third fighting the Japanese, two-thirds dealing with the Nationalist government, and seven-thirds building themselves.” In recent years, the CCP regime has repeatedly distorted the facts, claiming that it led the resistance against Japan.