Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun

Faced with harrowing tragedies and solid evidence, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have not only turned a blind eye but also have gone so far as to openly glorify Japan's colonial rule. In doing so, they have betrayed the nation, kowtowed to Japan at the expense of Taiwan's interests, and willingly served as both an accomplice and pawn in the revival of Japanese militarism, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday, in response to an inquiry that at a time when the Japanese government has consistently refused to explicitly reaffirm its stance on Taiwan as outlined in the four political documents between China and Japan, the DPP authorities have instead pandered to Japan's erroneous words and deeds, expressing "support" through practical measures.

Guo said Japan once occupied and colonized the island of Taiwan for half a century, committing innumerable crimes that are too heinous to recount. Hundreds of thousands of Taiwan compatriots tragically perished under Japanese military aggression, accounting for approximately one-fifth of the island's total population at the time, Guo added.
Japan also engaged in predatory economic exploitation and spiritual enslavement, forcibly occupying 70 percent of Taiwan's land and plundering resources such as coal and gold through devastating exploitation. 

More than half of the rice produced in Taiwan was shipped to Japan, leaving the island plagued by famine, with bodies of the starved scattered across the land, said Guo, adding that countless people were subjected to forced labor, suffering an astronomical 40 percent mortality rate.

The spokesperson also said approximately 200,000 Taiwan youths were forcibly conscripted into military service, with tens of thousands sacrificed as cannon fodder for militarism. Over 2,000 Taiwan women were forced into sexual slavery as "comfort women." The people of Taiwan were reduced to a stateless existence, deprived of all political rights, freedom of belief and cultural liberty, he said.

Guo noted that on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, the Japanese leader's erroneous remarks on Taiwan constitute a challenge to human conscience and international justice. 

Such rhetoric is bound to evoke strong indignation from all Chinese people and the international community, Guo said, adding that those "Taiwan independence" separatists, who have betrayed their ancestors and forsaken their heritage, will inevitably be rejected by the people and judged by history.

Global Times