Combined translation of two August 26 Storm Media articles (1 2).

Former Vice President Lien Chan (連戰) has accepted Beijing’s invitation to its September 3 military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of victory in the Anti-Fascist War of Resistance Against Japan. During his trip, he will also meet privately with Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Chairman Yu Zhengsheng (俞正聲).

The ROC Office of the President, however, has gone through numerous channels to advise Lien against attending the Beijing events. A high-level party source says that it is very improper for Lien to accept Beijing’s invitation because he was formerly vice president and party chairman and his attendance would signify recognition of the Communist Party’s interpretation of the history of the war.

Beijing sent close to 300 invitations to individuals in Taiwan. Those invited include veterans of the war, elders of the blue and green political camps, high-status businessmen, and media heavyweights. The Office of the President, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), and Ministry of National Defense (MND) have been strongly urging all invitees not to attend.

Besides Lien, other blue elders who accepted their invitations include former Premier and General Staff Chief Hau Pei-tsun (郝柏村), former armed forces commander Hsu Li-nung (許歷農), and former SEF chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤). Green-camp invitees include former DPP Chairman Hsu Hsin-liang (許信良), Formosa newsletter chairman Wu Tzu-chia (吳子嘉), and former DPP Legislator Kuo Cheng-liang 郭正亮). Of these, Kuo has refused to attend while the others are inclined to go but are still taking the temperature.

Because so many blue-camp political and military heavyweights have been invited, the National Security Bureau has in recent months discouraged them from attending via messages from the MND, Veterans Affairs Council, and MAC. Wu Po-hsiung (吳伯雄) declined his invitation for health reasons. However, other invitees have declined to clearly express to the government whether they will attend or have even kept their invitation a secret so the government cannot find or pressure them at all, infuriating President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九).

A high-level KMT source said that Ma even made a veiled threat to Hau Pei-tsun, asking in private, “Does his son want to run for Legislature or not?”

As a military heavyweight and participant in the KMT-CPC Civil War, Hau Pei-tsun’s attendance in particular could be viewed as an endorsement of the PRC, a high-level party and government source warned.

(S.tw Update: Ma’s threat against Hau Lung-bin worked! Today Hau Pei-tsun’s office claimed he wasn’t even invited to the parade, that he definitely won’t go, that he’ll encourage other military seniors not to go, and that the Communist Party’s WW2 history is incorrect. There is zero chance that Beijing failed to invite Hau Pei-tsun to the parade.)

Ma has demanded the Mainland Affairs Council take concrete action to prevent people from attending but there is little it can do. On August 20, it simply made a statement that there could be legal issues if retired veterans and civil servants attend China’s parade.

A high-level government source said that the ROC is holding its own commemoration series and will have a big parade on September 2; hence there is no reason for ROCers to go to China’s events. Another source said that Xi Jinping, very much unlike his predecessor Hu Jintao (胡錦濤), emphasizes that the Communist Party had an important role in the war, and argued the attendance of ROC military representatives at the parade would signify agreement with China’s historical interpretation, which is unacceptable and “extremely inappropriate” from the ROC military’s perspective.

The night before the parade, Lien will attend a welcome banquet and interact with officials of other countries. He will also hold separate private meetings with Xi Jinping and Yu Zhengsheng to exchange opinions on cross-strait affairs. Very few staffers will accompany Lien on his trip. His son Sean Lien (連勝文) is welcome to come along but is inclined against doing so.

Beijing has also invited dignitaries like Russian President Vladimir Putin and South Korean President Park Geun-hye (朴槿惠) to attend the festivities. Former KMT Deputy Secretary-General Chang Jung-kung (張榮恭) says Lien will use this international stage to “say what must be said” and express our interpretation of history. Chang said that Lien will attend and support any ROC War of Resistance events to which he is invited, but that Taiwan’s social atmosphere does not place importance on the war. Moreover, Lien considers victory in the War of Resistance the shared history of all the Chinese race (中華民族). Therefore, he has decided to attend commemorative events on both sides of the strait.

As for the government’s argument that attendance signifies agreement with the Communist historical perspective, Lien believes it is more meaningful to express Taiwan’s perspective in a joint event, Chang said. Hence Lien will “say what he should” and express that the KMT was the leader of the War of Resistance. Lien believes he must attend a high-visibility event for the nation to win its right to speak out, so he is going to Beijing. At this international event he will express our contribution to the War of Resistance and historical interpretation. This is more meaningful than just attending the commemorative events in Taiwan, said Chang.

(S.tw Update: Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) has sided with Lien, saying if he contributes to cross-strait exchange, then that’s a good thing, and she’s sure he has a ruler within his heart (to take the measure of things).)