Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said Sunday it was important to remember the good things Japan did for the island while also recognizing the negative aspects of their history.

Speaking in Taipei on the 70th anniversary of the day Japan gave up control of the island at the end of World War II, or what Taiwan refers to as Retrocession Day, Ma acknowledged that Japan’s invasion of China killed millions and that issues such as the “comfort women,” those forced to work in Japan’s wartime military brothels, still cause deep pain today.

“But Japanese colonial rule of Taiwan also bought construction, like the Chianan irrigation system and Wusanto reservoir,” Ma said, referring to two projects Japan oversaw.

“This benefited farmers in Taiwan, and we should naturally affirm it,” he added.

Looking ahead, Ma said that both sides should adopt an attitude of “distinguishing kindness from grievances” and discuss things based on their own merits.

“Only then can the Chinese and Japanese peoples build a great and lasting friendship,” he said.

China’s ruling Communist Party marked the anniversary Friday by saying Chinese people had a “sacred mission” to ensure Taiwan was always considered part of China.

Taiwan was a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945. The Kuomintang government of China took over rule of the island after Japan lost the war. Japan had gained control from imperial China.

But Kuomintang members had to flee to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists, who to this day insist the island is an integral part of China and have never renounced the use of force to bring it back under Beijing’s control.

Unlike in China or the Koreas, many Taiwanese often have a more positive view of Japan than Chinese or Koreans, saying that Japanese rule brought progress to an undeveloped, largely agricultural island.