Taiwan President Lai Ching-te marked the anniversary of the end of World War II on 15 August with a warning that authoritarianism and military expansion will only lead to defeat. His remarks, widely seen as aimed at Beijing, stressed the need for freedom and democracy to prevail as global tensions rise.

Lai highlighted that during the war, it was the Republic of China — Taiwan’s official name — that fought alongside Allied forces against Japan, not the government currently in Beijing. The republican government later relocated to Taiwan in 1949 after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong’s Communists.

Taiwan’s government also confirmed a ban on current and former senior defense, intelligence, and diplomatic officials from attending China’s planned September military parade commemorating the war’s end. Former officials who defy the order risk losing their pensions.

In a Facebook post, Lai described World War II as a disaster born of dictators’ ambitions and extreme ideologies. He said the war underscored that “unity leads to victory, while aggression leads to defeat,” urging vigilance in protecting peace and democracy.

The history behind the barb

Before Japan’s defeat in 1945, China’s Nationalist and Communist forces had set aside their civil war under the Second United Front, formed after the Xi’an Incident compelled Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek to agree to a truce. United in resisting the Japanese invasion, the alliance lasted through the Second Sino-Japanese War but collapsed soon after.

Following Japan’s surrender, the Nationalist government returned to Nanjing, emerging from the war nominally strong but economically shattered and on the brink of renewed conflict. Meanwhile, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were placed under Chinese administration on 25 October 1945.

By 1949 the Communists had taken control of most major cities. Chiang’s government retreated to Taipei with troops and refugees, declaring it the Republic of China’s temporary capital.

This historical context is likely what was on Lai’s mind when he spoke about unity, aggression, and the lessons of World War II, drawing a line between Taiwan’s present-day government and the wartime Republic of China.