Taiwan urges people not to travel to China for Sun Yat-sen anniversary events — RMF24

Taiwanese authorities have urged residents not to visit China during events planned for November to mark the 160th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen’s birth. Taipei believes Beijing is using the figure of the politician, who is revered on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, to promote a narrative of “unification” with the island, RMF24 reports.

Events scheduled for November 12

China announced that it would hold commemorative events on November 12. Sun Yat-sen, who died in 1925, was one of the leaders of the 1911 revolution that ended centuries of imperial rule in China. He later founded the Republic of China.

After its defeat in the civil war against Mao Zedong’s communists, the government of the Republic of China moved to Taiwan in 1949. The Republic of China remains Taiwan’s official name.

Statement by Taiwan’s council

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council on Thursday evening urged residents not to take part in events in the People’s Republic of China and not to spread the Chinese authorities’ narratives. Beijing has not yet disclosed details of the November program.

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The Taiwanese body stated that the historical interpretation promoted by Beijing does not correspond to the facts. In its assessment, the commemorations are intended to popularize the message of “opposing Taiwan independence and supporting unification.”

As Reuters notes, in Beijing Sun Yat-sen is portrayed as a national hero, patriot and precursor of the revolution which, according to the Chinese authorities’ interpretation, led to the creation of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. During previous commemorative events in 2016, Chinese leader Xi Jinping said that Sun opposed attempts to “divide the country” and called the complete reunification of the motherland the duty of all Chinese people.

In Taiwan, Sun Yat-sen is officially regarded as the “father of the nation,” and his portrait is displayed in the presidential administration. At the same time, his political concept of the “Three Principles of the People” is no longer a mandatory part of the school curriculum.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party support the island’s identity separate from China. Beijing calls Lai a “separatist” and refuses contacts with his administration. The Taiwanese president, for his part, says that only the island’s residents can determine its future.