Beijing has accused Taiwan leader William Lai of glorifying Japanese colonial rule after a speech comparing early Kuomintang rule unfavourably to Japanese colonial times. The People's Liberation Army stepped up aircraft sorties around the island.
Taiwan leader William Lai, from the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, spoke on Saturday at an event marking the 30th anniversary of Taiwan’s first direct elections. He stated that the early days of Kuomintang (KMT) rule over Taiwan under Chiang Kai-shek were “worse than [under] the Japanese colonial regime”. Lai also made comparisons with some of the island’s other rulers in his speech. Beijing accused him of ‘glorifying Japanese colonial rule’. The People’s Liberation Army stepped up the number of sorties by aircraft around the island after the comments. Keywords mention Taiwan Affairs Office, Lin Jian, and locations like Taipei.
