Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te said Friday that World War II showed that “unity wins and aggression loses" and that the "war has no winner."
Recalling the tragedy of World War II, he said the brutal conflict claimed tens of millions of lives. "Peace is priceless," Lai said on the US social media platform Facebook.
"World War II was a havoc of history, because of the hegemonic ambitions, extreme ideology, and military expansion of a few dictators, many countries across several continents were caught in ruthless wars; tens of millions of precious lives were sacrificed to resist aggression," he said.
Lai, who was elected last year, said the nations that love freedom and cherish peace "must unite to defeat" any "ambition of expansion and aggression" with unchallenged determination and strength.
"No regime has the right to invade and rob the people of another land of freedom and happiness, no matter any excuse or reason," Lai said in his statement.
Beijing, on the other hand, said that Lai's remarks are "an attempt to 'seek independence through military means' and 'by relying on foreign forces."
Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said: "We sternly warn Lai that any attempt to distort the history of WWII is doomed to fail, any act of challenging the post-war international order will only bring humiliation upon itself, and any plot to split the motherland is nothing but a delusion."
China claims Taiwan as its "breakaway province," while Taipei has maintained its independence since 1949.
World War II ended after Japan announced its unconditional surrender in 1945, and lost around 2.3 million military personnel and 800,000 civilians in the war.
In May, Lai also attended a ceremony commemorating the Allied victory in World War II -- the first time Taiwan formally observed the occasion.
*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid
