Civil groups in Taiwan gathered outside the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei on Friday to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the Lugou Bridge Incident. The demonstrators called for remembrance of the nationwide resistance against Japanese aggression, opposition to “Taiwan independence,” and recognition of the shared wartime history across the Taiwan Strait.
Organizers of the event stated that their aim was to “teach” the DPP and Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te a history lesson about the region’s role in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.
“Following the Lugou Bridge Incident, the Japanese colonial authorities conducted a survey in Taiwan and found that more than 70 acts of resistance had erupted within a month,” said Chi Chia-lin, honorary chairman of the Reunification Alliance Party in Taiwan. “Many young people from the region returned to the Chinese mainland to join the war effort, demonstrating that intellectuals and the general public alike identified China as their motherland and believed in its ultimate victory.”
Chi emphasized the importance of unity, saying, “Today, in commemorating the July 7 incident, we aim to carry forward that national spirit, oppose separatism, and work toward the reunification of the Chinese nation.”
The demonstration was organized by more than a dozen Taiwan-based civic associations, political parties, and publications, showing a collective desire to remember history and promote unity across the strait.
