Scholar clears misconception of Taiwan under Japanese rule

Lan Po-chou, a well-known writer from Taiwan, in April shared his reflections on Taiwan's history of resistance against Japanese colonial rule in an exclusive interview with China Daily: "Did our Taiwan compatriots, our forebears, not fear death? I later came to a realization: life under Japanese colonial rule was worse than death." He emphasized that Japan's colonial rule over Taiwan was by no means "development", but rather amounted to blatant "robbery".

However, the Japanese leader Sanae Takaichi has recently made openly provocative remarks on Taiwan, hinting at the possibility of Japan's military intervention in the Taiwan Strait. This not only constitutes a provocation against the fundamental norms of international relations but also represents a severe disregard for history.