On Monday, a representative of indigenous groups in Taiwan
protested against a visit by a Taiwan party delegation to the
Yasukuni Shrine in Japan, where a number of convicted Class-A war
criminals are honored.
Ten members of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), led by its
chairman Su Chin-chiang, visited the shrine on Monday to pay
respects to Japanese soldiers killed in past wars.
The move provoked anger from a representative of Taiwan's
indigenous people, or Gaoshan.
Gao Jin Sumei delivered a letter of protest to the TSU's
headquarters, warning its leaders not to forget Japan's wartime
history.
"History can never be neglected, and Japanese aggression is part
of history," she said.
Taiwan was occupied by Japanese forces for 50 years from 1895,
and more than 20,000 people from Taiwan were forced to join the
Japanese army during the Second World War, of whom only a third
survived.
The Gaoshan are the aboriginal people of Taiwan and one of
China's 56 ethnic groups.
(CRI April 5, 2005)