Taiwan pro-independence activists protest at airport as former KMT chairman leaves to attend Beijing military parade

Taiwanese pro-independence activists launched a protest at an airport yesterday as former Kuomintang chairman Lien Chan left to attend Beijing’s military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan’s surrender in the second world war.

The mainland’s official news agency Xinhua made a reconciliatory move on Monday morning by putting a renewed emphasis on the participation of Kuomintang veterans in the grand parade.

“It marks the first occasion for Communist and Kuomintang veterans to parade together,” the state media said, adding that they will be the first to march through Tiananmen.

The veterans, who are all about 90, would make up two of the 50 formations and would ride in convertibles during the parade, the event’s spokesman Qu Rui said last month.

Lien’s announcement that he would attend Thursday’s massive military parade in Beijing unleashed a tide of criticism in Taiwan, including from the KMT and the Mainland Affairs Council.