Taiwan Rejects China's 'Restoration' Narrative as Cognitive Warfare — SkimNews
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- China released satellite images of Taipei and a military poster marking the 1945 handover of Taiwan, calling it the 'restoration' of the island under Chinese rule.
- Taiwan's Defence Minister Wellington Koo labeled China's anniversary actions as 'cognitive warfare,' arguing the People’s Republic of China did not exist during World War II and had no role in the 1945 handover.
- Beijing asserted the 1945 event marked Taiwan’s 'restoration,' despite Taipei noting the People’s Republic of China was only founded in 1949.
- Taiwan commemorated the October 1949 Kinmen invasion attempt instead, with Koo stating it better reflects China’s unchanged intent to annex Taiwan by force.
- The Chinese military’s Eastern Theatre Command published a propaganda poster titled 'Remember The History Of The Restoration,' featuring a map of Taiwan overlaid with warships and fighter jets.
Why it matters: China’s use of historical symbolism to assert sovereignty clashes directly with Taiwan’s self-governed identity, turning commemoration into a tool of psychological pressure. With Beijing maintaining its stance on eventual unification and Taiwan highlighting past invasion attempts, the dispute is not just territorial but deeply narrative-driven—where control of history shapes the legitimacy of statehood claims.
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