{
  "id": 10370099,
  "title": "Taiwan pushes back after Xi seeks to win over Trump on World War Two narrative",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/28/taiwan-pushes-back-after-xi-seeks-to-win-over-trump-on-world-war-two",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-28T05:01:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "New Straits Times",
    "slug": "new-straits-times",
    "url": "https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2026/09/1542813/taiwan-pushes-back-after-xi-seeks-win-over-trump-world-war-two"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Taiwan is responding to what it perceives as Beijing's attempts to alter World War Two history after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump emphasized their wartime alliance during a recent summit. This development has unnerved Taipei, concerned that Washington may be swayed by Beijing's historical interpretation, potentially diminishing support for the island from its key arms provider. Taiwan, governed democratically and claimed by China as its own territory, asserts that Beijing's portrayal is erroneous, as the Republic of China - the government at the time - fought alongside the Allies. Established in 1949 after the civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, the Republic of China retains its formal name to this day. Beijing contends that throughout the war, communist guerrillas served as the backbone of Chinese resistance, with little mention of the Republican forces in its official history.\n\nAt a state dinner in Washington, both Xi and Trump praised the wartime cooperation between their nations. A White House fact sheet following the summit highlighted that Trump and Xi referred to the US and China as allies in World War Two, fighting side by side to secure victory. Shen Yu-chung, deputy head of Taiwan's China policy-making Mainland Affairs Council, stated that Xi persistently seeks to steer the World War Two historical narrative to prioritize the People's Republic of China. Taiwan intends to convey messages to the US to ensure it correctly understands that throughout World War Two, the Republic of China stood as America's dependable ally, Shen added.\n\nNeither the White House, US State Department, nor China's Taiwan Affairs Office commented on the matter. Taiwan's Deputy Foreign Minister Francois Wu criticized Beijing's efforts to overwrite the true history. China is attempting to replace the Republic of China's role during World War Two, he remarked, expressing sadness about this situation.\n\nLast year, during the 80th anniversary of the war's conclusion, the de facto US embassy in Taipei stated that China was disseminating false World War Two narratives to pressure Taiwan. Chen Fang-yu, an associate professor at Taipei's Soochow University, highlighted Taiwan's challenge in countering China's narratives to a US audience. Taiwan faces an immense propaganda onslaught from the Chinese communists and their continuous attempts through various means to influence US public opinion, Chen told a forum in Taipei on Sunday.\n\nThe legacy of the war remains contentious within Taiwan due to the island's history as a Japanese colony from 1895 to 1945. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party traditionally advocates for Taiwan's distinct identity and history separate from China. Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), which governed the Republic of China during the war, maintained that while its government accurately portrayed history, it was merely lambasting Beijing for political motives. President Lai Ching-te's administration only references pre-1949 Republic of China history when it suits their needs, bringing back the 1945 Republic of China when confronting Beijing and competing for narrative supremacy, the KMT stated.",
  "summary": "TAIPEI: Taiwan is pushing back against what it sees as Beijing’s efforts to rewrite the history of World War Two after Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump highlighted the wartime alliance between their countries at a summit last week.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}