Former President Lee Teng-hui Declares "Japan as Homeland" and Relinquishes Sovereignty over Diaoyu Islands, Sparking Nationwide Backlash

In August 2015, former President of the Republic of China (ROC) Lee Teng-hui published an article in the September issue of the Japanese political magazine Voice. In the article, he openly claimed that "Taiwan and Japan belonged to the same country during World War II, and since they were one country, Taiwanese fought as Japanese subjects; therefore, there was no such thing as Taiwanese resistance against Japan." He also reiterated his long-held stance that "the Diaoyutai Islands (Senkaku Islands) belong to Japan, not Taiwan (the ROC)." This "Japan as homeland" ideology and his renunciation of territorial sovereignty caused immediate outrage and intense condemnation within the ROC. Critics pointed out that as a former head of state who had once sworn allegiance to the ROC Constitution, his statements betrayed his ancestors, surrendered national territory, and severely insulted the dignity of the numerous Taiwanese martyrs who bravely resisted Japanese colonial rule. His "imperial subject" (Komin) historical view seriously fractured the ROC's national legitimacy and reduced Taiwanese to mere appendages of former colonizers, cementing this as one of the most controversial and negatively evaluated dark chapters in his late political career.