Civil groups in China's Taiwan rally against DPP separatism on July 7 anniversary

Civil groups in China's Taiwan region gathered outside the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei to mark the 88th anniversary of the Lugou Bridge Incident, calling for remembrance of the nationwide resistance against Japanese aggression, opposition to so-called "Taiwan independence," and recognition of shared cross-Straits wartime history. 

Organizers said the event aimed to "teach" the DPP and Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te a history lesson about the region's role in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.

Following the Lugou Bridge Incident, the Japanese colonial authorities conducted a survey in Taiwan and found that more than 70 acts of resistance had erupted within a month, noted Chi Chia-lin, honorary chairman of the Reunification Alliance Party in Taiwan, at the gathering.

Many young people from the region also returned to the Chinese mainland to join the war effort, demonstrating that intellectuals and the general public alike at the time identified China as their motherland and believed in its ultimate victory, he said.

"Today, in commemorating the July 7 incident, we aim to carry forward that national spirit, oppose separatism, and work toward the reunification of the Chinese nation," Chi said.

The demonstration was organized by more than a dozen Taiwan-based civic associations, political parties and publications.