Key facts
- Beijing criticized Taipei's ban on officials attending Sun Yat-sen anniversary events.
- Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council urged citizens not to travel to China for the events.
- China uses commemorations to promote narratives of "opposing Taiwan independence and promoting unification."
- Sun Yat-sen founded the Republic of China, which fled to Taiwan in 1949.
Beijing on Wednesday criticized Taipei's decision to ban Taiwanese officials from attending events in mainland China marking the 160th anniversary of Sun Yat-sen's birth on November 12. Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council urged citizens not to travel to China for the events, stating that Beijing uses commemorations to promote narratives of "opposing Taiwan independence and promoting unification."
Sun Yat-sen, revered on both sides of the Taiwan Strait for his role in ending imperial rule and founding the Republic of China, died in 1925. The ROC government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong's communists.
China's interpretation of Sun "does not stay faithful to historical fact," the council said, adding that Beijing's efforts aim to promote unification. President Xi Jinping previously stated that Sun opposed attempts to "split the country."