Taipei: The Taiwan government on Thursday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe Day (VE Day), joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. This is the first time that Taiwan is honoring VE Day, "signifying our growing connections with the international community," President Lai Ching-te said at a reception held in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of VE Day.

According to Focus Taiwan, President Lai emphasized that one of the major lessons of WWII is that "authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy, and greater inequality." He stressed the importance of vigilance against aggression, asserting that "those who cherish peace cannot sit idly by and allow aggression." Lai highlighted that the wider spread of war in Europe was due to a lack of vigilance toward acts of aggression, and aggressors will not stop until "all democratic countries have fallen and the light of freedom has been extinguished."

Eighty years after the end of WWII in Europe, Taiwan now shares the same democratic values as many countries that fought in the war and are now facing similar challenges, including the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai noted. He urged "lovers of freedom around the world, both individuals and nations," to work together in solidarity to prevent aggressors from advancing their ambitions.

Also speaking at the reception, the European Union's top envoy to Taiwan, Lutz Gllner, highlighted the significance of VE Day, especially for Germans, as a day to remember and learn from history. He underscored the importance of honoring the lives lost and the duty to prevent such tragedies from occurring again by upholding the truth and pushing back against "the distortion of historical facts, revisionism, and political instrumentalization."

VE Day commemorates the unconditional surrender of Germany's military forces to the Allies on May 8, 1945. However, the war continued in the Asia-Pacific region until the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leading to Japan's surrender on August 15, 1945, effectively ending WWII.

Historically, Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), only commemorated the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War, marked on September 3, 1945. The ROC, which was based in mainland China during the war, declared war against Japan, Germany, and Italy in 1941. After losing a civil war to the Chinese Communist Party in 1949, the ROC government relocated to Taiwan.

In March, Taiwan's military announced plans to hold art exhibitions and a concert to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII and the Second Sino-Japanese War, reflecting Taiwan's broader commemoration efforts.