Today is National Day in Taiwan. It's a public holiday that marks both a turning point in history and a potential flashpoint in current events.
It marks a transition in world history: the beginning of the end of more than 2,000 years of imperial rule in China and the anniversary of the Wuchang Uprising.
That 1,911 armed rebellion sparked a wider revolution that eventually led to the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and the creation of the Republic of China.
Throughout that, Hawaiʻi resident Sun Yat-sen became the first provisional president and is honored by governments in both Beijing and Taipei to this day.
It was one of their few points of agreement.
This is the first National Day in 8 years with a new president in Taipei, but the policies toward China remain the same.
Lai Ching-te has extended the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party and like his predecessor Tsai Ing-Wen, he rejects Chinaʻs position that Taiwan is part of China.
Speaking of National Day, Lai said “One of the most important meanings of these celebrations is that we must remember that we are a sovereign and independent country.”
The Beijing government has accused Lai of increasing “hostility.”
On this National Day, China's People's Liberation Army flew at least 15 planes across the mid-way mark of the Taiwan Strait, leading to the scrambling of jets and launching of ships and activation of missile systems by the Taipei government.
