China has strongly condemned Taiwan's leader for paying tribute to a Japanese engineer from the colonial era. Beijing views this act as a betrayal and an attempt to ingratiate Taiwan with Japan.

Beijing has slammed Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te for paying tribute to a former Japanese coloniser in Taiwan. In a commentary published on Sunday, the Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily accused Lai, from the independence-leaning ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), of “forgetting his ancestors” and reaching a new low in “ingratiating himself with Japan”. The denunciation followed Lai’s attendance at a memorial service on May 8 in the city of Tainan, marking the 84th...