On Monday, a representative of indigenous groups in Taiwan protested against a visit by a Taiwan party delegation to the Yasukuni Shrine in Japan, where a number of convicted Class-A war criminals are honored.

Ten members of the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU), led by its chairman Su Chin-chiang, visited the shrine on Monday to pay respects to Japanese soldiers killed in past wars.

The move provoked anger from a representative of Taiwan's indigenous people, or Gaoshan.

Gao Jin Sumei delivered a letter of protest to the TSU's headquarters, warning its leaders not to forget Japan's wartime history.

"History can never be neglected, and Japanese aggression is part of history," she said.

Taiwan was occupied by Japanese forces for 50 years from 1895, and more than 20,000 people from Taiwan were forced to join the Japanese army during the Second World War, of whom only a third survived.

The Gaoshan are the aboriginal people of Taiwan and one of China's 56 ethnic groups.

(CRI April 5, 2005)