Taiwan celebrates its National Day holiday against background of Chinese threats

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te waves during National Day celebrations in front of the Presidential Building in Taipei, Taiwan (Chiang Ying-ying/AP)

Taiwan celebrated its National Day holiday against the background of threats from China, which claims the self-governing island republic as its own territory.

The celebration marks the establishment of the Republic of China, which overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911 and fled to Taiwan as Mao Zedong’s Communists swept to power on the mainland during a civil war in 1949.