Commemoration upholds historical facts, postwar order

Sunday marked the 81st anniversary of Taiwan's restoration to China after five decades of Japanese colonial rule. It was an occasion to honor the shared sacrifices of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, uphold historical facts and the postwar international order, and promote cross-Strait exchanges and cooperation.

In October last year, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, designated Oct 25 as the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration, formally establishing a national occasion to preserve a historical memory cherished by all Chinese people.

The decision reflected a fundamental truth: Taiwan's restoration was an important outcome of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45) and the World Anti-Fascist War.

Following the First Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan and the adjacent Penghu Islands were ceded to Japan in 1895, marking the beginning of five decades of Japan's colonial oppression. Yet compatriots in the Taiwan region never ceased their struggle against foreign domination, and more than 650,000 lost their lives resisting Japanese colonial rule. Over 50,000 people crossed the Taiwan Strait to the Chinese mainland to join the resistance against Japanese aggression from 1937 to 1945.

On Oct 25, 1945, a ceremony was held in Taipei to accept the surrender of Japanese forces on the island, marking China's resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan and nearby islands. Historical photographs capture the celebrations that followed. Families hung lanterns, lit incense before ancestral tablets and filled the streets with cheers and firecrackers. These scenes reflected the joy of Taiwan compatriots at being reunited with their motherland after half a century of separation.

The restoration was also an integral part of the postwar international order. The 1943 Cairo Declaration stipulated that territories Japan had stolen from China, including Taiwan and Penghu Islands, should be returned. The 1945 Potsdam Proclamation reaffirmed that these terms must be implemented. Japan subsequently accepted the terms in its instrument of surrender.

Together, these documents and historical events reinforce the legal and historical basis for China's restoration of sovereignty over Taiwan and adjacent islands.

Yet, the Lai Ching-te authorities in Taiwan are trying to obscure this history. While commemorative activities take place on both sides of the Strait on Oct 25, their political purposes differ sharply. The mainland's commemorations seek to preserve historical truth and uphold the postwar international order. The Democratic Progressive Party authorities, by contrast, have increasingly tried to interpret the anniversary through their separatist political agenda.

By promoting the fallacy that the island's status remains “undetermined", downplaying Japanese colonial oppression and advancing “de-Sinicization" in education, the secessionist-minded DPP authorities are attempting to sever the historical and cultural bonds linking Taiwan with the mainland.

But such historical revisionism cannot alter the fact that Taiwan's restoration was achieved through the common struggle of the Chinese nation. Nor can any external interference change Taiwan's status as an inalienable part of Chinese territory.

When the commemorative day was established last year, Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, noted that the decision epitomized the shared expectations and collective will of all Chinese people, including compatriots on the island.

Remembering the victory of 1945 means honoring those who gave their lives for China's national liberation, opposing “Taiwan independence" separatism and external interference, and drawing strength from the past to advance the cause of national reunification.

The Taiwan question arose when China was weak, and will be resolved as the nation achieves rejuvenation.