Oct 25 set as Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration

China's national legislature voted on Friday to designate Oct 25 as the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration, allowing the state to hold commemorative activities in various forms on this day.

The decision was adopted at the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, the country's top legislative body, which opened in Beijing on Friday.

In 1945, all Chinese people, including compatriots in Taiwan, fought bravely and tirelessly, ultimately achieving the great victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931–45) and the World Anti-Fascist War, which brought about Taiwan's restoration to the motherland, according to the decision.

It highlighted that the restoration of Taiwan is a significant outcome of the War of Resistance and serves as a compelling proof of the Chinese government's recovery of sovereignty over Taiwan.

Taiwan's restoration is also an important part of the historical fact and legal chain that Taiwan is an integral part of China, and a shared glory and national memory for compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, it added.

The decision was made in line with the Constitution, in a move to safeguard the achievements of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the post-war international order, to demonstrate the firm will to uphold the one-China principle and defend national sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, and to strengthen the shared national memory of compatriots on both sides.

This move also aims to promote the spirit of patriotism and inspire compatriots on both sides to make new contributions to national reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era and on the new journey, it said.

Shen Chunyao, director of the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, said that on Oct 25, 1945, the ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in Taiwan province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held in Taipei, marking the return of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to China's sovereign jurisdiction.

Shen revealed that in recent years, national lawmakers, national political advisers and compatriots from Taiwan have repeatedly proposed the establishment of a commemoration day of Taiwan's restoration and holding commemorative events.

Establishing the commemoration day and holding commemorative activities at the national level will help honor the indisputable fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, consolidate the international community's commitment to the one-China principle, urge compatriots on both sides of the Strait to inherit and promote the spirit forged in the War of Resistance, and motivate all Chinese to strive together for national reunification and national rejuvenation, he added.