People from various sectors in Taiwan commemorated the 81st anniversary of Taiwan's restoration from Japanese colonial rule on Sunday.
Representatives from more than 20 groups gathered at the Taipei Zhongshan Hall, where the ceremony accepting Japan's surrender in the Taiwan Province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held in 1945, marking the end of five decades of Japanese colonial rule.
Participants sang a song commemorating Taiwan's recovery and paid tribute to those who fought against Japanese aggression before a stone monument in the square outside the hall.
The commemorative event took place as the secessionist-minded Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan have conspicuously avoided mentioning China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and China's recovery of Taiwan, and repeatedly downplayed or whitewashed Japan's colonial rule over the island.
Hsiung Yi, deputy secretary-general of the Reunification Alliance Party in Taiwan, said Taiwan's recovery is a shared historical memory of all Chinese people.
"Taiwan's restoration marked the fact that the people in Taiwan finally broke free from Japanese colonial rule. If we forget history, historical tragedies may repeat themselves. In particular, when the perpetrators themselves are unwilling to admit it, we as the victims must not forget this period of history. We must keep telling it again and again, so that more people in Taiwan can remember this important day of Taiwan's restoration and the significance it represents," he said.
Participants said they must remember the past to understand the future. Taiwan must never be reduced to a pawn of external forces, and separatist forces in Taiwan cannot stop the historical trend toward the reunification of the motherland.
"The main purpose of this event is to remind the young people in Taiwan, especially the younger generation, of a history they no longer understand, as the Democratic Progressive Party has altered the school curriculum. The younger generation does not understand how brutal the war was, or how much suffering the people in Taiwan endured under Japan's wartime atrocities. Our goal is to ensure they never forget all of this," said Tan Chuan-shao, deputy director of the Youth Department of New Party in Taiwan.
The ceremony concluded with representatives reading a joint statement calling for remembrance of history, opposition to Japanese militarism, the preservation of peace and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Following its war against China in 1894, Japan seized Taiwan and the Penghu Islands in 1895, subjecting Taiwan to 50 years of colonial rule.
Taiwan's recovery in 1945 marked a hard-won victory in the Chinese people's war of resistance against Japanese aggression during World War II and a defining moment in the nation's efforts to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In October 2025, China's national legislature designated Oct. 25 as Taiwan Recovery Day.
People in Taiwan mark 81st anniversary of Taiwan's restoration from Japanese colonial rule
People in Taiwan mark 81st anniversary of Taiwan's restoration from Japanese colonial rule
People in Taiwan mark 81st anniversary of Taiwan's restoration from Japanese colonial rule
