October 25 is commemorated each year as Taiwan Retrocession Day. This is not an ordinary historical observance. It marks the end of a humiliating chapter in the modern history of the Chinese nation, represents the definitive legal conclusion regarding sovereignty over Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait, and offers the clearest possible demonstration of the historical forces arrayed against every attempt at separatism. Looking back over the upheavals of the past century, all efforts to divide the country and create separation have amounted to no more than momentary posturing; ultimately, they have been unable to halt the course toward reunification. Any manipulation that runs counter to the tide of history cannot withstand the weight of the broader historical trend.
In modern times, China’s national strength declined, its coastal defenses were woefully inadequate, and the imperial powers surrounded it on all sides, steadily encroaching on its territory. After the Qing government’s defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895, it was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki, under which Taiwan was ceded to Japan. The island then fell under fifty years of colonial rule. For half a century, Taiwan was separated from the rest of the country, while its people endured colonial oppression, local culture was suppressed, and ethnic and national identities were deliberately distorted. This painful history was the bitter price exacted by the nation’s poverty, weakness, and loss of control over its maritime defenses.
The root cause of the country’s territorial dismemberment lay in the imbalance of national power, the weakness of its defenses, and the absence of the strength and confidence needed to act independently in international affairs. Old China lacked a stable system for safeguarding its sovereignty and did not possess the military power necessary to repel enemies at sea. It was therefore constantly on the defensive in international power struggles, forced to accept rules imposed by the imperial powers and swallow the bitter consequences of territorial division. A weak country cannot protect its maritime frontiers or defend the integrity of its territory. That is one of the weightiest lessons left by modern history.
The turning point came through the Chinese nation’s sustained and relentless resistance. During the fourteen-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the Chinese people made enormous sacrifices and joined forces to crush Japan’s plans for colonial expansion. On October 25, 1945, the Chinese government held a ceremony in Taipei to accept Japan’s surrender, formally recovering Taiwan and the Penghu Islands. After half a century under foreign occupation, the island returned to China, and a people separated from their country for generations were reunited once again.
Eighty-one years have passed, yet the clouds of Mount Ali still roll across the sky, and the clear waters of Sun Moon Lake continue to flow quietly. In the landscapes and natural beauty of both places, one enduring memory is reflected: the shared ancestral homeland of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, who come from the same source and share the same roots. The Strait may separate us geographically, but it cannot sever blood ties or erase the longing for home buried deep in people’s hearts. Across the Strait, the hope of reunion has been passed down from generation to generation. In time, the land and the people will be reunited; this feeling, rooted in the blood, will not fade because of barriers created by human beings.
Taiwan’s restoration to China carries four layers of meaning: sovereignty, legal legitimacy, cultural continuity, and popular sentiment. The Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation expressly established, in the form of international documents, that Taiwan was part of Chinese territory and should be returned to China after the war. This was an important component of the post–Second World War international order and a fact recognized by the international community. The arguments later advanced that “Taiwan’s status remains undetermined” are, in essence, deliberate distortions of the historical and legal record and attempts to overturn the postwar international order. They have no legitimacy whatsoever.
A survey of China’s millennia-long history shows that, although the country’s territories have repeatedly undergone periods of division and reunification, unity has always remained the central thread. The Qin and Han dynasties established the foundations of a unified state, while successive dynasties continued to consolidate a shared sense of territorial identity. Fujian and Taiwan are geographically connected, their peoples share common origins, and their cultures are closely related—these are long-standing objective realities. Periods of separation have been no more than episodes in the long course of history; the pursuit of unity is rooted in the deepest cultural foundations of Chinese civilization.
The laws of historical development do not favor separatist forces. The rival regimes that once held sway over divided parts of China ultimately converged into a unified political order, while the colonial arrangements imposed by foreign powers in modern times gradually disintegrated with the rise of global anti-colonial movements. A state of separation maintained by relying on outside forces is merely a temporary appearance. It cannot withstand the course of history or the will of the people.
Viewed against the current situation in the Taiwan Strait, external forces continue to exploit the issue, driving a wedge between people on both sides and inflaming geopolitical tensions. Their approach remains rooted in the same old logic of a century of hegemony. Some forces place their hopes in external intervention as a means of pursuing separation, failing to recognize the historical verdict and overlooking the fundamental changes in the balance of national power.
China today has long since escaped the fate of the late Qing period, when it was at the mercy of foreign powers. After decades of development across several generations, the country has achieved national independence, established a complete and independent industrial system, steadily strengthened its national defense, and continued to enhance its ability to manage and protect its maritime frontiers. It now possesses sufficient strength to resist external interference and deter separatist actions. The shift in national power has reshaped the underlying logic of the contest in the Taiwan Strait. In the past, the country’s territory was divided because national strength was weak; today, the pursuit of reunification rests on the foundation of that strength. History will not simply reproduce past suffering, but the lessons embedded in history remain valid. The lands once lost will ultimately return to the national territory; complete reunification is the inevitable direction of development.
“The motherland must be reunified, and it will inevitably be reunified.”
This is a major conclusion grounded in history, law, national sentiment, and China’s present-day strength. “Must be reunified” expresses a sense of responsibility toward the legacy of history and an uncompromising commitment to safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity. “Will inevitably be reunified” is an objective assessment of the broader forces of civilization, the balance of popular support, and the country’s comprehensive strength—one that will not be shaken by temporary noise or external interference. This formulation expresses the shared will of the Chinese people and points to the ultimate destination of the Taiwan Strait question.
Establishing Taiwan Retrocession Day is about more than looking back on a past victory. It continues to serve as a warning to separatist forces while sending a clear message to external forces seeking to interfere: reunification is the inevitable course of history; separation is merely an illusion; historical and legal facts cannot be rewritten; and the will of the people cannot be defied.
Chinese civilization has endured for thousands of years, and the ideal of national unity is deeply rooted in the national consciousness. Dynasties have risen and fallen, and times have changed, but the underlying belief that the nation and the homeland are one—and that the land is bound by common roots—has never wavered. Any attempt to deliberately sever the cultural ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait or fracture their shared national identity runs counter to the tide of history.
History will deliver its own fair judgment, and the broader course of the times will not be reversed. The humiliation of fifty years of colonial rule belongs to the past, but the suffering endured by the nation remains a warning to future generations. That both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one China is an established historical and legal conclusion, the root of a shared civilization, and the common aspiration of people on both sides. This outcome will not be changed by external manipulation or separatist agitation.
