On October 24, 2025, China’s government made a move that sent ripples across the Taiwan Strait and far beyond: the official designation of October 25 as the Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration. The announcement, delivered by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC), positioned the new holiday as a national-level observance intended to reinforce Beijing’s longstanding claim that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. As the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches, the timing and symbolism of this new holiday have reignited fierce debate over history, sovereignty, and identity in East Asia—a debate that shows no signs of cooling.
According to state broadcaster CCTV, Shen Chunyao, director of the NPC Standing Committee’s Legislative Affairs Commission, explained, “Establishing Taiwan Restoration Day and holding commemorative activities at the national level will help highlight the indisputable historical fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.” The holiday is set for October 25 each year, marking the day in 1945 when Taiwan, then under Japanese colonial rule, was formally handed over to an official of the then-Republic of China (ROC). This handover, orchestrated in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in World War II, has long been a point of reference for both sides of the strait—but with sharply divergent interpretations.
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the decision was made in accordance with the PRC Constitution, stipulating that the state “hold commemorative activities in various forms” every October 25. The Xinhua report further stated, “The restoration of Taiwan is an important outcome of the War of Resistance [against Japanese Aggression] and a compelling proof of the Chinese government’s recovery of sovereignty over Taiwan.” Shen Chunyao added, “From that point on, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands returned to China’s sovereign jurisdiction.”
The move is not merely symbolic. Beijing has consistently argued that Taiwan independence is a “dead end” and that eventual annexation by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is a historical inevitability. In recent years, China’s military has stepped up its encirclement of Taiwan’s skies and waters, conducting near-daily joint drills with warships and fighter jets. According to Economic Times, these exercises are widely interpreted as both a show of force and a message to Taiwan and its international supporters.
Yet, if the new holiday is meant to project unity and historical continuity, it has instead underscored the deep divisions between Beijing and Taipei. Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the island’s top agency for cross-strait affairs, issued a swift and scathing response on October 24. In a statement quoted by Central News Agency (CNA), the MAC condemned Beijing’s decision as an attempt to “belittle our country and fabricate the claim that Taiwan belongs to the PRC.” The council accused China of amplifying a “false historical narrative and one-sided political framework of ‘one China across the Taiwan Strait’ and ‘one China internationally.’”
The MAC emphasized that Taiwan Retrocession Day—already observed in Taiwan on October 25—commemorates the 1945 transfer of control from Japan to the ROC, not to the PRC. “Taiwan Retrocession Day commemorates Oct. 25, 1945, when representatives of the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan’s official name), on behalf of the Allied powers, accepted the surrender of Japanese forces in Taiwan,” the MAC stated. The council pointedly noted that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the PRC were not established until 1949, four years after the transfer. “Taiwan Retrocession Day has nothing to do with the PRC, nor with the CCP, which made no positive contribution to the war against Japan,” the statement read.
This historical distinction is more than academic. After the Chinese Civil War, the Kuomintang Party (KMT), which had ruled the Republic of China, retreated to Taiwan in 1949 following its defeat by the Communists. The PRC was established that same year on the mainland, but Taiwan and its outlying islands—Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu—remained under ROC control. To this day, the PRC has never ruled Taiwan, a fact that the MAC highlighted in its response.
Interestingly, this year’s commemorations in Taiwan carry their own political weight. Before Beijing’s announcement, Taiwan’s government had already reinstated October 25, 2025, as Taiwan Retrocession Day and Memorial Day of Great Victory at Kuningtou Kinmen. This reinstatement, after a 24-year hiatus, was made a public holiday following a vote in the Legislature. The move was supported by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) but opposed by the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), reflecting the island’s own internal divisions over history and identity.
To the ROC government, Retrocession Day marks the transfer of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands from Japan to the ROC, not to the PRC. The original transfer date—October 25, 1945—came nearly four years before the PRC’s founding on October 1, 1949. Despite the ROC government’s relocation to Taipei at the end of the civil war, Taiwan and its outlying islands have remained under ROC control ever since.
The 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in 2025 has only heightened the intensity of disputes over historical narratives between Taiwan and China. Both sides have clashed multiple times over their respective roles in the Second Sino-Japanese War and over commemorations such as Victory over Japan Day and Taiwan Retrocession Day. As CNA noted, “the ROC and the PRC have clashed multiple times over their respective roles in the Second Sino-Japanese War and over commemorations such as Sept. 3 Victory over Japan Day and Oct. 25 Taiwan Retrocession Day.”
For Beijing, the new Commemoration Day is intended to serve several purposes. According to Shen Chunyao, it will “honor the indisputable fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and consolidate the international community’s commitment to the one-China principle.” Shen also said the holiday could “motivate all Chinese to strive together for national reunification and national rejuvenation.”
From Taipei’s perspective, however, the move is seen as a direct challenge to its sovereignty and an attempt to rewrite history. The MAC’s statement was unequivocal: “The Taiwanese people will never accept such a move.” The council’s assertion reflects a broad consensus in Taiwan, where few citizens identify with the PRC’s narrative or see reunification as inevitable.
As the anniversary approaches, both sides are preparing for commemorative events, each with its own interpretation of the past—and its own vision for the future. The world will be watching closely, as the struggle over history continues to shape the politics of the present. The dispute over October 25 is about much more than a date on the calendar; it is a contest over memory, identity, and the very meaning of nationhood in one of the world’s most volatile regions.
In the end, the new holiday may do little to resolve the fundamental questions at the heart of the cross-strait relationship. But it has certainly ensured that, at least for now, the debate over Taiwan’s past—and its future—remains as heated as ever.
