As China marks the 81st anniversary of its restoration of the Taiwan area and observes the second Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration on Sunday, the event provides a possibility to revisit a pivotal chapter in historical past – one formed by the shared wrestle of the Chinese folks on each side of the Taiwan Strait towards Japanese aggression.
The restoration of Taiwan was a key final result of China’s victory within the warfare towards Japanese aggression, stated Zhang Hua, a researcher on the Taiwan Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Zhang added that it served as strong proof of the Chinese authorities’s resumption of the train of sovereignty over the island and a vital hyperlink within the historic and authorized chain affirming that Taiwan is a part of China.
A view of a monument commemorating the struggle towards Japanese aggresssion on the Yanliao shore of Taiwan, China. /Xinhua
A tough-won victory for the Chinese folks
After Japan forcibly occupied Taiwan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, compatriots throughout the strait by no means ceased their efforts to recuperate the island.
Following the outbreak of the 1911 Revolution, between 1912 and 1915 alone, Taiwan noticed 9 large-scale anti-Japanese actions instantly or not directly linked to the revolution, all carried out beneath the slogan “Expel the Japanese and recover Taiwan.”
In the Twenties, many progressive younger folks from Taiwan, guided by the idea that “to save Taiwan, one must first save the motherland,” crossed over to the Chinese mainland to affix the revolutionary motion for nationwide reunification and liberation.
From the outbreak of the full-scale Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1937 to victory in 1945, about 50,000 Taiwan compatriots made their technique to the Chinese mainland and joined the nationwide anti-Japanese united entrance in numerous methods.
After the Pacific War broke out in December 1941, the Chinese authorities declared warfare on Japan the next day and introduced the abolition of all unequal treaties, together with the Treaty of Shimonoseki. From that time on, compatriots on each side of the Taiwan Strait united much more carefully, combating shoulder to shoulder towards Japanese aggression to realize victory and the restoration of Taiwan.
On December 1, 1943, China, the United States and the United Kingdom issued the Cairo Declaration, explicitly stating that each one Chinese territories stolen by Japan, together with Taiwan, have to be returned to China. Following that, the Chinese authorities accelerated its preparations for Taiwan’s restoration.
On April 17, 1944, the Chinese authorities established the Taiwan Investigation Committee, which included many patriotic Taiwan compatriots, to take cost of postwar restoration work. The committee performed surveys on Taiwan’s state of affairs, compiled publications in regards to the island, drafted coverage proposals, skilled administrative, police, banking and academic personnel, and deliberate Taiwan’s future administrative system and institutional preparations.
On July 26, 1945, China, the United States and the United Kingdom, later joined by the Soviet Union, collectively issued the Potsdam Proclamation, reaffirming that “the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.” On September 2, 1945, Japan signed the Instrument of Unconditional Surrender, formally accepting the phrases of the Potsdam Proclamation.
On October 25, 1945, the give up ceremony for Japanese forces was held in Taipei, the place the Chinese authorities solemnly declared to the world that Taiwan and the Penghu Islands had formally returned to China. This marked the start of a brand new chapter in rebuilding and creating postwar Taiwan.
Historical denial can not change the details
Despite the importance of this historic milestone, Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and different secessionist forces, pushed by their political pursuits and secessionist agenda, have intentionally ignored the humiliation and great sacrifices endured by the folks in Taiwan, averted mentioning China’s victory within the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and Taiwan’s restoration, and downplayed and even whitewashed Japan’s colonial rule over the island.
By distorting the shared historical past, the DPP authorities are selling a pro-Japanese historic narrative whereas pushing for “Taiwan independence,” stated Xu Xiaoquan, an affiliate researcher on the Institute of Taiwan Studies on the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “Yet history leaves no room for denial,” Xu stated.
The restoration of Taiwan was the results of the Chinese folks’s monumental sacrifice of over 35 million casualties nationwide throughout the warfare – together with the 600,000 Taiwan compatriots who gave their lives to withstand colonial oppression, Xu stated.
By revising textbooks to downplay the War of Resistance, fabricating pro-Japanese narratives, and denying the historic truth of Taiwan’s restoration, the DPP authorities desecrate the large nationwide sacrifices made by compatriots on each side of the strait, Xu added.
Xu additionally stated that the restoration of Taiwan is legally backed by a strong basis in worldwide legislation.
“The Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and Japan’s Instrument of Surrender together form a legal chain confirming that Japan, as the defeated aggressor, must return Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to China.”
Any try and deny this historic truth is a blatant problem to the post-World War II worldwide order and is sure to fail, Xu stated.
According to Xu, the restoration of Taiwan was not only a victory within the War of Resistance – it additionally marked an essential step in China’s path towards nationwide rejuvenation.
From that second, the destinies of Taiwan and the Chinese mainland grew to become deeply intertwined, forming a neighborhood with a shared future, Xu stated, including that “Taiwan once again became part of China’s broader journey toward national rejuvenation, an irreversible process that transformed a history of humiliation into one of revival.”
Source: CGTN