Feature: Memory of Taiwan's restoration echoes in songs

TAIPEI, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- For Pen Chao-mi, a professor at Tunghai University in Taiwan, Oct. 25 is a day always evoking joyful childhood memories, when the air was filled with the uplifting melody of the memorial song of Taiwan's restoration.

The cheerful scenes were just as depicted in the song, which Pen can still sing in its entirety today. "Lanterns and decorations bring delight, victory songs everyone sings, echoing through cities and villages. Taiwan's restoration cannot be forgotten, cannot be forgotten…"

The song recalled a painful history and a hard-won victory. Eighty years ago, after 14 years of unyielding struggle, the Chinese people defeated Japanese invaders. For the first time in modern history, the Chinese nation achieved a complete victory in the struggle for national liberation, which also brought about Taiwan's restoration to the embrace of the motherland.

On Oct. 25, 1945, the Chinese government announced that it was resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan. The ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in the Taiwan Province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held at today's Taipei Zhongshan Hall.

Japanese general Ando Rikichi, the final Japanese "governor-general" of the island, signed the instrument of surrender, marking the complete end of Japan's 50-year colonial rule over Taiwan. That rule began in 1895, when the Qing government was forced to cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan after its defeat in the first Sino-Japanese War.

"On that day, all 6 million Taiwan compatriots were ecstatic," said Chi Chia-lin, a Taiwan historian. He elaborated that in Taipei alone, 300,000 residents decorated their homes, exchanged joyful greetings, and the sounds of firecrackers and drums echoed through the sky. Couplets celebrating Taiwan's restoration to the motherland adorned every doorway, creating a festive atmosphere akin to the Chinese New Year.

Taiwan's restoration to the motherland was widely celebrated across the island, and the day became a public holiday in 1946.

To commemorate this important moment, two Taiwan musicians wrote the lyrics and composed the music for the song, which was later included in Taiwan's primary school music textbooks, with its revised lyrics also incorporated into elementary language textbooks.

The 153-character, 30-measure memorial song, with its lively and celebratory melody, captured the joy of the Taiwan people in rejoining the big family of China. It not only celebrated the historic victory but also paid tribute to the sacrifices made during the war of resistance against Japanese aggression and underscored the enduring spirit of the nation. Spreading swiftly across cities and villages, the song left an indelible imprint on generations.

The song is traditionally performed every year at Taiwan's restoration day celebrations at Taipei's Zhongshan Hall, a key venue for cultural events and public gatherings.

According to Wang Yifu, president of the National Society of Taiwan Studies, there are also some other folk songs commemorating the restoration of Taiwan that are still sung to this day.

However, under the authorities led by Lee Teng-hui and Chen Shui-bian, the holiday was abolished, and "Taiwan's restoration day" was replaced with "war ending commemoration day," deliberately downplaying the historical significance of Taiwan's restoration.

After Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which has actively pursued a secessionist agenda, regained power in 2016, related celebrations were canceled, and the memorial song of Taiwan's restoration gradually disappeared from classrooms.

"This song is part of our childhood memories. But our younger generations no longer have such recollections," said Taiwan scholar Wang Kun-yi. "This is the result of the DPP's consistent attempts to diminish the island's Chinese cultural roots."

Despite the decline in observances organized by authorities, many citizens continue to hold commemorative events on Oct. 25, honoring the martyrs of the War of Resistance and echoing the song's enduring call that Taiwan's restoration "cannot be forgotten."

Earlier this year, Taiwan's legislature passed a bill, proposed by the Chinese Kuomintang, to reinstate Oct. 25 as a public holiday, returning Taiwan's restoration day to the official calendar.

"It is crucial to revive this historical memory among the younger generation, so that they understand Taiwan is part of China, not an unclaimed land," Wang said, calling on compatriots across the Taiwan Strait to work together to restore the shared historical memory on the island.