One-China principle emphasized
Cross-Strait representatives gathered on Sunday to mark the 81st anniversary of Taiwan's restoration to the motherland, stressing that both sides belong to one China and expressing firm opposition to "Taiwan independence" separatism and external interference.
A symposium in Fu-zhou, Fujian province, brought together around 200 attendees, including descendants of revolutionary martyrs who sacrificed their lives in Taiwan and Taiwan compatriots who resisted Japanese aggression, cross-Strait youth, experts, scholars and representatives from the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and overseas.
The event came one year after a decision by the national legislature to designate Oct 25 as the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration, the day in 1945 when Taiwan was officially returned to China after half a century of Japanese colonial occupation.
Song Tao, head of the Taiwan Work Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said that the establishment of the commemorative day demonstrated the country's firm confidence in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and solidified the international community's adherence to the one-China principle.
Song emphasized that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait must jointly carry forward the great spirit of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), while firmly opposing "Taiwan independence" separatism and external interference.
It is essential to promote Chinese culture to strengthen national pride and boost the confidence of the Chinese people, he said, adding that the Chinese mainland will firmly support the patriotic reunification forces within the island and steadfastly advance national reunification.
Hung Hsiu-chu, former chairwoman of the Chinese Kuomintang party, recalled the crimes committed by the Japanese aggressors against Chinese people and warned that people must remain strictly vigilant against Japan's attempts to revive militarism.
Hung criticized Taiwan's current Democratic Progressive Party authorities for attempting to erase the history of the war against Japanese invasion and Taiwan's restoration from the school curriculum, which she said left younger generations unaware of their roots and created a confused identity that remained a fundamental cause of Taiwan's internal rift and cross-Strait tensions.
Ou Kuei-chih, a retired Chinese literature teacher from Taipei First Girls' High School, said that only by learning history can young people discover their roots, understand the past suffering of the nation, and find answers on how to avoid the danger of war caused by cross-Strait division.
Encouraging Taiwan youths to visit the mainland for more exchanges, she said students must break through the bias of the island's media to search for the truth, explore why textbooks differ, and make their own rational judgments.
Chiu Chih-shien, secretary-general of the Taiwan Restoration Commemoration Association, said that Taiwan's restoration was a core achievement of the war against Japanese aggression, noting that this historic day was once widely celebrated through various public activities before the DPP's deliberate erasure led to its gradual fading from public memory over the past decades.
Chiu said that the legislation last year had prompted many Taiwan compatriots to reflect on why local textbooks and media in Taiwan remained silent while the mainland highly valued the anniversary, inspiring people to recognize its true historical value.
He added that civic groups on the island should work together to hold more public activities so that people can learn the real history and understand how restoration benefits them.