Taipei: Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has strongly criticized Beijing's decision to designate October 25 as the "Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration," asserting that it is an attempt to assert a false claim that Taiwan belongs to the People's Republic of China (PRC).

According to Focus Taiwan, MAC, Taiwan's top agency for cross-strait affairs, described the move as an effort to undermine Taiwan's sovereignty and propagate a misleading historical narrative. The council emphasized that the Taiwanese people will not accept this unilateral political framework of "one China" across the Taiwan Strait and internationally.

The statement highlighted that "Taiwan Retrocession Day," marked on October 25, 1945, commemorates the surrender of Japanese forces in Taiwan to the Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name. MAC pointed out that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had not yet established the PRC in 1945 and thus had no involvement in Taiwan's retrocession.

MAC's remarks followed a report by China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, which announced that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) had adopted the decision to designate October 25 as "Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration." The decision aligns with the PRC Constitution and calls for commemorative activities to highlight what the Chinese government describes as the recovery of sovereignty over Taiwan.

Xinhua cited Shen Chunyao, director of the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, who stated that the ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in Taipei marked the return of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to China's sovereign jurisdiction. Shen emphasized that the commemoration day aims to reinforce the notion that Taiwan is an inseparable part of China and to foster national reunification and rejuvenation.

Prior to China's designation of the day as "Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration," Taiwan had already set October 25 as "Taiwan Retrocession Day and Memorial Day of Great Victory at Kuningtou Kinmen," making it a public holiday in 2025 after a 24-year hiatus. This decision was supported by Taiwan's opposition parties but opposed by the governing Democratic Progressive Party.

"Taiwan Retrocession Day" has historically been a significant day in Taiwan, marking the transfer of control from Japan to the ROC in 1945. The ROC government emphasizes that this occurred nearly four years before the founding of the PRC in 1949, and Taiwan has never been governed by the PRC. The ROC's control over Taiwan and its outlying islands has persisted since the end of the Chinese Civil War.

As the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches in 2025, Taiwan and China continue to clash over their respective roles in historical events, such as the Second Sino-Japanese War and related commemorations.