TAIPEI -- "Hanging lanterns and lucah pelajar dengan gurutying colored ribbons with joy, everyone sings the victory song. From cities to villages, Taiwan's liberation must not be forgotten," a joyful and triumphant song written in 1946 was sung by hundreds of people wearing raincoats and holding umbrellas in the public square in front of the Taipei Zhongshan Hall on Friday morning.
Braving the autumn drizzle, they gathered here to mark the 79th anniversary of Taiwan's liberation from Japanese colonial rule and its return to the motherland.
In 1895, the Qing government, defeated in a war launched by Japan against China, was forced to cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan.
On Oct. 25, 1945, it was right in the Taipei Zhongshan Hall where the ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in Taiwan Province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held. From that point on, China recovered Taiwan de jure and de facto through a host of documents with international legal effect.
"Our ancestors once stood here and witnessed Taiwan's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, and the 6 million people of Taiwan were ecstatic," said Chi Chia-lin, chairman of the Reunification Alliance Party in Taiwan, in his speech. He recalled how even cigarette boxes at the time bore the word "motherland," reflecting the strong national identity felt by the people of Taiwan.
Recalling Taiwan's anti-Japanese struggles during the colonial period, Lan Bo-chow, a renowned writer, said that Taiwan people had maintained a strong sense of national identity despite forced separation.
"People of Taiwan fought bravely against the Japanese on the island, while thousands went to the mainland to join the resistance movements against Japan. We hope that more young people in Taiwan will learn about this history and not be misled by 'Taiwan independence' narratives," he said.
Oct. 25 was a public holiday in Taiwan until it was canceled in 2001 by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities. Since the DPP took office again in 2016, the authorities have stopped organizing commemorative activities, contributing to the gradual fading of public memory, especially among younger generations in Taiwan.
"Taiwan's liberation from Japanese colonial rule and China's resumption of sovereignty over Taiwan are historical facts that cannot be erased," said Chi. "We are here today to honor this memory and voice our desire for peaceful reunification under a single China."
The DPP authorities are brainwashing young people in Taiwan with a separatist historical narrative that whitewashed Japanese colonial rule and with their efforts to sever historical ties between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, said Wu Jung-yuan, chairman of the Labor Party in Taiwan.
"We should not tolerate 'Taiwan independence' separatists compromising the future of Taiwan and our children," he said.
The gathering was jointly organized by more than 60 political parties and civil groups in Taiwan. Though the drizzle grew into a downpour as the event progressed, the participants' enthusiasm remained undiminished. Groups arrived from central and southern Taiwan, adding to the crowd. After the speeches, attendees paid their respects with three bows and laid flowers at a red-stone monument in the square marking the victory of the war against Japanese aggression and the restoration of Taiwan.
Later, a procession of nearly 1,000 people departed from the square, chanting slogans such as "oppose Taiwan independence" and "peaceful unification" as they marched toward Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the regional leader's office building.
As the procession passed, many people stopped to watch or take photos, while others waved and gave the marchers a thumbs-up.
On the same day, the New Party organized a motorcade in Taipei, calling on Japan to apologize for wartime atrocities committed in Taiwan, including the forced recruitment of "comfort women" during World War II, while reaffirming that Taiwan and the mainland belong to one China.
"Born and raised in Taiwan, I didn't know that Oct. 25 used to be a public holiday," said a young man surnamed Deng, who attended the gathering out of curiosity. "We, the younger generation, need to learn this missed lesson. Distorting history is disgraceful, but forgetting it is even more tragic."