Taipei: Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has strongly criticized Beijing's recent move to designate October 25 as the "Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration," accusing China of attempting to "fabricate" the claim that Taiwan is a part of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, the MAC issued a statement on Friday evening denouncing China's decision, asserting that it seeks to undermine Taiwan's sovereignty and promote a false historical narrative. The council, which is Taiwan's primary agency for cross-strait affairs, emphasized that the Taiwanese populace will not accept Beijing's unilateral political framework of "one China across the Taiwan Strait" and "one China internationally."

The MAC highlighted that October 25, known as "Taiwan Retrocession Day," marks the date in 1945 when representatives of the Republic of China (ROC) accepted the surrender of Japanese forces in Taiwan, signifying the end of Japanese colonial rule. The council pointed out that neither the PRC nor the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) existed at that time, and thus, they played no role in the events of 1945.

The MAC's response followed a report by China's state-run Xinhua News Agency, which announced that China's top legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), had adopted the decision in line with the PRC Constitution. This decision mandates the state to "hold commemorative activities in various forms" on October 25, asserting that the restoration of Taiwan is crucial evidence of China's sovereignty over the island.

Xinhua quoted Shen Chunyao, director of the NPC Standing Committee's Legislative Affairs Commission, who argued that the 1945 ceremony in Taipei marked Taiwan's return to China's jurisdiction. Shen advocated that the commemoration day would reinforce the "indisputable fact" of Taiwan's status as part of China and bolster international support for the one-China principle.

Before this declaration by China, Taiwan had already recognized October 25 as "Taiwan Retrocession Day and Memorial Day of Great Victory at Kuningtou Kinmen," making it a public holiday in 2025. This decision, made after a legislative vote, was supported by the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party (TPP) but opposed by the governing Democratic Progressive Party.

The historical context, as noted by the ROC government, is that "Taiwan Retrocession Day" commemorates the transfer of control from Japan to the ROC in 1945. This transfer occurred nearly four years before the PRC's establishment in 1949. Despite the ROC government's relocation to Taipei in 1949, Taiwan and its outlying islands have remained under ROC control and have never been governed by the PRC, which continues to claim sovereignty over these regions.

As the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II approaches in 2025, tensions between the ROC and PRC persist over their roles in historical events like the Second Sino-Japanese War and related commemorations, including September 3's Victory over Japan Day and October 25's Taiwan Retrocession Day.