By Jia Feimao | 2025-11-10

An off-again, on-again national holiday in Taiwan has become a subject of political sniping between China and the democratically ruled island.

In 2025, the People's Republic of China (PRC) marked the 80th anniversary of Japan's relinquishment of control over Taiwan with a high-profile commemoration.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) October 24 voted to designate October 25 as "Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration."

In 1945, the Republic of China (ROC), victorious in World War II, took control of the island from Japan.

Four years later, the ROC lost the Chinese civil war and retreated to Taiwan.

PRC Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson Chen Binhua called the NPC Standing Committee's decision a powerful measure to safeguard "historical facts" and "national glory," according to Xinhua.

The day will include commemorations in various forms and the launch of nationwide patriotic education on Taiwan-related matters, he added.

The announcement immediately aroused an uproar in Taiwan, where October 25 was a longtime national holiday.

The PRC did not exist in 1945 and the day has nothing to do with either the PRC or the Chinese Communist Party, which made no positive contribution to the war against Japan, the Mainland Affairs Council, the Taiwanese agency in charge of relations with the PRC, said.

The Chinese Communist Party has never ruled Taiwan but considers it a breakaway province.

Chinese 'lawfare'

This designation is part of Beijing's "lawfare" -- the misuse of law or legal institutions to achieve political goals -- against Taiwan, say scholars.

By legislating the commemorative day, Beijing intends to legally entrench the notion that "Taiwan is part of China," Wang Hsin-hsien, a professor of East Asian studies at National Chengchi University in Taipei, told Taiwan's Central News Agency (CNA).

He described it as a tangible step in China's push toward "reunification" with Taiwan and its long-term goal of achieving the "great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation" by 2049.

The measure mainly serves Chinese domestic propaganda, Hung Yao-nan, an assistant professor of diplomacy and international relations at Tamkang University in New Taipei City, told CNA.

It will have only limited impact on international discourse, he predicted.

Chinese propaganda

For Chinese audiences, the move by the NPC sends three signals: "upgraded jurisdiction over Taiwan," "a more tangible reunification process" and "a trend of mutual reinforcement" across the Taiwan Strait, China Central Television (CCTV)-affiliated social media outlet Yuyuan Tantan said.

Beijing has intensified other "patriotic education" efforts involving Taiwan. CCTV recently aired a six-episode documentary, "Restoration of the Homeland," saying it would reveal Japan's "cruel exploitation and oppression" of Taiwan in colonial times (1895-1945).

Military intimidation

While Beijing's Taiwan affairs apparatus advances its legal offensive, the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has resorted to ominous military messaging. On October 25, Chinese state media released street-level images of Taiwan captured by Jilin 1 satellites, showing major strategic sites such as the Port of Taipei and Hsinchu Science Park.

The satellite images have centimeter-level resolution and could be used for future urban warfare, Chang Yen-ting, former deputy commander of Taiwan's air force, said in an online program.

The intention of intimidating Taiwan is unmistakable, he added.

A group of Chinese H-6K bombers recently flew near Taiwan to practice confrontation drills, CCTV Defense and Military Channel reported on October 26. The training tested reconnaissance, early warning, air blockade and precision-strike capabilities, with multiple J-10 fighters flying into target airspace, the broadcast said.

Although the report did not specify the time or scale of the exercises, Taiwan's Defense Ministry said that on October 17, the PLA dispatched numerous aircraft in "joint combat readiness patrols" to harass Taiwan, with 17 sorties crossing the median line and its extensions in the Taiwan Strait.

An on-again, off-again holiday

China's use of October 25 to diminish Taiwan's international presence comes after a decades-long argument in Taiwan over the anniversary and its meaning.

October 25 was a full holiday in Taiwan, Taiwan Retrocession Day, from 1946 through 2000. From 2001 through 2025, it was just a commemorative day, with no mandatory workplace or school closings.

It will be a national holiday again in 2026. In May, Taiwan's parliament, controlled by a coalition favoring closer ties with Beijing, voted to restore the day's former status. The measure takes effect next year.