Civil groups in Taiwan island gathered outside the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei on July 7, 2025, to mark the 88th anniversary of the July 7 Incident.

Civil groups in Taiwan island gathered outside the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) headquarters in Taipei on Monday to mark the 88th anniversary of the July 7 Incident, calling on the DPP to respect historical facts. They also criticized the DPP authorities for distorting history, violating the one-China principle, undermining the foundations of cross-Straits relations, and steering Taiwan toward a dangerous path of confrontation.

During the Monday event, participants highlighted that during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, China fought together with other countries and jointly issued key international documents such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, which affirmed Taiwan's return to China after the war and helped establish the postwar international order, according to a release sent to the Global Times by the Labor Party, one of the civic and political groups that participated in the Monday event. 

Participants at the event criticized the DPP authorities for pursuing the "Taiwan independence" agenda and implementing "de-Sinicization" policies, accusing them of deliberately distorting history, violating the one-China principle, betraying historical justice and international legal foundations, undermining the basis of cross-Straits relations, pushing Taiwan further toward a dangerous path of confrontation with the entire Chinese nation, the release noted.

They also stressed that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits and avoiding conflict is a shared responsibility of both sides and essential to the well-being of Taiwan compatriots. Commemorating the July 7 Incident, they added, is not only about honoring heroes, but also about learning from history and recognizing the historical and legal context affirming that Taiwan is part of China.


On July 7, 1937, Japanese soldiers attacked Chinese forces at the Lugou Bridge, marking the beginning of Japan's full-scale invasion of China, and China's whole-nation resistance against the Japanese invaders, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Chi Chia-lin, honorary chairman of the Reunification Alliance Party in Taiwan, said that after the July 7 Incident, the Japanese colonizers found that over 70 anti-Japanese incidents had erupted on the island within just one month. Many young people in the Taiwan island joined the war effort. 

This, he said, clearly demonstrated that from intellectuals to ordinary people in Taiwan at the time identified with China as their motherland and firmly believed in its eventual victory. 

Chi emphasized that commemorating the July 7 Incident today is about carrying forward the national spirit embodied in the resistance, opposing separatist moves for "Taiwan independence," and working toward the reunification of the Chinese nation.

Ji Xin, publisher of The Observer magazine in Taiwan island, said China's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression restored China's national dignity in the international community. It enabled China to abolish unequal treaties and fully recover Taiwan and the Penghu. 

Ji criticized Taiwan's regional leader Lai Ching-te for lavishly commemorating Victory in Europe Day on May 8 this year, yet remaining completely silent on the July 7 Incident. 

She said their presence at the DPP headquarters was meant to remind the DPP that the people of Taiwan island have a strong tradition of patriotism, and urged the DPP to halt all separatist "Taiwan independence" actions, return to the correct historical path, and safeguard the overall peaceful development of cross-Straits relations.