The All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (ACFTC) holds an event to mark the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration in Beijing on October 26, 2025. Photo: The All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots

The All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots (ACFTC) held an event in Beijing on Sunday to mark the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration. Taiwan compatriots interviewed by the Global Times said that observing this day reflects the shared aspiration for national reunification, honors historical truth, and underscores the inseparable ties between people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits.
 
China's national legislature on Friday voted to designate October 25 as the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration. The restoration of Taiwan is an important outcome of victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and compelling proof of the Chinese government's recovery of sovereignty over Taiwan. It is also an important part of the historical fact and legal chain that Taiwan is an integral part of China, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Qi Jialin, chairman of the Alliance for the Reunification of China, told the Global Times on Sunday at the event that establishing the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration is a significant milestone. He stressed that cross-Straits reunification is inevitable and urged Taiwan authorities and the society on the island to cherish the goodwill from the mainland.
 
"Over the past 80 years, we have endured humiliation and made painstaking efforts to achieve the national strength we have today — strength that gives us the confidence to establish the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration," Qi told the Global Times. "On one hand, this shows that realizing national reunification has become increasingly urgent; on the other, it demonstrates the mainland's confidence. Both sides of the Straits share the consensus of restoring our common historical memory."

Li Haiyong, a deputy to the National People's Congress, said he was thrilled that his related proposal at the 2025 "two sessions" had been adopted. Having worked on cross-Straits affairs for 12 years, he noted that many Taiwan compatriots share a common aspiration: to have Taiwan's restoration enshrined in national legislation and to further clarify the status of Taiwan compatriots — a wish rooted in their direct experience of the mainland's strength and development.

Cai Shiming from Gaopeng & Partner, a law firm, explained to the Global Times from a legal perspective why Taiwan island belongs to China. He noted that on October 1, 1949, the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded, and the Central People's Government became the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The change of government took place while China remained unchanged as a subject of international law. China's sovereignty and inherent territory did not change. As a natural result, the government of the PRC fully enjoys and exercises China's sovereignty, including sovereignty over Taiwan island. 

The so-called Treaty of San Francisco is an illegal and invalid instrument issued by some countries gathered by the US years after the end of WWII to separately make peace with Japan without including the PRC and despite the Soviet Union's rejection. This document contravenes the provisions of the Declaration by United Nations signed by 26 countries — including China, the US, the UK, and the Soviet Union — in 1942, and goes against the fundamental principles of the UN Charter and international law. Anything set out in the document, including the sovereignty over Taiwan or the handling of the territory and sovereign rights of China as a non-signatory, is thus entirely illegal and null and void, said the lawyer.

Tang Wenyu, chairwoman of food manufacturing company Phoenix City, told the Global Times that as a food industry leader, she often shares that the Taiwan island and the mainland share the same roots through food. She said the establishment of the Commemoration Day of Taiwan's Restoration helps compatriots on both sides of the Strait recognize more deeply that "we are one family, and we must work together toward national reunification."

Tang recalled that her father came to Beijing in 1991, bringing the island's pastries and other cuisine to the Chinese mainland. She noted that "many things across the Straits are very similar and closely connected. For example, both Taiwan island and Fujian Province have pineapple cakes, and the pineapples grown in Taiwan and the mainland are of the same species."

Qiu Bingru, a master's student at Peking University who comes from Taipei but has ancestral roots in Meizhou, South China's Guangdong Province, told the Global Times, "The Chinese mainland sincerely treats Taiwan people as part of the same nation, which is why the 'restoration' of Taiwan has been made a national legal commemoration day."

On choosing law as his major, Qiu said he is interested in cross-Straits legal systems and hopes to contribute to building the institutions needed for peaceful reunification.