By JUN WU
2025 marks the 80th anniversaries of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. It also commemorates the 80th anniversaries of Taiwan’s recovery and the founding of the United Nations.
Learning from history
The World Anti-Fascist War was the largest and most devastating conflict in human history. Its flames engulfed Asia, Europe, Africa, and Oceania. Over 80 countries and regions—home to approximately two billion people—were drawn into the war, which resulted in economic losses exceeding 4 trillion U.S. dollars.
Commemoration is an act of remembrance. Eighty years ago, China was the main battlefield in the East during the war. It was the first to resist fascist aggression, endured the longest, and paid the highest price. In the face of the brutal Japanese invasion and an unprecedented national crisis, the Communist Party of China played a central role in uniting the nation and leading a massive resistance movement.
From the “September 18 Incident” in 1931—widely considered as the first shot of the global anti-fascist war—until Japan’s surrender in 1945, the Chinese people had fought with great courage and sacrifice for 14 years. More than 35 million Chinese civilians and soldiers were killed or injured, including over 3.83 million military personnel. Officially recorded property damage and war-related expenditures exceeded 100 billion U.S. dollars, and indirect economic losses reached 500 billion U.S. dollars.
Through immense national sacrifice, China upheld the eastern front of the World Anti-Fascist War, making a decisive contribution to the Allied Powers’ victory. This crushed Japan’s colonial ambitions and defended the heritage of 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, safeguarded the Chinese homeland, and restored China’s rightful status in the world. China earned the respect of peace-loving countries and peoples around the globe by doing so.
At the same time, the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War laid the foundation for a new international order centered around the United Nations Charter.
Defending peace
War is a mirror that helps us better understand the value of peace. As President Xi Jinping said, “Prejudice, discrimination, hatred, and war only bring disaster and suffering. Mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, peaceful development, and common prosperity are the right path forward.”
Commemoration is also a solemn reminder of the cost of war and the value of peace. The painful lessons of World War II must never be forgotten. History should move forward, not backward; and the world should be united, not divided. All people who love peace around the world must remember the history written in blood and sacrifice. They must resolutely safeguard the outcomes of World War II, uphold true multilateralism, and work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
Amid growing global uncertainty and instability, China’s solemn commemoration highlights its unwavering dedication to protecting the victory of World War II, promoting global fairness and justice, and building a community with a shared future for mankind. It also sends a clear message to the international community that, in times of turmoil, drawing on the wisdom of history is essential to summoning the strength and clarity needed to oppose all forms of hegemony and power politics.
The commemoration emblem features symbolic elements of the Great Wall and olive branches. The Great Wall represents the Chinese people’s unity and courage in the face of adversity, highlighting the pivotal role of national spirit in achieving victory over Japanese aggression. The olive branches symbolize that the Chinese people won the peace through an arduous war of resistance, and they unite with people of all other countries to cherish and safeguard peace.
As China remembers the past, it looks to the future. By standing with all peace-loving nations and peoples, China will continue to be a guardian of historical memory, a partner in national development and rejuvenation, and a champion of global fairness and justice. Together, they will strive for a better future for all humanity.
Reunification of China
Looking back on history, Taiwan’s return to China is an integral part of the victory of World War II and the post-war international order. The 80th anniversary will honor the heroic deeds of those who fought for China’s victory, recall the joint resistance of compatriots across the Taiwan Strait against foreign aggression, and reaffirm a clear stance against “Taiwan independence” and external interference. It will also rally collective efforts toward national reunification and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
In ancient times, Taiwan was connected to the mainland. Because of the rising sea level and geological changes, the connected land was submerged, forming the Taiwan Straits and Taiwan Island. The Taiwan Straits runs from the East China Sea in the north to the South China Sea in the south. It is more than 1,300 kilometers long, 200 kilometers at its widest point and 130 kilometers at its narrowest point. Taiwan Island is China’s largest island, located on the continental shelf of its southeast coast. Across the Taiwan Straits to the west lies East China’s Fujian province.
Originating from the ancient Yue people, Taiwan’s indigenous people directly or indirectly migrated from China’s mainland. Taiwan’s written history dates back to 230 AD. During the Three Kingdoms Period, Sun Quan, emperor of Kingdom Wu, sent over 10,000 soldiers and officers to Taiwan (then called Yizhou), and Shen Ying, from Wu, left the earliest description of Taiwan in his Seaboard Geographic Gazetteer. The government of the Sui Dynasty (581-618) dispatched troops three times to Taiwan (then called Liuqiu).
From the middle of the 12th century to the 19th, the Chinese central government exercised effective jurisdiction over Taiwan.
In 1894, Japan launched the First Sino-Japanese War, and in April of the next year, it forced the defeated Qing government to sign the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki and to cede Taiwan and the Penghu islands to Japan. Once the information was released, large-scale patriotic activities against ceding Taiwan were held nationwide. Troops and residents in Taiwan showed firm determination and awe-inspiring righteousness to safeguard their homeland. They fought against Japan for more than five months with great courage, forcing Japanese invaders to pay a heavy price for occupying Taiwan.
On Dec 1, 1943, the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Republic of China (1912-1949) issued the Cairo Declaration, stipulating, “It is their purpose that … and that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China.” On July 26, 1945, the three countries signed the Potsdam Declaration (later joined by the former Soviet Union), reiterating, “The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out and Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine.”
On Aug 15, 1945, Japan announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation and unconditionally surrendered, marking the final victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. On Oct 25, 1945, the surrender acceptance ceremony for the province of Taiwan in the China theater of the Allies was held in Taipei. At the ceremony, the representative of China accepting the surrender announced on behalf of the Chinese government that Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were officially again incorporated into the territory of China, and all land, people and administration were put under Chinese sovereignty from that day. With great joy, Taiwan compatriots celebrated its return to the motherland.
On Oct 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded. At the end of the same year, the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan after being defeated. As the Chinese People’s Liberation Army was preparing to liberate Taiwan, the Korean War (1950-1953) broke out on June 25, 1950. Exploiting the situation, the US sent troops into the Taiwan Straits to prevent the PLA from liberating Taiwan, and supported the Kuomintang. This is how the Taiwan question came into being.
China must be reunified, and will surely be reunified. We Chinese on both sides of the Straits, all of us Chinese at home and abroad, should jointly uphold the national interest, follow the historical trends, and work together for the peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and China’s peaceful reunification.
JUN WU is Executive Chairman of CCPPNRE
