Exhibition documents Taiwan compatriots' struggle to reunite with Chinese mainland
China Daily |
Updated: 2025-10-22 00:00
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A drawing depicts Zheng Chenggong accepting surrender by Frederik Coyett, the last Dutch colonial ruler in Taiwan, in 1662. The Dutch illegally occupied Taiwan in the early 17th century and Zheng recovered the island. CHINA DAILY
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Saturday marks the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's retrocession, as on Oct 25, 1945, the Chinese government announced that it was resuming control over Taiwan, after a formal ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in the Taiwan province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held in Taipei.
The milestone occasion signaled that the Chinese island, having fallen under Japanese colonial rule for half a century, returned to the motherland, a historic victory won by all Chinese people, including Taiwan compatriots, with bloodshed and lives.
A seven-part exhibition is being held reflecting on the history of Taiwan and its connection with the Chinese mainland. It focuses on the struggles of those 50 years of occupation and how Taiwan people fought against aggressors on both the island and the mainland, and through military uprisings or by donations. The exhibition has been on a multicity tour since August and will run until the end of this year.
The exhibition is being overseen by the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots and organized by institutes including the federation's Fujian provincial branch, the Fujian branch of the Taiwan Democratic Self-Government League, Fujian Normal University and the Fujian Provincial Archives.
A sketch depicts a Japanese military ship departing from Yokohama to invade Taiwan Island. Japan attempted to invade Taiwan in 1874, citing fishermen from Ryukyu being mistreated, but the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) government arranged defense and thwarted the attempt. CHINA DAILY
The Qing Dynasty government office in Taiwan became the headquarters of Japanese colonial rule in 1895. Following the defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, the Qing government was forced to cede Taiwan and its affiliated islands to Japan. CHINA DAILY
A photo shows a cache of weapons used in the Tapani uprising in 1915. Taiwan people bravely fought back against the invading Japanese. The uprising saw thousands of Taiwan residents killed before it was suppressed. CHINA DAILY
The Taiwan volunteer corps was established in Jinhua, Zhejiang province, in 1939. Following Japan's full-scale invasion of China in 1937, the corps was formed and was involved in skirmishes with the Japanese army in Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. CHINA DAILY
Members of the Taiwan youth league, mostly children of Taiwan volunteer corps soldiers, practice military skills. CHINA DAILY
Members of the fourth Taiwan hospital, founded by the Taiwan volunteer corps, receive donations from people in Jianyang, Fujian province. CHINA DAILY
A family portrait of Li Yu-bang (top right), founder of the Taiwan volunteer corps. The corps was the largest, longest-lasting and most influential corps composed of Taiwan compatriots during the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). CHINA DAILY
A group of 15 influential people in Taiwan take a picture before embarking on a trip in August 1946 to the mainland to share the news of the retrocession of Taiwan. Their tasks included paying respect to the mausoleum of Sun Yat-sen, forerunner of the Chinese revolution; consoling the relatives of the soldiers who died in the war; and paying tribute to the Yellow Emperor, the legendary ruler revered as the common ancestor of the Chinese people. CHINA DAILY
The ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in the Taiwan province of the China war theater of the Allied powers is held at the Taipei Zhongshan Hall on Oct 25, 1945. It marked the restoration of Taiwan to the Chinese government. CHINA DAILY
The Cairo Declaration explicitly states that territories stolen from China by Japan, such as Northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, must be restored to China. CHINA DAILY
Soldiers of the Taiwan volunteer corps engage in a battle. CHINA DAILY
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