The Taiwan Provincial Government (TPG) will be hosting a celebration for Taiwan's Retrocession Day this October 25 at the historically significant Taipei City Public Auditorium (now Zhongshan Hall), where 70 years ago the ROC accepted Japan's instrument of surrender, Taiwan Provincial Governor Lin Junq-tzer said in a report to Premier Mao Chi-kuo at today's Cabinet meeting.
Lin, who is also a minister without portfolio, stated that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the ROC's victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan and of the retrocession of Taiwan to ROC rule. In June 2014, the Executive Yuan began celebration preparations by inviting the Academia Historica, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the General Association of Chinese Culture, and other groups to organize a series of 16 commemorative events.
These events kicked off this July that included international symposiums, historical exhibitions, military displays, aerial warfare documentaries, and the issuance of commemorative books, stamps and coins. The MOFA will also be conducting memorial activities abroad in conjunction with the Overseas Community Affairs Council and Veterans Affairs Council.
The commemorative events are designed to help the public, in particular the younger generation, understand how arduous that period was for the nation's soldiers and citizens, Lin said. The events also highlight the inseparable relationship between the War of Resistance and the retrocession of Taiwan.
The TPG organizes an official celebration on Retrocession Day every year, Lin said. To expand this year's event, the organizers have invited foreign diplomatic envoys in Taiwan, overseas Taiwanese groups, representatives of government agencies and civic bodies, as well as families of war heroes. In all, some 1,100 participants are expected to attend.
Ming Tai High School students are scheduled to sing the national anthem at the event, and the University of Taipei's affiliated Experimental Elementary School choir will sing the Retrocession Day song. A 10-minute documentary on the Cairo Conference and Taiwan's retrocession will also be shown.