Mr Xu Jian, Charge d’Affaires of Chinese Embassy in Sudan

In 1945, the heroic Chinese people thoroughly defeated the Japanese militarist aggressors after fighting a bitter and courageous war of resistance for 14 years, making indelible contributions to the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. On October 25 of the same year, Taiwan was restored to China, returning to the embrace of the motherland. This year marks the 80th anniversary of Taiwan’s restoration to China. On this historic occasion, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China designated October 25 as the Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration through legal means and stipulated that the state will hold commemorative activities in various forms.
Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China’s territory since ancient times. Threatened by Japan with gunboat diplomacy, the corrupt, incompetent government of the Qing Dynasty was forced to sign in 1895 the Treaty of Shimonoseki, one that surrenders a country’s sovereign rights under humiliating terms. It was through this treaty that Taiwan was ceded to Japan. However, the Treaty of Shimonoseki was an unequal treaty that is illegal and null and void. It didn’t and cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China. During Japan’s colonial rule over Taiwan, our Taiwan compatriots suffered extremely cruel oppression, and the crimes committed by Japanese colonists were too numerous to be listed. The tragic history of Taiwan’s enslavement under Japanese colonial rule represented a collective trauma for the entire Chinese nation. The Chinese people never gave up on restoring Taiwan, just as our Taiwan compatriots always yearned to return to the embrace of the motherland.
On October 25, 1945, the solemn ceremony to accept Japan’s surrender in the Taiwan Province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held in the Taipei Zhongshan Hall, with its façade adorned with giant Chinese characters proclaiming “Celebrating Taiwan’s Restoration”. After enduring five decades of Japanese colonial rule, Taiwan was finally restored to the motherland. That historic moment stands not only as a monumental achievement of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, but also a historic turning point for the Chinese people emerging from the immense humiliation in modern times to embark on the journey toward rejuvenation.
As demonstrated by a series of instruments with legal effect under international law, from the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation to UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, the one-China principle is a prevailing consensus of the international community, acknowledging that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. Countries around the world undertook to abide by the one-China principle when they each established diplomatic relations with China.
By rectifying the Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration, China solemnly proclaims once again to the world that Taiwan is China’s Taiwan and that the Taiwan question is purely an internal matter for China, one which brooks no external interference. Taiwan’s restoration was an important outcome of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War. We will never allow anyone to reverse the course of history or challenge the authority of the post-war international order. The current situation in the Taiwan Strait is complex and severe. This is attributed to the fact that the DPP authorities go all out to push forward “de-sinicization” in an attempt to separate Taiwan from China. Meanwhile, a tiny number of external forces blatantly made absurd remarks about Taiwan, indicating potential intervention in the cross-Strait affairs. Establishing the Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration is a powerful response to the separatist activities for “Taiwan independence” and external interference. It reflects the firm will and resolve of all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation to safeguard sovereignty and territorial integrity.
In October this year, the fourth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was successfully convened in Beijing. The Communique of the plenary session reaffirms the commitment to “promoting the peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait and advancing the cause of national reunification”. China always adheres to the basic principles of peaceful reunification and One Country, Two Systems. China stands ready to strive for peaceful reunification with utmost sincerity and the greatest effort, but will never ever allow the separation of Taiwan from China. The reunification of both sides of the Taiwan Strait is not only a historical conclusion and a legal inevitability, but also the will of the people and the essence of righteousness. It is an unstoppable and irreversible tide of the times.
China and Sudan are good friends, partners and brothers. Our two nations have all along firmly supported each other on issues bearing on our respective core interests or major concerns. Sudan abides by the one-China principle, supports China’s cause of national reunification and endorses China’s position on the Taiwan question. China highly appreciates this and will, on the basis of the one-China principle, work with Sudan to ensure the steady and sustained growth of China-Sudan strategic partnership, uphold the victorious outcome of the World Anti-Fascist War and safeguard the post-war international order.