- Retrocession Day
Retrocession Day (光復節) is an annual observance in
Taiwan to commemorate the end of 50 years ofJapan ese colonial rule onOctober 25 ,1945 .Taiwan, then more commonly known as Formosa, became a colony of the
Empire of Japan when Qing China lost theFirst Sino-Japanese War in1894 and ceded the island with the signing of the1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki .Taiwan under Japanese rule lasted till the end ofWorld War II .When the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II, General
Rikichi Andō (安藤 利吉), governor-general of Taiwan and commander-in-chief of all Japanese forces on the island, signed an instrument of surrender and handed it over to General Chen Yi (陳儀) of theKuomintang military to complete the official turnover inTaipei onOctober 25 ,1945 . Chen Yi proclaimed that day to be "Retrocession Day of Taiwan". Taiwan has been governed by theRepublic of China since.Retrocession Day is currently not an official public holiday in the Republic of China, yet popular memorial activities are held and families hang the national flag every year on this day. The
Democratic Progressive Party , which rejects the idea of Taiwan being taken back by China, had downplayed the event during their two recent terms ofRepublic of China rule [http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/55/562.html] [http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2006/10/26/2003333432] .ee also
*
Holidays in Taiwan
*History of Taiwan
*Victory over Japan Day External links
* [http://www.gio.gov.tw/info/festival_c/restore_e/restore.htm Taiwan's Retrocession Day]
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