October 25: Taiwan Retrocession Day & Anniversary of the Battle of Kuningtou

 October 25: Taiwan Retrocession Day & Anniversary of the Battle of Kuningtou

Today, October 25^th, marks the 74^th anniversary of Taiwan Retrocession Day. After Japan’s surrender in August 1945, the US, whose forces had landed on Taiwan, handed over the administration of Taiwan to the Republic of China in fulfillment of the Cairo Declaration of 1943. On October 3rd, 1945, the Republic of China officially accepted the surrender of Japanese forces on the island and restored Taiwan to the Republic of China’s sovereignty.

The Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan, nevertheless, was concluded and signed in 1952 following the San Francisco Peace Treaty with Japan in 1951, thus completing the necessary steps of retrocession of the island, which had been ceded to Japan in the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895 following the defeat of the Manchu Dynasty in the same year.

Today also marks the 70^th anniversary of the Battle of Kuningtou starting in the late night of of October 24^th, 1949, or the wee hours of October 25, 1949the Chinese Communist forces on the Mainland initiated a massive offensive against Kinmen. After four days of battles on the sea and on the beaches of Kuningtou, close to 10,000 communist troops were annihilated by our garrison forces while thousands were captured. This Battle of Kuningtou was the 1^st victory after the government of the Republic of China relocated its seat to Taipei from Nanjing, squashing the communist plans to conquer Kinmen as a prelude to “liberate” Taiwan. This battle, together with the Artillery Duel of 1958 have also effectively helped stem the further expansion of international Communism in the western Pacific, ensuring relative peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait to this day.

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