Historical events that are worth celebrating

Last year, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party reinstated Taiwan Retrocession Day on Oct. 25 as a national holiday. It came under a broader program of “giving holidays back to the people,” adding four new or restored public holidays to the calendar. Naturally, people welcomed the change. But why must this particular holiday be tied to the historically and ideologically contentious “retrocession” day?

In 1945, the Republic of China (ROC) government accepted Japan’s surrender in Taipei, bringing 50 years of Japanese colonial rule to an end. At the time, many Taiwanese had high hopes for the new regime. What came next, however, was a chaotic takeover, the tragic 228 Incident of 1947, and the martial law and White Terror that followed. The end of Japanese colonial rule by no means meant that the people had gained their freedom.

The term “retrocession” means more than just a change of government; it is suggestive of liberation and celebration. The KMT might view Oct. 25 through the lens of victory in the war against Japan, but Taiwanese who experienced political repression also have reason to ask why it should be the day of post-World War II takeover that is designated for celebration. The end of colonial rule can be marked and acknowledged without needing to buy into a single interpretation of history.

Retrocession Day had not been a public holiday for many years. In 2001, civil servants moved to a five-day workweek and Oct. 25 became a day of commemoration without a holiday. In 2017, amendments to the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) to reduce working hours and improve leave entitlements saw private-sector workers also cease to receive the day off. Yet none of this made Taiwan any less able to study and reflect on the history of 1945.

The Legislative Yuan has the power to add public holidays, as well as the power to pick the occasion. If the goal is to protect people’s rights to rest and have time off, why not discuss holidays marking the lifting of martial law, freedom of speech or human rights? Why must it be Retrocession Day that is restored?

Expanding public holidays and choosing which historical events to commemorate are two distinct policy questions; the latter should not be swept away in a policy push for the former.

Last year, China established its own “Commemoration Day of Taiwan’s Restoration,” linking the occasion to its “one China” principle and calls for unification. In 1945, it was the ROC government that accepted Japan’s surrender in Taipei; at that time, the Chinese Communist Party had not yet been founded.

How Beijing uses narratives surrounding “retrocession” cannot determine how Taiwan should judge its own history. However, if Taiwan celebrates the day without critical reflection, it cannot avoid confronting the ongoing significance this term holds in cross-strait politics.

If the concern is truly about workers, then let us discuss working hours and the sufficient right to rest. If the aim is to face up to history, then different perspectives on 1945 must be allowed. Holidays with historical baggage means that people who simply want an extra day off are first asked to concede to particular interpretations of the past.

Oct. 25 can be remembered without being publicly designated for celebrations. Ultimately, what Taiwan should cherish most deeply is the democracy and freedom its people fought so hard to win.

An extra public holiday does not have to mean celebrating so-called “retrocession.”