Editor's note: Wang Shushen, a special commentator for CGTN, is the deputy director of the Institute of Taiwan Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The article reflects the author's views and not necessarily those of CGTN.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's recovery from Japanese occupation. But the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan have turned their back on history and ancestry, constantly making provocative "pro-independence" moves.

In a brazen attempt to distort historical facts, they are promoting fearmongering by launching a TV series, "Zero Day Attack," a fictitious work that seeks to spread the "Taiwan independence" rhetoric and fan division. Such narratives disregard history and betray the Chinese nation.

Taiwan's fate is closely tied to the rise and fall of the Chinese nation. In the late 19th century, China's Qing Dynasty entered a period of accelerated decline, powerless to resist the aggression of capitalist powers. Japan, adopting an expansionist strategy, pursued a brutal policy of invading neighboring countries, including China.

In 1895, following the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan seized Taiwan, which was always part of Chinese territory. Thereafter, Taiwan endured 50 years of harsh Japanese colonial rule, suffering exploitation and humiliation.

Amid great historical upheavals, the people of Taiwan always looked toward the motherland, holding fast to the hope of national reunification. The vast majority of them, including the ethnic minorities, never submitted to the Japanese colonial rulers. The struggle against Japanese occupation never ceased and there were countless armed resistance movements for decades.

Throughout the period of Japanese occupation, the people of Taiwan remained committed to preserving Chinese culture and historical traditions, resisting Japan's efforts to enforce "imperial subjectification education" and pledge loyalty to the Japanese emperor.

When the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression started on the Chinese mainland, many compatriots from Taiwan courageously crossed over to join the anti-Japanese forces and save the nation. The Taiwan Volunteer Team was founded to "defend the motherland and recover Taiwan." This year, the Taiwan Volunteer Team Archives, which contains over 600 original records of the volunteers' anti-Japanese activities from 1937 to 1946, was listed as China's documentary heritage.

It restores the historical truth that compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits stood united in the face of foreign aggression and worked together to achieve Taiwan's recovery. This history vividly demonstrates the deep patriotic commitment and sense of national duty among the people of Taiwan. It's an enduring truth that no separatist force peddling "Taiwan independence" can obfuscate.

The 20th century witnessed profound shifts in the international balance of power. During World War II, Japan's war of aggression against China ultimately ended in its disastrous defeat. In November 1943, the leaders of China, the United States, and the United Kingdom convened the Cairo Conference in Egypt to discuss strategies for halting and punishing Japanese aggression.

On December 1, the Cairo Declaration was released. It clearly stated that all the territories Japan had stolen from China, such as northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be restored to China. The Cairo Declaration was a document of significant political and military importance under international law. It laid the groundwork for the postwar international order, particularly in Asia and the Pacific.

On July 26, 1945, the governments of China, the United States, and the United Kingdom issued the Potsdam Proclamation. Article 8 of the proclamation explicitly said that "the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out" and "Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine."

The terms outlined in the proclamation carried binding force under international law. On August 14, 1945, the Japanese government announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation. On September 2, a formal ceremony to accept Japan's surrender was held aboard the USS Missouri, where Japanese government representatives signed the Instrument of Surrender, clearly stating their commitment to "carrying out the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration in good faith."

From the Cairo Declaration to the Potsdam Proclamation and the Instrument of Surrender, these documents form a coherent and legally binding chain of international agreements that affirmed Japan's obligation, as the defeated party, to return Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to China.

On October 25, 1945, the ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in Taiwan Province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held in Taipei. On that day, the Chinese government formally declared that Taiwan and the Penghu Islands were once again part of Chinese territory, and it was resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan.

With this, China recovered Taiwan de jure and de facto, restored its administrative authority, and began full governance over the island. It's a development that was widely accepted and recognized by the international community.

The fact that Taiwan is part of China is an integral part of the post-World War II international order. The people on both sides of the Taiwan Straits share the same bloodline, culture and history. All sectors of society on the island celebrated the motherland's recovery of Taiwan, which was not only a reaffirmation of China's territorial integrity, but also a powerful boost to the spirit of the Chinese nation.

History cannot be rewritten. China holds full sovereignty over Taiwan. But since taking office as the leader of the Taiwan region, Lai Ching-te has openly referred to himself as a "worker for Taiwan independence," and refused to acknowledge the one-China principle and the 1992 Consensus, which says that both sides of the Taiwan Straits belong to one China and will work together toward national reunification.

Lai has even challenged the legal, factual and historical reality that "Taiwan is part of China." He has touted fallacies such as "Taiwan is an independent country" and "the two sides of the Straits are not subordinate to each other." Such fabricated separatist narratives must be debunked.

As a result of the Chinese civil war, what occurred in 1949 was a change in government, not a change in the overall statehood of China. The government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) replaced that of the Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China. China's sovereignty was never divided, and the country did not split into two separate states.

Taiwan's political and legal status as part of China has never changed. The PRC government exercises national sovereignty on behalf of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the international community.

From the perspective of the legal principles governing civil conflict, international law has always recognized that there is one China. The authorities in Taiwan constitute a "non-centra" or "local" authority, rather than a sovereign state.

In United Nations legal documents, UN General Assembly resolutions, and the framework of specialized UN agencies, Taiwan is clearly defined as a province of China. Any participation by the Taiwan region in UN-related activities requires the consent of the Chinese government. The Office of Legal Affairs of the UN Secretariat has issued an official legal opinion stating unequivocally that Taiwan, as a province of China, has no separate status.

The principles set out in the joint communiques between China and countries with which it has diplomatic relations, such as "There is only one China in the world," "Taiwan is an integral part of China," and "The government of the PRC is the sole legal government representing the whole of China," constitute a logically consistent framework of both political and legal recognition. This framework categorically rules out any notion of "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan."

The international community's recognition of the one-China principle has become a fundamental norm in international relations and a broadly shared consensus. It stands as a binding constraint on separatist attempts to promote "Taiwan independence."

From the perspective of the theory of popular sovereignty, all power in a modern state belongs to the entirety of its people, not to a subset of them. China's sovereignty is shared by all Chinese across both sides of the Taiwan Straits. The people of the Taiwan region, as part of China, do not possess a separate or independent sovereignty. Therefore, the future of Taiwan must be determined in accordance with the collective will of the entire Chinese people.

The longstanding position of the Chinese government is that Taiwan belongs to all Chinese people, including the 23 million compatriots in Taiwan, and the future of Taiwan can and must be decided only by the entirety of the Chinese nation. This fully reflects and aligns with the principle and doctrine of popular sovereignty.

Therefore, the notion of "self-determination by Taiwan residents" peddled by Lai Ching-te, or any attempt by the Taiwan authorities to change Taiwan's legal status as a part of China by revising, interpreting or repealing relevant local regulations, or by means such as so-called referendums, fundamentally violates the principle of popular sovereignty and is entirely illegal and invalid.

The tide of history is mighty and unstoppable. Those who follow it will prosper; those who go against it will perish. The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical course. The peaceful development of cross-Straits relations and the realization of national reunification are both unstoppable trends of the times.

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