Overseas Chinese communities from both sides of the Taiwan Strait gathered in New York to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration, expressing their shared hope for the peaceful reunification of the motherland.

Hundreds of people gathered in Flushing, New York, on Friday to celebrate the anniversary.

This is one of the first celebrations and community events overseas after Beijing set Oct 25 as the day to commemorate Taiwan's restoration, the 80th anniversary of the surrender of Japanese forces in Taiwan, as it again asserts its sovereignty over the self-ruled island.

"It's really lucky — we were just notified that it's been officially recognized as a commemorative day, and we've actually been preparing for our community event for quite some time," Jiao Shengan, president of the Alliance for China's Peaceful Reunification of New York, told China Daily.

"We hope to bring people across the Taiwan Strait closer together through community activities, art, travel, food and photography. We are one family. Any differences can be resolved through communication. There's no need for outsiders to interfere or point fingers."

Jiao said it is very important to continue dialogue across the Taiwan Strait and to always remember that Taiwan and the Chinese mainland are part of one big family. He added that people like him, who now live overseas, still look forward to seeing national reunification.
In 1894, Japan launched a war against China and occupied Taiwan. Countless Taiwan people fought bravely against Japanese rule, proving they were inseparable members of the Chinese nation.

In 1945, with China's victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World War II, Taiwan was restored to the motherland. On Oct 25, 1945, a surrender ceremony was held in Taipei, marking China's recovery of Taiwan both de jure and de facto.

"When I was a kid, Taiwan Restoration Day was one of the biggest holidays. People would celebrate with big parades and every temple in town would join in together. I grew up singing the Taiwan Restoration Song every year during those celebrations," Hua Chuen Hsiung, former chairman of the Alliance for China's Peaceful Reunification of New York, told China Daily.

"People in Taiwan are very grateful, and we remember the sacrifices made by our motherland, that millions of lives were lost and the eight long years of resistance. This finally led us to the victory, and the result of that victory was the restoration of Taiwan," he said.

"Taiwan has always been an inseparable part of China. It's the international order, and nothing can change that," said the 85-year-old man, who has been working on the reunification of Taiwan overseas for decades. "As a Chinese who grew up in Taiwan, I need to bring that out loud to people, especially in the US, to let people recognize that."

"The restoration of Taiwan was an important outcome of the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, a great triumph forged through the sacrifices and perseverance of the entire Chinese nation," said Chen Li, the Chinese consul general in New York. "It is a historic event worthy of commemoration and celebration by people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and by all Chinese at home and abroad."

"Generation after generation of Chinese people have written a magnificent chapter with their lives in resisting Japanese colonial rule and striving for the early return of Taiwan to the motherland. The people of Taiwan also stood shoulder to shoulder with people on the mainland," Chen said.