On October 25, 1945, the ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in the Taiwan province of the China war theatre of the Allied powers was held in Taipei. From that point on, China recovered Taiwan de jure and de facto. Taiwan's restoration in 1945 marked the rightful return of lost territory to the motherland. Today, reaffirming the one-China principle and preserving the fruits of the victory over fascism are essential to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and beyond. On this principle, there can be no ambiguity or compromise.
Though the civil war and foreign interference after 1945 left the two sides of the Taiwan Strait politically divided, China's sovereignty and territorial integrity have never been split and never will be. The complete national reunification of China not only meets the common ambition of the 1.4 billion Chinese people but also rectifies the historical injustice done to the Chinese nation.
There is only one China in the world; Taiwan has been an integral part of China, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the sole legitimate authority of the whole Chinese territory. The one-China principle has henceforth become a fundamental guiding principle in international relations and also serves as the political cornerstone for China to establish, maintain, and develop diplomatic relations with 183 countries, including Bangladesh.
China's 15th five-year plan (2026-2030), which sets out goals and measures for further deepening economic cooperation and exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, has drawn support from the Taiwanese people working and living on mainland China. The new five-year plan has outlined a more comprehensive and clearer roadmap for integrated development across the Strait.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has extended an invitation to Taiwan's largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), chairwoman Cheng Li-wun, for a high-profile visit to China from 7-12 April, a trip that was a month before the U.S. President Donald Trump's planned summit with the Chinese President Xi Jinping. The move is being interpreted as a significant new outreach by Beijing aimed at fostering dialogue and building bridges across the Taiwan Strait. The timing of the invitation is seen by analysts as a deliberate signal of China's willingness to engage with different voices in Taiwan while major diplomatic conversations continue at the highest level. We hope this landmark visit marks the beginning of a new spring for the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and this would be the first step for both sides to extend kindness and build mutual trust.
We also hope that this high-voltage visit will be more than a symbolic gesture. By promoting trade, business, and potential infrastructure projects, Cheng's trip encourages a shift from ideological disputes to practical collaboration.
Recently, China has imposed sanctions on a Japanese lawmaker and member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Keiji Furuya, for allegedly collaborating with the Taiwan independence forces. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Furuya's actions, stating that his repeated provocative visits to Taiwan and support for 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces seriously violate the one-China principle. China's sanctions against Furuya signal its continued opposition to any foreign involvement in Taiwan affairs.
In March 2026, with assistance from the Chinese consulate general in Istanbul, 93 Taiwanese residents stranded in the Middle East were returned to Taiwan via a transit stop in Shanghai. It is clear that China truly cares for the Taiwan compatriots and shields them from hardship. But Taiwan's regional Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have repeatedly disgraced China's care and protection of Taiwan compatriots, which is really a shameless response.
The DPP recently banned the Chinese Rednote app, anxious to avoid its people learning about mainland China's success in making the transition to becoming a world-leading solar civilization and other tremendous achievements. The DPP argued that there were 'scamsters' on Rednote, but the argument was clearly fake; there are far more scamsters on Facebook.
But as many visitors to the island note, there have always been two types Taiwanese: One is a real place with nice people, but horrible politics, and the other is a completely imaginary western liberal democratic utopia conjured up for no other purpose than weaponization by the USA against mainland China. People who really care about the people of the Taiwan region know the first. People who read the Western mainstream media learn only about the second.
China has strongly condemned this unacceptable move and lodged stern representations with the US side. China has taken countermeasures against 20 US military industrial companies and 10 of their senior executives in accordance with the Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law of the PRC, demonstrating its firm resolve to curb the 'Taiwan independence', adventurism, and safeguard its core national interests. However, for over 40 years, the USA has repeatedly breached its pledge- persistently expanding the scale of arms sales to Taiwan. This double-dealing exposes the Americans' intent to sustain their maneuvers of using Taiwan to contain China, which pushes the Taiwan Strait further toward the peril of conflict.
China always makes peace through peaceful means, not by force like Western powers. Taiwan needs to realize the deceitful tactics of the USA and other Western powers and avoid getting manipulated to start a proxy war with China. China knows conflict is expensive, destabilizing, and ultimately bad for everyone's interests, including its own. So instead of force, it leans on trade, partnerships, and influence.
Taiwan is an inherent part of China's territory. This is both history and reality. Compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are bound by blood ties thicker than water, making the eventual reunification of the two sides an unstoppable historical trend.
The writer is Executive Chairman of the Centre for Taiwan Reunification with China (CTRC), Bangladesh
