In news dated October 29, 2025, the Chinese Communist Party established “Taiwan Retrocession Day,” referred to as a “commemoration” domestically, yet transformed into a “celebration” overseas. This subtle shift in terminology may seem insignificant, but it actually harbors political nuances.
Within China, the official rhetoric uniformly uses “commemorate” for the retrocession of Taiwan – a neutral tone with a nostalgic connotation, aiming to avoid causing offense to Taiwanese people by portraying the event as being “celebrated,” thereby reducing potential societal backlash. However, once it crosses borders, the language promptly escalates to “celebration.” The event held by the “China Reunification Council” in New York on October 25 was entitled “Celebration of the 80th Anniversary of Taiwan’s Retrocession Gala,” exuding a victorious attitude, packaging reunification efforts as a celebration among overseas Chinese.
This stratified use of language reflects the Chinese Communist Party’s meticulous control over public opinion. It is acutely aware of which historical events can be self-praising and which ones must be manipulated. Events like the “80th Anniversary of the Victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan,” dominated by the Nationalist government, are only “commemorated” in Xinhua News Agency reports; whereas holidays like “Party Founding Day” and “Armed Forces Day,” belonging to their own historical narrative, are uniformly “celebrated.”
The CCP dares not “celebrate” because of a sense of guilt and awareness of its unworthiness. True victors are the ones who can triumphantly celebrate, while it can only resort to “commemoration.” Nevertheless, this does not hinder the CCP from seizing the opportunity to claim credit, using history as a propaganda tool to hijack the discourse on the war of resistance — a battle it did not win but attempts to present as its own victory.
Recent reports from the “Overseas Chinese Daily” and “Sing Tao Daily” also reveal the CCP’s narrative strategy: claiming to deepen the understanding of the younger generation in Taiwan by showcasing exhibitions and discussions, to highlight that the Taiwanese compatriots’ war against Japan is an inseparable part of China’s anti-Japanese resistance. What does this mean? In simple terms, it’s not about restoring history but reshaping the narrative, integrating the Kuomintang’s resistance into the CCP framework, creating a version where the CCP leads and the Kuomintang follows.
In reality, the CCP’s manipulation of language is not a new phenomenon: rebranding “unemployment” as “being laid off, underemployed, flexibly employed, optimized,” portraying “employment difficulties” as “slow employment”; referring to economic downturns as “negative growth,” and market declines as “adjustments”; imposing lockdowns as “dynamic clearance,” and crackdowns as “stability maintenance. It continuously alters language solely to mask reality, controlling public sentiment.
Language should unveil the truth, yet in the hands of the CCP, it becomes a tool for distorting reality. From “commemoration” to “celebration,” from “unemployment” to “flexible employment,” each transition of terminology reveals the insecurity of a regime – afraid of the truth, scared of comparisons, and fearful of people seeing through the facades.