China will organize events to mark the 70th anniversary of the recovery of sovereignty over Taiwan, according to a press conference announcement Sept 30.

“This year marks the 70th anniversary of the victory of Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, and also the 70th anniversary of the recovery of sovereignty over Taiwan,” Ma Xiaoguang, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office (SCTAO), said at the conference.

“A series of events will be held by Chinese mainland departments,” added Ma.

In 1895, China was forced to cede the islands of Taiwan and Penghu to Japan after suffering defeat in the first Sino-Japanese War a year earlier.

Taiwan was occupied by Japan until Oct 25, 1945, when the Office of the Governor-General of Taiwan formally surrendered to the Kuomintang (KMT) military, nearly two months after Japan signed the formal surrender to mark the end of WWII.

After KMT forces were defeated in the civil war in 1949 by the Communist Party of China, they fled to Taiwan. The ties across the Strait have experienced tensions.

Since the start of the 21st century, however, cross-Strait relations have significantly improved, marked by frequent contact between the people of Chinese mainland and Taiwan, and the strengthened economic cooperation across the Strait.

Ma Xiaoguang also suggested that another meeting between Hsia Li-yan, minister of the Mainland Affairs Council, and Zhang Zhijun, minister of SCTAO, is on the horizon, after the third meeting between the two sides this May.

Also, Ma noted at the conference that there is no room at all for “Taiwan Independence” in the international society. “We are absolutely against any form of ‘Taiwan Independence’ [as it would] do harm to the cross-Strait relations.”