| National Day of the Republic of China | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 A combination of two十 ('ten') characters, often seen during the holiday | |||||||||||||
| Also called | Double Tenth Day, Double Ten Day, Anniversary of theXinhai Revolution, Taiwan National Day | ||||||||||||
| Observed by | Republic of China (asNational Day or Double Ten Day) People's Republic of China (as the Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution) | ||||||||||||
| Type | Historical,cultural,nationalist | ||||||||||||
| Celebrations | festivities, including fireworks and concerts | ||||||||||||
| Date | 10 October | ||||||||||||
| Next time | 10 October 2026 (2026-10-10) | ||||||||||||
| Frequency | annual | ||||||||||||
| First time | 10 October 1911 | ||||||||||||
| Related to | 1911 Revolution | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 國慶日[1] | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 国庆日 | ||||||||||||
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| Double Ten Day[2] | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 雙十節 | ||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 双十节 | ||||||||||||
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TheNational Day of the Republic of China, also referred to asDouble Ten Day orDouble Tenth Day, is apublic holiday on 10 October, now held annually asnational day in theRepublic of China (ROC, commonly known as Taiwan). It commemorates the start of theWuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911 which ultimately led to the establishment of theRepublic of China on 1 January 1912, and thecollapse of the imperialQing dynasty, ending 2,133 years ofimperial rule of China since theQin dynasty.[3] The day was once held as a public holiday inmainland China duringthe Mainland Period of the ROC before 1949. The subsequentPeople's Republic of China continues to observe theAnniversary of the Xinhai Revolution on the same date but not as apublic holiday and places more emphasis on its revolutionary characteristics as a commemoration of ahistorical event rather than celebrating it as the founding of the Republic of China.
Following the consequence of theChinese Civil War, theROC government lost control ofmainland China to theChinese Communist Party andretreated to the island of Taiwan in December 1949. The National Day is now mainly celebrated in theTaiwan Area, thus the name "Taiwan National Day" is also used by some groups, but it is also celebrated by manyoverseas Chinese communities.
Double Ten Day can be referred to variety of names such as theNational Day of China orChinese National Day[4] when the ROC was in power in mainland China and as theinternationally recognized government of "China" until the 1970s. Another nameTaiwan National Day, is also used but in dispute as the ROC was founded in 1912, contemporarilyTaiwan was ruled by theEmpire of Japan.[5][6] The name "Taiwan National Day" has been criticized by former ROC presidentMa Ying-jeou.[7]
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During the establishment of theRepublic of China, Taiwan and Penghu were underJapanese rule, which began in 1895. In 1945, after surrender of theEmpire of Japan inWorld War II, Taiwan and Penghu were placed under the control of the ROC.
In Taiwan, the official celebration begins with the raising of theflag of the Republic of China in front of thePresidential Office Building, along with a public singing of theNational Anthem of the Republic of China. It is then followed by celebrations in front of the Presidential Office Building; from time to time, a military parade may occur. Festivities also include many aspects of traditional Chinese and/or Taiwanese culture, such as thelion dance and drum teams, and cultural features coming fromTaiwanese aborigines are integrated into the display in recent years. Later in the day, thepresident of the Republic of China would address the country andfireworks displays are held throughout the major cities of the island. In 2009, all government sponsored festivities for the Double Ten Day were cancelled, and the money intended for the festivals (NT$70 million) were reallocated for reconstruction of the damage done byTyphoon Morakot.
In 2022 former PresidentMa Ying-jeou, who opposes the styling of the holiday as Taiwan National Day, publicly called for current PresidentTsai Ing-wen to stop using the name Taiwan National Day in material associated with the holiday. His view was criticized byRobert Tsao as obsolete.[8]
Because of the lack of direct relations between the origin of the holiday and Taiwan in modern Taiwan the holiday is widely believed to be slightly absurd but is still widely celebrated.[9]
Traditionally, theRepublic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF) have staged a military parade. During prior parades, troops and equipment march past a reviewing platform in front of thePresidential Office Building. Typically, foreignambassadors, military officers, and other representatives and dignitaries are invited to view the parade. Following theNational Anthem and the firing of a21-gun salute, the parade commander, a general-ranked officer of any of the service branches of the ROCAF, would then be driven to the front of the grandstand to request permission from the President to commence the parade proper. Until 1975, the President also inspected the parade formations while riding a vehicle, as each battalion of the parade formations presented arms in the presence of the President and all the unit colours and guidons also dipped in their presence. After all the units in the ground column marched past the grandstand, they would reassemble at the center of the road for a holiday address delivered by the President to the ROCAF and the country, marking the close of the parade.
The parade has been held intermittently during the period of the Republic of China on Taiwan. The military parade on 10 October 1949, was the first public military parade held inTaiwan withChen Cheng serving as the Grand Review Officer. The 1964 National Day parade was struck by tragedy when a low flyingair forceF-104 Starfighterfighter aircraft struck aBroadcasting Corporation of China tower, causing the plane's fuel tank to fall and kill three people including a woman and her baby in front of theCentral Weather Bureau building in downtownTaipei. The other two remaining F-104 aircraft were ordered to look for the crashed aircraft and accidentally collided and crashed inTucheng City,Taipei County (nowNew Taipei City), killing both pilots. The parade was not held again until 1971 (the 60th anniversary), while the mobile column and flypast segments returned in 1975. WhenChen Shui-bian became president, the parade was not held until 2007 and then it was entitled a "Celebration Drill" and not a traditional military parade. SinceMa Ying-jeou became president, one parade has been held on thecentenary celebrations of the Double Tenth Day, and another on the 105th, the only one under Tsai Ing-wen's presidency.
The tradition of shouting "Long live the Republic of China!" (中華民國萬歲;Zhonghua Mingguo Wansui!) at the end of the addresses by the president of the Republic of China was not held for the first time in 2016. It was also the very year that fire and police services joined the parade for the first time in history, breaking the tradition of an exclusively-military parade to include personnel from civil uniformed services.
| Parade Year | Exercise Name | Grand Review Officer | Venue | Parade Commander | Number of Troops | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1949 | — | Chen Cheng | Taipei | Unknown | First military parade held inTaiwan under the control of theRepublic of China. | |
| 1951 | — | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Ai Ai | ROC Fortieth Anniversary | |
| 1952 | 復華演習 | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Tang Shou-chi | 10,046 | |
| 1953 | — | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Zhou Yuhuan | 19,000 | |
| 1954 | — | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Xu Rucheng | Flyby aircraft was requisitioned for the defense of Quemoy during theFirst Taiwan Strait Crisis | |
| 1955 | 光華演習 | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Cheng Wei-yuan | ||
| 1956 | 光復演習 | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Liu Dinghan | 21,500 | |
| 1957 | 中興演習 | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Hu Xin | 12,000 | |
| 1960 | 鼎興演習 | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Chu Yuan-Cong | ||
| 1961 | 復興演習 | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Cheng Wei-yuan | ROC Fiftieth Anniversary (Golden Jubilee) | |
| 復華演習 | Taipei | Cancelled on September 11, 1962 | ||||
| 1963 | 復漢演習 | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Yuan Guo-Zheng | 15,370 | |
| 1964 | 興漢演習 | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | Hau Pei-tsun | TwoF-104 aircraft collided after an air formation, killing both pilots | |
| 1971 | Chiang Kai-shek | Taipei | First parade after 6 years absence, marked the 60th Anniversary of the ROC, ground column only present | |||
| 1975 | 大漢演習 | Yen Chia-kan | Taipei | Zhang Jiajun | Full remastered video of 1975 National Day parade | |
| 1978 | 漢威演習 | Chiang Ching-kuo | Taipei | Chiang Chung-ling | Flypast cancelled due to rainy weather | |
| 1979 | Chiang Ching-kuo | Taipei | Ground column only present, air flypast and military mobile column cancelled Full video of 1979 National Day parade | |||
| 1980 | Chiang Ching-kuo | Taipei | ||||
| 1981 | 漢武演習 | Chiang Ching-kuo | Taipei | Hsu Li-nung | 11,966 | ROC Seventieth Anniversary |
| 1982 | Chiang Ching-kuo | Taipei | ||||
| 1986 | Chiang Ching-kuo | Taipei | ROC Seventy-Fifth Anniversary (Diamond Jubilee) | |||
| 1987 | 僑泰演習 | Chiang Ching-kuo | Taipei | It was the last military parade held during Chiang Ching-kuo's administration. It was held on 11 October, the day after the Double Ten Day celebrations due to Chiang's ailing condition. (Also the first since the abolition of Martial Law in Taiwan earlier that July.) | ||
| 1988 | 光武演習 | Lee Teng-hui | Taipei | Chen Tingchong | 13,166 | ROC Seventy-Seventh Anniversary |
| 1991 | 華統演習 | Lee Teng-hui | Taipei | Ro Wenshan | 12,566 | ROC Eightieth Anniversary |
| 2007 | 同慶操演 | Chen Shui-bian | Taipei | Wu Sihuai | 3,000 | Exhibitions presented on national defense, non-traditional military parade |
| 2011 | Ma Ying-jeou | Taipei | 1,000+ | The centennial event featured a skydiving show of 12 paratroopers of the Army Airborne Training Center above the plaza in front of the Presidential Office.[10] Military parade involving 1,000+ personnel, 71 aircraft and 168 vehicles.[11] On the part of the ground troops only the ROCAF Honor Guard Battalion and the ROCAF Composite Headquarters Band joined the parade on behalf of the armed forces. | ||
| 2016 | 慶祥操演 | Tsai Ing-wen | Taipei | 2,500+ | ||
| 2017 | Tsai Ing-wen | Taipei | ||||
| 2021 | Tsai Ing-wen | Taipei | ||||
| 2022 | Tsai Ing-wen | Taipei | ||||
| 2023 | Tsai Ing-wen | Taipei | [12] | |||
| 2024 | Lai Ching-te | Taipei |
Until 1991, following the opening report by the Parade commander, usually a lieutenant general or vice admiral of the ROCAF, the massed military bands of the ROC Armed Forces, led by the Senior Drum Major, would take their positions in the parade, playing the ROC Armed Forces March, a medley of the official songs of the service branches of the armed forces. Then the parade would march past, in the following sequence, with minor variations over the years:
The parade's flypast segment was for many years organized in like manner as in theBastille Day military parade. First, while the honor guard departs from the presidential grandstand the training, fighter and transport aircraft of the ROC Air Force, the transport and anti-submarine aircraft of ROCN Naval Aviation and transport planes of ROCA Army Aviation fly past first, followed by the helicopters of all three service branches, together with those of theNational Police Agency,National Fire Agency andCoast Guard Administration after the ground column segment is concluded.
The mobile column, for many years, served as a crowd favorite of National Day civil-military parades, since in this segment the ROC shows off to its people the advanced and modern military equipment and vehicles in service and those being introduced, many of them nationally produced, for use by the servicemen and women of the ROCAF, and since 2016, the state civil security institutions. As in every parade, the ROCMP's motorcycle column leads off the mobile column segment, followed by (as of 2016):
Alongside the military and civil security mobile column, in the parades of the 70s and 80s and in more recent parades, a civil mobile column is present, composed of vehicles from the automobile and truck companies, state-owned firms, and the private sector.
As theChinese Communist Party became the official government of mainland China in 1949, 10 October is now celebrated in thePeople's Republic of China as the anniversary of theXinhai Revolution and theWuchang Uprising.
The former British colony of Hong Kong celebrated the ROC National Day as apublic holiday until thegovernment of the United Kingdom cut its diplomatic relations with the ROC Government as London recognized Beijing in 1950, shortly after the PRC's founding and it was postponed.[13] The former Portuguese colony of Macau had celebrated the ROC national day as apublic holiday until thegovernment of Portugal cut its relations as Lisbon recognizes Beijing in 1979. After thecivil war in mainland China, the National Day was celebrated in regions inhabited by Chinese patriots who remained loyal to the Republic. Before the sovereignty ofHong Kong was transferred to the PRC in 1997 andMacau also transferred in 1999, many ROC supporters there would display patriotic and colourful flags (mainly thenational flag of ROC) to celebrate the National Day. Taiwan agencies in Hong Kong and Macau have annually held a public ceremony to celebrate the National Day of ROC with members ofpro-ROC private groups.[14] The day continues to be celebrated in Hong Kong and Macau after the transfer of sovereignty to the mainland, but the national flags publicly shown have been removed byPolice of Hong Kong since July 1997 and byPolice of Macau since December 1999.[15] Flag-raising ceremony atHung Lau, Tuen Mun, Sun Yat-sen's revolutionary base, is the most noticeable yearly event, organized byJohnny Mak. Since 2020, the event was celebrated as the PRC's Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution rather than the ROC's Double Ten Day in line with the holidays in mainland China.Chris Tang claimed in September 2021 that celebrations in Hong Kong for Double Ten Day could risk breaching thenational security law.[16][17] The event in Macau is commemorated under the name of the Xinhai Revolution Memorial Day.
Overseas Chinese played a key role in the birth of the ROC since the nation's founding fatherSun Yat-sen, a medical doctor by training, received financial support mainly from the overseas Chinese communities abroad to overthrow the imperialQing dynasty and establish the second republic in Asia in 1912. Outside Taiwan, the National Day is also celebrated by manyOverseas Chinese communities. Sizable National Day parades occur yearly in theChinatowns ofSan Francisco andChicago.
Media related toNational Day of the Republic of China at Wikimedia Commons
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