In 2016, the
Tsai Ing-wen government removed seven public holidays. The holidays were removed due to a political compromise arising from a campaign promise Tsai made while running for president that committed her government to providing two days off per week for all workers. When implementing the change, the government faced opposition from various interests including businesses, and a compromise was reached to provide two days off per week and remove seven paid public holidays. • September 3,
Armed Forces Day • September 28,
Confucius' Birthday • October 25,
Retrocession Day (commemorating the end of
Japanese rule of
Taiwan and
Penghu and the return of Taiwan to the
Republic of China) • October 31,
Chiang Kai-shek's Birthday • November 12,
Sun Yat-sen's Birthday • December 25,
Constitution Day Attempted reinstatement of removed holidays in 2025 A longstanding political debate over reinstating the removed public holidays was reignited during the second session of the
Legislative Yuan in February, 2025.
Kuomintang legislators said they would seek to reinstate the holidays by amending labor regulations. The proposal received support from a
Taiwan People's Party legislator who said their party would support the change. The
Democratic Progressive Party caucus suggested the proposal was
populist. On May 9, 2025, the Legislative Yuan passed the
third reading of the Memorial Days and Holidays Implementation Act, upgrading the prior administrative-level regulations to legal status. The reform introduces four new national holidays:
Lunar New Year's Eve,
Confucius' Birthday (September 28),
Taiwan Retrocession and Battle of Guningtou Memorial Day (October 25), and
Constitution Day (December 25). Additionally,
Labor Day (May 1), previously a holiday only for laborers, is now a national holiday for all citizens. The revised law also guarantees that the Lunar New Year break will span at least seven days, potentially extending to ten. Further adjustments include allowing Indigenous peoples to choose three holidays based on their specific traditional ceremonies. New commemorative days such as Freedom of Speech Day (April 7), Indigenous Resistance Day (June 16), and
Human Rights Day (December 10) were also added. ==Table of Taiwan holidays==