In response to current inquiries from native media, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) asserted that neither the Cairo Declaration or the Potsdam Proclamation, nor the San Francisco Peace Treaty, might “decide Taiwan’s ultimate political standing”. This remark was subsequently endorsed as “correct” by the US State Department, writes visitor contributor Mei Xin.
The Democratic Progressive Party authorities in Taiwan did not hesitate to observe up in claiming that “the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China aren’t subordinate to one another”.
This egregiously false narrative will not be solely a blatant distortion of historical past since World War II, but additionally a harmful try to undermine the present world order. It should be categorically refuted.
What actually occurred?
In 1895, Japan pressured China’s Qing Dynasty to signal the Treaty of Shimonoseki, beneath which Taiwan and the Penghu Islands have been ceded. Although the treaty was unequal, the actual fact of cession proves that, previous to 1895, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands have been a part of Chinese territory — and that Japan stole Taiwan from China, not from some other state.
In 1941, the Chinese authorities issued its Declaration of War on Japan, proclaiming that every one treaties, agreements and contracts affecting China-Japan relations have been null and void, and asserting the restoration of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands.
In 1943, the governments of China, the US and the UK issued the Cairo Declaration, which explicitly stipulated that territories stolen by Japan from China, together with Taiwan, must be restored to China.
In 1945, China, the US and the UK issued the Potsdam Proclamation, which was subsequently acknowledged by the Soviet Union, reaffirming that the phrases of the Cairo Declaration should be applied. That identical 12 months, Japan signed the Instrument of Surrender, pledging to faithfully implement the obligations set out within the Potsdam Proclamation.
On October 25, 1945, the Chinese authorities introduced the resumption of its train of sovereignty over Taiwan and the ceremony to just accept Japan’s give up in Taiwan Province was held in Taipei. Thus, by a sequence of devices acknowledged beneath worldwide regulation, China resumed the train of sovereignty over Taiwan, actually and in regulation.
Why arguments claiming in any other case are untenable
The San Francisco Peace Treaty (formally the Treaty of Peace with Japan) was a separate try at “peace” made by the United States in collusion with sure international locations, which intentionally excluded China and the Soviet Union and left the sovereignty of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands undefined.
The treaty was an illegal and invalid doc, because it contravened the 1942 Declaration by the United Nations, which explicitly prohibited any signatory from concluding a separate peace with the enemy, and violated the UN Charter and the basic rules of worldwide regulation.
The so-called 1952 Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty — concluded by the Taiwan authorities, who not represented China — was likewise illegal and invalid and positioned no binding dedication on China. China recovered Taiwan in regulation and in reality in 1945. By 1951, Japan had lengthy ended its occupation of Taiwan, and had no proper to eliminate or alter the authorized standing of a territory that was not its personal.
How the US reneged on its dedication
On January 5, 1950, US President Harry Truman issued an announcement on Taiwan, making clear that “for the previous 4 years the United States and different Allied Powers have accepted the train of Chinese authority over the island”.
In 1972, throughout his go to to China, President Richard Nixon advised Premier Zhou Enlai in person who the United States would not difficulty statements suggesting that “Taiwan’s standing is undetermined”.
Taiwan is part of China. The query of Taiwan’s standing was conclusively settled in 1945 with China’s victory within the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the worldwide victory over fascism.
Taiwan’s return to China is each a fruit of World War II and an integral a part of the postwar worldwide order — a victory received by the blood and sacrifice of the Chinese individuals, together with compatriots in Taiwan.
No false narrative peddled by anti-China forces can overturn that truth.
The creator is an observer of worldwide affairs.
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