清光緒21年（西元1895年），清廷在中日甲午戰爭中戰敗。同年4月17日，中日兩國在日本下關簽訂《馬關條約》（Treaty of Shimonoseki），其第2條規定中國應將遼東半島、臺灣及其附屬島嶼及澎湖列島割讓予日本。6月2日中日雙方代表李經方與樺山資紀在基隆外海日本軍艦上辦理臺灣、澎湖及附屬島嶼的割讓、接收手續，日本並於壓制臺灣人民全島長達五個多月激烈的武裝反抗後，展開50年的殖民統治。
民國32年（西元1943年）12月1日中、美、英三國發表《開羅宣言》（Cairo Declaration），具體要求戰後日本「須將竊自中國的東北四省、臺灣與澎湖歸還中華民國」（…all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China.）
民國34年（西元 1945年）年7月26日中、美、英三國領袖發布《波茲坦公告》（Potsdam Proclamation），》其第8條重申「《開羅宣言之條件必須貫徹實施」（The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out…）。
民國34年（西元1945年）8月14日，日本接受《波茲坦公告》，宣布無條件投降，並於同年9月2日在美國密蘇里軍艦上簽署《日本降伏文書》（Japanese Instrument of Surrender）。該文書第1條中載明「茲接受美、中、英、蘇四國政府領袖於1945年7月26日於波茲坦所發表及所列舉之條款。（We,… hereby accept the provisions in the declaration issued by the heads of the Governments of the United States, China and Great Britain on July 26, 1945, at Potsdam, and subsequently adhered to by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics…」換言之，《波茲坦公告》第8條有關《開羅宣言》之條件必須貫徹實施，係日本於《降伏文書》中所承諾之事項，日本當然必須履行，將東北四省、臺灣、澎湖歸還中華民國。
不論《開羅宣言》、《波茲坦公告》或《日本降伏文書》，中華民國均將之視為具有條約效力的法律文件。美國政府除將《開羅宣言》與《波茲坦公告》編入《美國條約及其他國際協定彙編》（Treaties and Other International Agreements Series）外，並將《日本降伏文書》收入《美國法規大全》（Statutes at Large）。是以，就國際法而言，《開羅宣言》、《波茲坦公告》與《日本降伏文書》皆係具有約束力的法律文件。
民國40年（西元1951 年）9月8日，戰時各同盟國與日本在美國舊金山舉行和會，簽署《對日和平條約》（Treaty of Peace with Japan）（史稱《舊金山和約》），正式結束戰爭狀態，並處理日本領土等相關問題。和會舉行當時，中國內戰未歇，韓戰方興未艾，國際情勢極為複雜。和會與會國家無法就邀請兩岸雙方何一方參加會議達成協議，以致艱苦抗戰8年、犧牲至少兩千萬軍民的中華民國，竟未能受邀參加舊金山和會。與會各國締約時達成共識，於《舊金山和約》第2條有關日本宣布放棄領土，包括臺灣、澎湖、千島群島、庫頁島、南冰洋及南沙群島等，皆採取「不言明日本歸還給何國」之體例，並授權當事國與日本另行簽訂條約，解決領土等問題。
日本爰依該條規定，於民國41年（西元1952年）4月28日在台北與我國簽訂《中華民國與日本國間和平條約》（Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan），史稱《中日和約》。《中日和約》目的主要為：第一，正式終止戰爭狀態（戰爭行為已實際結束，日本也簽署《降伏文書》，但在形式上仍須有一和約以表述兩國戰爭狀態之終止）；第二，確認戰後雙方關係（如處理領土、戰爭賠償、財產、人民國籍等問題）。
28 April 2022 is the 70th anniversary of the San Francisco Peace Treaty ratified day, and Taiwan's final international status has once again become the focus of public opinion. China's Taiwan Affairs Office said it has sovereignty over Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China said that Taiwan, the ROC, is a sovereign and independent country, and Taiwan has never been part of the PRC. It seems that these two governments, which claim to represent China, are vying for Taiwan's territorial sovereignty; but the PRC, from its founding to the present, has absolutely nothing to do with Taiwan. Relying on it, the UN Resolution 2758 on October 25, 1971, which determined that the PRC was the only legitimate government representative of China in the world and expelled the UN seat illegally occupied by the representative of Chiang Kai-shek on the spot. The resolution did not touch Taiwan's sovereignty in the slightest. Although the PRC legally inherited and the ROC’s Chinese seat in the UN, it did not obtain the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu, because the ROC never had Taiwan's sovereignty.
However, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the ROC is still marked on its official website. The statement announced on June 20, 2017:
Post on "Taiwan's Status in International Law". Now let me examine one by one, the truth and falsehood of what they say.
I. Introduction
"Taiwan is the territory of the Republic of China" is a claim that absolutely conforms to history and international law. On September 9, the 34th year of the Republic of China (1945 AD), the government of the Republic of China accepted the defeat of Japan in Nanjing and surrendered. a province, three months later and the Taiwanese people's nationality of the Republic of China will be restored, retroactive to October 25, 1934. In other words, the Republic of China has exercised its territorial sovereignty over Taiwan in law (de jure) and de facto (de facto) since October 25, 2009. This fact of restoring sovereignty was confirmed after the Republic of China and Japan signed the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty on April 28, 1952.
FACT:
On October 25, 1945, the surrender ceremony held at the Taipei Public Hall was based on the No. 1 General Order issued by General MacArthur, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. General He Yingqin, appointed by CKS as the fully authorized representative of surrender, he appointed Chen Yi to chair and accept the surrender ceremony of General Ando Rikichi, the Japanese governor in Taiwan and the commander of the 10th Army of the Japanese Army. Because the war was not over, the Peace Conference was not held in San Francisco until six years later then the peace treaty was signed. The so-called Taiwan Restoration is actually a nonsense to deceive the world and steal its name; Taiwan has not been liberated at all, but has been traped to a more miserable military occupation by massacres. The Taipei Treaty signed on April 28, 1952, known as the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty, aimed to put an end to the war between Japan and China, and said nothing about the transfer of Taiwan's sovereignty.
2. The legal basis and facts for the return of Taiwan's sovereignty to the Republic of China
In the 21st year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1895 AD), the Qing court was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War. On April 17 of the same year, China and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki in Shimonoseki, Japan, Article 2 of which stipulated that China should cede the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan and its affiliated islands and the Penghu Islands to Japan. On June 2, representatives of China and Japan, Li Jingfang and Huashan Ziji, went through the formalities for the cession and takeover of Taiwan, Penghu, and its affiliated islands on a Japanese warship off Keelung. Start 50 years of colonial rule.
FACT:
The Treaty of Shimonoseki is that China authorized as early as 1895 to formally cede the full sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu to Japan in perpetuity; it is not the land that Japan plundered in World War II.
After the end of WWII, Taiwan's sovereignty was returned to the ROC from Japan. This change stemmed from Japan's war of aggression against China. On July 7, the 26th year of the ROC (1937 AD), the Japanese army launched the Lugouqiao Incident in Wanping County, Hebei Province, undeclaring war against China. Ten days later, Chairman CKS of the Nationalist Government delivered a speech, declaring his determination to fight the war to the end. In the 30th year of the ROC (AD 1941), Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 8. The US Navy suffered heavy casualties. The US immediately declared war on Japan. The government of the ROC immediately declared war on the Axis powers such as Japan, Germany and Italy the next day, and announced that all treaties, agreements and contracts between China and Japan would be abolished; the Treaty of Shimonoseki was of course included.
FACT:
International treaties are not abolished unilaterally, they must be ratified by an exchange of notes. Shimonoseki was signed in 1895 and is still in effect even today. In the Treaty of Taipei, or the Sino-Japanese Agreement, and the San Francisco Peace Treaty, Japan clearly stated that Japan only gave up the privileges and interests it had enjoyed in China since the 1901 Xin Chou Treaty.
On December 1, the 32nd year of the Republic of China (1943 AD), China, the United States, and the United Kingdom issued the "Cairo Declaration", which specifically demanded that after the war Japan "must return the four northeastern provinces, Taiwan and Penghu stolen from China to the Republic of China. (…all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China.)
FACT:
The Cairo Declaration is just an intent of the three leaders, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Chiang Kai-shek on how to plan Japan's territory after the war. Although CKS has repeatedly demanded that the sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu be returned to China, but Taiwan and Penghu were not lands plundered by Japan during WWII, and the territories that were formally ceded according to the Treaty of Shimonoseki, there was no resolution and no signatures in the final talks. On the day of the release, no one was present, but it was broadcasted by news via Cairo Radio.
On July 26, the 34th year of the Republic of China (1945), the leaders of China, the US, and the UK issued the Potsdam Proclamation, Article 8 of which reiterated that terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out….
On August 14, the 34th year of the ROC (1945 AD), Japan accepted the Potsdam Proclamation, announcing its unconditional surrender, and on September 2 of the same year, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on the Missouri warship of the US. Article 1 of the instrument states: "We...hereby accept the provisions in the declaration issued by the heads of the Governments of the United States, China, and Great Britain on July 26, 1945, at Potsdam, and subsequently adhered to by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics…” In other words, the Potsdam Declaration, Article 8 Article 1 The conditions of the Cairo Declaration must be implemented, which is what Japan promised in the "Submission Instrument". Of course, Japan must fulfill it and return the four northeastern provinces, Taiwan, and Penghu to the ROC.
FACT:
The Potsdam Conference was mainly a peace conference held to end the European Theater. The second half of the meeting was held on July 26, 1945, to discuss how to end the Pacific Theater. CKS did not present at all, so the issue of the ownership of Taiwan and Penghu sovereignty was not discussed at the scene. Article 8 of the Potsdam Proclamation reiterates that "the conditions of the Cairo Declaration must be implemented. It refers to the territorial scope of Japan, and Japan's sovereignty must be limited to Honshu, Kyushu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and other small islands determined by the governments of the three countries." Japan's surrender is Japan's confirmation that it is willing to accept it unconditionally in accordance with the Potsdam Announcement and listen to the decisions of the Allies and let it be dealt with at will.
Regardless of the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation or the Japanese Surrender Instrument, the ROC regards it as a legal document with the effect of a treaty. In addition to incorporating the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation into the Treaties and Other International Agreements Series, the U.S. government also included the Japanese Surrender Instrument in the Statutes of the United States. at Large). Therefore, in terms of international law, the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Japanese Surrender Instrument are all binding legal documents.
FACTS:
Regardless of the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, the U.S. Treaty, and a compilation of other international agreements, there is absolutely no word mention of the sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu to China or the ROC.
On October 25, the 34th year of the ROC (1945), the Governor of Japan and Taiwan surrendered to the government of the ROC in Taipei. On the same day, the government of the ROC announced the restoration of sovereignty over Taiwan and the Penghu Islands. Afterwards, the government of the ROC began to effectively govern Taiwan, Penghu, and its affiliated islands: On January 12, 1945, the ROC nationality of Taiwan and Penghu residents was reinstated, and it took effect on October 25, 1945. Another example is the implementation of a democratic system. For example, in the 35th year of the ROC (AD 1946), the provincial and county council elections were held in Taiwan. The following year, the Office of the Chief Executive of Taiwan Province was changed to the Taiwan Provincial Government.
FACT:
On January 12, 1946, the Executive Yuan of the Government of the ROC ordered the change of the nationality of Taiwanese without authorization. It was an international war criminal act. At that time, it was protested by the British Embassy in China because the peace conference had not yet been held. Taiwan was still a Japanese territory at that time. China was only authorized to military Occupied. See, CKS even sent a telegram on January 12, 1949, scolding Chen Cheng for not touting. Chiang said the legal status and sovereignty of Taiwan before a peace conference it was only a trust land. Claiming Taiwan as our last fortress of the suppression of the Communist Party and the basis of national rejuvenation, wouldn't it make people with a little common sense at home and abroad laugh at it as madness.
In December of the 38th year of the ROC (1949 AD), the Central Government of the ROC relocated to Taiwan. From 1945 to 1949, the international community had no objection to the effective exercise of sovereignty by the ROC over Taiwan. For example, on January 5, 1950, US President Harry Truman issued a statement saying: "In the Cairo Joint Statement of December 1, 1943, the US President, the British Prime Minister and the Chinese President declared that their purpose was to return the territory such as Formosa (Taiwan) Japan stole from China back to the ROC. The US government declared in the Potsdam Proclamation that the terms of the Cairo Declaration should be implemented. These terms were accepted by Japan when Japan surrendered. Following the above declaration, Formosa was handed over to Chairman CKS. For the past four years, the US and other allies have accepted China's exercise of power on the island."
FACT:
The public statement issued by President Truman on January 5, 1950, aimed at showing goodwill to China and conveying that the US would not intervene in the Chinese civil war. Although the U.S. will continue to provide economic assistance to Taiwan, the U.S. military aid and advice will cease. This expresses to the international community that in the face of China’s new changing situation, the U.S. reiterates its open-door policy toward China and does not acquire any sphere of influence within China. Or establish a foreign control system without acquiring special rights or privileges within China. However, Truman's "stand-by statement" of January 5, 1950, was overwritten by his "undecided statement of sovereignty" of Taiwan on June 27, 1950. Whether it is the Cairo Public Statement, the Potsdam Proclamation, or the surrender instrument of Japan, they are all dealing with the discussion process after the end of the war in Japan, and the San Francisco contract is the conclusion.
Seven years after Taiwan's retrocession, the "Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty" signed by the ROC and Japan in 1952 was only a treaty to reconfirm the return of Taiwan's territorial sovereignty to the ROC. In fact, whether the peace treaty is signed or not does not affect the sovereignty of the ROC over Taiwan, but only the development of normal diplomatic relations between the ROC and Japan after the war. When the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty was signed, the people of Taiwan were already nationals of the ROC and had already celebrated Taiwan's retrocession seven times.
FACT:
The signing of the SFPT is of course seriously related to the final legal status that Taiwan should have. To misinterpret the surrender ceremony as the retrocession of Taiwan is truly a shame for those in Taiwan who have no concept of international law.
3. "SFPT", "Sino-Japan Peace Treaty" and Taiwan's Sovereignty Attribution
After the end of WWII, a civil war broke out in China. In the 37th year of the ROC (1948), the war situation was reversed, and the CCP gradually gained an advantage. On October 1, the 38th year of the Republic of China (1949 AD), the CCP announced the founding of the PRC; in December of the same year, the ROC government relocated to Taiwan.
FACT:
In 1949, the entourage of the KMT people went to Taiwan as refugees. Because CKS still had the authorization to occupy Taiwan by military, they were granted asylum in Taiwan.
In the 39th year of the ROC (1950), the Korean War broke out on June 25, and the international situation changed. A statement issued two days later: " Accordingly I have ordered the 7th Fleet to prevent any attack on Formosa. As a corollary of this action, I am calling upon the Chinese Government on Formosa to cease all air and sea operations against the mainland. The 7th Fleet will see that this is done. The determination of the future status of Formosa must await the restoration of security in the Pacific, a peace settlement with Japan, or consideration by the United Nations.” The US was making this claim on Taiwan's status should be made to avoid the suspicion of interfering in China's internal affairs in its actions after the outbreak of the Korean War. However, the so-called "undetermined legal status of Taiwan" also arises. The day after President Truman's statement (June 28), the ROC Foreign Minister George KC Yeh immediately stated on Taiwan's status that "Taiwan belongs to China's territory” to ensure a correct understanding of the facts.
FACT:
After the outbreak of the Korean War, to prevent Taiwan from being communized, the US did not want to see CKS taking the opportunity to counterattack and restore the country to the chaos, so it dispatched the US Seventh Fleet to patrol the Taiwan Strait. As for the final status of Taiwan in the future, it should be considered by the UN after security in the Pacific region is restored, or when a peace treaty is concluded with Japan. Therefore, the final legal status that Taiwan should have after the war has been unresolved since then.
On September 8, the 40th year of the ROC (1951), the wartime Allies and Japan held a peace meeting in San Francisco, USA. Signed the Treaty of Peace with Japan (historically known as the San Francisco Peace Treaty), officially end the state of war and deal with related issues such as Japanese territory. When the Peace Conference was held, the Chinese civil war had not ended, and the Korean war is in the ascendant, and the international situation is extremely complicated. The countries participating in the peace conference cannot decide whether to invite either side of the two sides of the strait to participate in the conference. An agreement was reached, so that the ROC, which had fought hard for 8 years and sacrificed at least 20 million soldiers and civilians, was not invited to participate in the San Francisco Peace Conference. The participating countries reached a consensus when they signed the treaty, and Japan announced the renunciation of its territorial status in Article 2 of the SFPT, including Taiwan, Penghu, the Thousand Islands, Sakhalin, the Antartic Sea and the Spratly Islands, all adopt the "No specifying the recipient Japan will give to”. It only authorized the countries concerned to sign separate treaties with Japan to resolve territorial and other issues.
FSCT:
In 1951, the international community's attitude towards China's civil war was unable to gather a general international consensus to decide who had the right and ability to represent a single Chinese voice to cut the peace conditions. Some think this government is suitable, some think the other is suitable, and some doubt that neither is suitable. The international community faces, until they can agree, that there is a legitimate and prestige government in China; it would be wrong, cruel, and stupid to punish Japan for the civil war in China and the international differences of opinion on China. Another idea is that each ally could refuse to sign a peace treaty with Japan unless the Chinese government of its choice also co-signs it; this would create resentment in Japan and a serious threat around the world, at a time when great unity is most needed, It will stimulate and aggravate the division of the Allies. The remaining option is for the Allies to make peace widely without any Chinese co-signature, and let Japan and China make their peace, on condition of course that China's rights and interests will be fully guaranteed.
In accordance with the provisions of this article, Japan signed the "ROC-Japan Agreement" with my country in Taipei on April 28, 1952, the 41st year of the ROC. The Treaty of Peace between the ROC and Japan, known as the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty. The main purposes of the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty are: first, to formally end the war status (the act of war has actually ended, and Japan has signed the "Submission Instrument", but in the form of a peace treaty to express the termination of the state of war between the two countries); second, confirming the relationship between the two parties after the war (such as dealing with territory, war compensation, financial issues such as property, nationality of the people, etc.)
FACT:
Although ROC/KMT represented by the CKS, the PRC/CCP represented by Mao did not send personnel to attend the San Francisco Peace Conference, China's due rights and interests have been fully respected and implemented. In Article 26 of the Peace Treaty, China is empowered to sign a peace treaty with Japan that is consistent with the terms of the existing treaty. Japan has signed the Taipei Treaty with the Republic of China on April 28, 1952; and the People's Republic of China, signed the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship on August 12, 1978. Moreover, in Article 21, China, without the need for a signature, obtained Japan's renunciation of "Article 10", all of Japan's special rights and interests in China, which is consistent with the requirements proposed by the Republic of China. Moreover, without the need to sign, China automatically obtains, as set out in Article 14(a) 2, the benefits of acknowledging the seizure of Japanese property in its jurisdiction. The San Francisco contract is fully preserved, and China has the right to be a member of the victorious alliance in this war.
Article 2 of the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty stipulates: "It is hereby acknowledged that it was signed in San Francisco, USA on September 8, 1951, according to the Gregorian calendar. Article 2 of the Peace Treaty with Japan, Japan has renounced all right, title and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores.” Although, this article is modeled on the style of the SFPT, it does not expressly stipulate that Taiwan and Penghu should be returned to the ROC, but the ROC is a party to this bilateral peace treaty, and Article 4 recognizes that 30 years before the ROC, all treaties concluded between China and Japan (including the Treaty of Shimonoseki which ceded Taiwan to Japan) were concluded due to war. The result is invalid, so the significance of affirming Taiwan as the territory of the ROC is obvious. In addition, some clauses in the treaty, is even more premised that "Taiwan belongs to the ROC", otherwise the clause is meaningless and unenforceable. For example, as Article 3 deals with the handling of Japanese property in Penghu, Taiwan, and Article 10 deals with the fact that all residents of Penghu, Taiwan are nationals of the ROC identification and so on are all.
FACT:
Japan did declare in Article 4 of the Taipei Treaty: “It is recognized that all treaties, conventions and agreements concluded before December 9, 1941, between Japan and China have become null and void as a consequence of the war.” But then it was specifically stated in Article 5 of the Taipei Treaty: “It is recognized that under the provisions of Article 10 of the San Francisco Treaty, Japan has renounced all special rights and interests in China, including all benefits and privileges resulting from the provisions of the final Protocol signed at Peking on September 7, 1901, and all annexes, notes, and documents supplementary thereto, and has agreed to the abrogation in respect to Japan of the said protocol, annexes, notes and documents.” This has nothing to do with the Shimonoseki Treaty signed in 1895, there are six years apart.
4. Conclusion
Since the 34th year of the ROC (1945 AD), the government of the ROC has restored the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands and has effectively exercised jurisdiction. It has been more than 71 years since then. The fate of the ROC and the fate of Taiwan are inseparable. Our government implements constitutional administration in accordance with the Constitution and promotes democracy and the rule of law. In the 39th year of the ROC (1950 AD), the election of county mayors and county and city councils, provincial councils’ elections, and the 59th year of the ROC (1970 AD) began to handle the election of additional central public opinion representatives. In 79 years of the ROC (1990 AD), the National Assembly began to be fully re-elected; in 1985 (1996), a direct election of the president was held, which fully realized the concept of "sovereignty in the people" in the Constitution and the common ground of freedom, democracy, rule of law and human rights. Faith is pushed to a new milestone.
FACT:
Today, because Taiwan has practiced democracy since the lifting of the Martial law, it elects a president, various levels of government and representatives of public opinion. It is indeed a political entity that is a model of democracy. Because of this, some people think that it is a democratic country with sovereignty of the people, but this is not the case. Because what Taiwan currently has, Popular Sovereignty is a broad basic human right, but it is not the Territory Sovereignty or National Sovereignty required by the international community. Taiwan still must go through the laws of war and obtain permission and authorization from the United States, the main occupying power, before it can gradually acquire Taiwan's territorial sovereignty in accordance with the law.
At present, there are also some experts and scholars in Taiwan. To conform to the wishes of those in power, they say that Taiwan's status is undecided for a while, and that Taiwan's status has been determined for a while. They always think that with the democratization of Taiwan, they can naturally evolve and transform into a sovereign and independent country. They say that in the past, sovereignty was undetermined, but now that society is democratized, sovereignty has been determined. However, they still can't tell, and can't come up with the ROC Taiwan. When did this country become independent, what year, what month, and what day was it established? Can there be a constitution that clearly indicates the scope of the country? Well, after you have checked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' posts about Taiwan's international legal status, do you agree with what it said, or do you think what it said is a big scam? Respecting a reply from MOFA!
