On June 26, 2022, 6-8pm in the evening, I was invited by Douglas Chiang, founder of the forum of Taiwan new-name, new constitution, and new nation to speak on an online seminar. My topic was to review the history of Taiwan after WWII. The content of my speech is roughly divided into several outlines: 1. Rectifying name: What is the right name for Taiwan? 2. The US-Taiwan: What is the relationship between the US and Taiwan? 3. Resume: International Relations Studies. 4. History: Five hundred years of Taiwan history. 5, the US and Spain: the Spanish-American War Peace Treaty. 6. WWII: WWII and SFPT. 7. Russia and Ukraine: the impact of the Russia-Ukraine War. 8. Conclusion: Taiwan is not a part of China.
The speech that day was recognized by most of the participants, although there were of course different opinions. Dr. Ted Lau, a well-known opinion leader in Taiwan, put forward his personal comments and said: "1. Why is independence needed to walk away from a nation? It should be the subject of one's own desire and not be controlled by others. This is called independence. In the late Shogunate, Japan was not occupied at that time. It entered the Meiji Restoration. The Japanese sages demanded independence, and they became independent. Now some people created their own words to interpreter and miss the point. Independence means that Taiwanese are not controlled by foreign powers and foreign laws. Taiwanese simply want to be their own master. 2. Now the US government has no power over Taiwan since the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Don't talk about the principal occupying areas. Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines just mentioned, these were all written in Spanish treaties ceded to the US. But there is no clause in the treaty that says that Taiwan should be handed over to the US; and the US has never claimed its rights to Taiwan since the war. The US' interference in Taiwan is based on its national interests, he said. A bad sentence is imperialism, just like Putin’s interference in Ukraine. This is the reality of international power. The Taiwanese must be independent, be their own masters, and master their subjectivity. Don’t talk about the USMG all day long? Go through the federal government, this is not the case at all. Without this thing, it is suspicious. 3. If China wants to attack Taiwan, it will not care whether it wants to attack the ROC or Taiwan. They just want to take over Taiwan. International law does not say that it is legal to attack the ROC, but it is illegal to attack Taiwan. China will complete its military modernization in 2027. It was originally scheduled for 2035, but now it speeds up. Once the military modernization is completed in 2027, it will be very difficult for the US to intervene in Taiwan. Once the situation is not right, the US will simply touch nose and walk away. You must know that today the US is nothing to me. The most important thing for Taiwanese people today is to be independent and control Taiwan's security and national defense. Today's biggest problem with Taiwan is that the Taiwanese cannot control security and national defense, because it was controlled by Chinese, not Taiwanese. For Taiwan to be independent, we must focus on the key points, and don’t think about what is or is not.”
Ted Lau is a Ph.D. in mathematics from Ohio State University, USA. He has long been involved the Taiwan independence movement. He is a public opinion leader. However, his comment on that day was specious and debatable. Now allow me to go through it one by one with you.
1st [Independence]
Dr. Lau said, why does independence need to come out of a country, if you want the subject to be the master of the country, that is independence. He took Japan as an example. The Japanese sages made up their minds to become independent after stepping out of the shogunate. However, the truth is not what he said. The Independence Wars of course, refer to the war to come out of a country, so it is called the War of Independence. As for what he said, if the Taiwanese want to be the masters of the country, they can become a new and independent country. That is to build a nation, not independence. He seems to refer to build a nation as independence, which is what I have repeatedly emphasized in my speech. Because Taiwan does not belong to China, there is no need to ask China for independence. What Taiwan lacks is statehood, not independence. Most of the newly born countries after WWII broke away from the original suzerain and became independent countries. Taiwan does not belong to China, and of course there is no need to ask China for independence. Although Taiwan currently has a democratically elected government and the Taiwanese are the masters of the country, it is still not recognized as a new and independent country. Why? The facts are right in front of us. At present, Taiwan cannot even enter the WHA or WHO. It is still too early to talk about the United Nations.
2nd [US military government]
Dr. Lau said that since the San Francisco Peace Treaty, the US has no rights over Taiwan, and has never heard of the US claiming sovereignty or occupation of Taiwan; from the federal government, there is no USMG. This series of questions seems to tell us that in his perception, Taiwan is only related to China, the ROC or the PRC, and has nothing to do with the US. However, the US Congress has enacted a Taiwan Relations Act, which belongs to the domestic law of the US, to regulate the structure of exchanges between Taiwan and the US. The source of the law is of course the San Francisco Peace Treaty. The US was authorized in the treaty as the principal occupying power of Taiwan. If the SFPT is not clear enough, then why not visit the Internet to listen to the audio and video file of the oral argument in the US Federal Court of Appeals in Washington, DC on February 5, 2009 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0BokP6ggQk.
In 1898, the Cuban Revolutionary Army, which fought side by side with the US against Spain, won the war, but was not immediately recognized by the US as the Cuban government, but waited until the US Congress passed the Platt Amendment. It became a sovereign independent country on May 20, 1902. The Philippines also waited until March 24, 1934, when the U.S. Congress passed the Tydings-McDuffie Act, granting independence ten years later, and then after WWII became independent on July 4, 1946, and later changed to June 12 as the Philippine Independence Day. Although the U.S. Congress has passed the Taiwan Relations Act, like the Tydings-McDuffie Act, it has not yet decided when it will make Taiwan a new and independent country. The U.S. military government of course exists in the U.S. federal government. If Dr. Lau still cannot be found, he can write a request to the U.S. federal court for inquiries.
3rd [Endgame of the Civil War between KMT and CCP]
Dr. Lau believes that once China sends troops to attack Taiwan, he does not care whether it is the ROC or Taiwan. In fact, this is exactly the crux of the problem; because Taiwan today is not the end of the civil war between the KMT and the CCP, but an unfinished business of the US in the Western Pacific. According to UN Resolution 2758, the ROC was officially succeeded by the PRC on October 25, 1971. The international community recognizes that there is only one China in the world, and the PRC is the sole legitimate government of China, and at the same time immediately expels the representative of Chiang Kai-shek to the UN and all its affiliated organizations. Therefore, if the PRC once sent troops to attack the ROC, it would be counted as China's domestic affair, and the international community would be helpless. The US has also recognized one China as early as in the three joint communiques. However, the US and the international community have long confirmed that Taiwan does not belong to China, and the Taiwan Relations Act also informs the world in black and white that Taiwan is not the ROC. Now Dr. Lau says that China doesn't care whether you are Taiwan or the ROC. In fact, this is where your eyebrows lie; you don't care, but the US cares, the international community cares, Taiwanese care, and the justice cares more.
4th [The US commits to defend Taiwan]
Dr. Lau said that the US is a real imperialist. It speaks loudly when it still has military superiority. Once the situation deteriorates, as in Iraq and Afghanistan, if the situation is not right, it will pat on the buttocks and walk away. In fact, the US has always fulfilled its duties since it was authorized by the SFPT in 1951 as the principal occupying power of Taiwan. Regardless of whether the Democratic Party or the Republican Party is in power, maintaining Taiwan's security is the only issue that is not disputed across parties. President Biden said on November 16, 2021: “Its independence, it makes its own decisions. Nothing happens, we’re not going to change our policy at all. […] They have to decide, they Taiwan, not us. And we are not encouraging independence. We’re encouraging that they do exactly what the Taiwan Act requires.” On May 23, 2022, President Biden said: “Yes, That’s the commitment we made. We agree with the ‘one China’ policy. We signed on to it. All the attendant agreements [were] made from there. But the idea that that can be taken by force, just taken by force. It’s just not, it’s just not appropriate.”
Reviewing over Dr. Lau's syllogisms above, it’s clear that he deliberately wanted to “deny the military occupation, deny the SFPT, deny the commitment to the relationship between the US and Taiwan, and encourage Taiwan to get rid of the US and look for independence and secure safety and defense by itself.” This is actually a very dangerous, paradoxical way of thinking. because of him:
1st [hold the green flag against the green flag]
Dr. Lau mistakenly regards popular sovereignty as territorial sovereignty or national sovereignty. He said that Japan was not under occupation, and that it became an independent country only after the Meiji Restoration. Taiwan has not been occupied yet. If it is democratized, it should be an independent country. He completely ignored that Taiwan was a defeat land in WWII, and since September 2, 1945, General MacArthur announced the implementation of the military occupation with the General Oder No. 1. Mistakenly, Taiwan has evolved into a sovereign and independent country since its democratization after 1996. In fact, what Taiwan currently has is what is commonly known as Popular Sovereignty, which is a part of basic human rights, not the Territorial Sovereignty or National Sovereignty required by the international community. Because the Japanese government has never transferred over the sovereignty of Taiwan she has to the government of the ROC exiled government, or the government of the Taiwan State that is not established yet. Sovereignty belongs to the government representing all the people, not to any one individual.
2nd [Ignored the International Treaties]
Dr. Lau is not only erudite, but also knowledgeable. But I don't know which legal theory he used to deny the SFPT, and the authorization given to the principal occupying power of Taiwan after WWII, the US. You must know that the U.S. Court of Appeals Circuit Judge Brown, in the oral argument on February 5, 2009, once verified that the SFPT is still in effect and that the binding force of international peace treaties is equivalent to the rank of the U.S. Constitution. Now, Dr. Lau said, the US has no rights and interests in Taiwan. Maybe he's right, the US has no rights over Taiwan, but only obligations.
3rd [Underestimating the US commitment to defend Taiwan]
Dr. Lau said that once China completes its military modernization, the US will walk away just like it did in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. This is indeed very alarmist, grossly misleading and distorted. Because the TRA is a domestic law enacted by the U.S. Congress, the president of the US is of course obliged to implement it to protect Taiwan's safety. Moreover, the incumbent President Biden responded positively to the inquiry. Once China invades Taiwan by force, the US will inevitably send troops to defend and protect it, because this is the commitment of the US. Michael Richardson, a freelance journalist, and independent political consultant of Examiner.com once said in a keynote speech on June 6, 2009: Taiwan is America's unfinished business in Taiwan after World War II. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvBz9gKQbzk&list=PLniqxcmHbuNz6R5i9mUk6jNCXPvv-1uyr&index=3)
4th [Taiwan cut ties with the US and Japan is very dangerous]
Dr. Lau said that the US is unreliable, and the most important thing for Taiwan is independence. However, history tells us that East Timor declared independence on its own in 1975 and was annexed by Indonesia the following year. Recently, Russia has continuously promoted Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk to secede from Ukraine and declared independence, and then incorporated them into the territory of Russia. Now, some people are actively advocating that the US and Japan are unreliable, and that Taiwan should cut off relations with the US and Japan as soon as possible and step up its steps to declare independence. Now, you get the points.
Taiwan's security is a public domain, and anyone who cares about Taiwan's future should not take it lightly or ignore it. In the past human history, there are indeed many things that can be used for reference. From the Spanish-American War, the WWII, the Russian-Ukrainian War, to the Taiwan Strait war that is about to explode at any time, we can explore the measures that Taiwan should take from the Paris Peace Treaty and the SFPT.
The truth is that the more the argument is made, the clearer it is. Perhaps Dr. Lau has more profound and profound insights. I hope he can give advice and share.
On December 26, 2014, I wrote an article “A history lesson is required” in the Taipei Times, it talks about Cuba, America, Taiwan. Maybe it is still good for references.
On Dec. 10, 1898, Spain and the US signed the Treaty of Paris and according to Article I, Spain relinquished all claim of sovereignty over and title to Cuba. With Article II Spain ceded Puerto Rico and Guam to the US, and with Article III ceded the Philippines to the US.
On April 21, 1898, the US declared war on Spain to aid the Cuban insurgency against Spanish colonial oppression. The Cuban insurgency had been raging for many years, but the US entrance into the domestic conflict meant that they were also co-belligerents of the Cuban insurgency. There was no American neutrality to be preserved and thus the conflict widened beyond a domestic conflict into a full-fledged war.
On April 20, 1898, the Teller Resolution promised Cuba independence and thus the US was obligating itself to a Cuban republic. With the establishment of the US Military Government on Cuba, it became the principle occupying authority. The Treaty of Paris had Spain cede Cuba to the occupying government, not any Cuban republic. US Congress signed the Platt Amendment on March 2, 1901, and the Republic of Cuba gained formal independence on May 20, 1902.
After the Cuban Revolution in 1959, relations between the US and Cuba deteriorated, and on Jan. 3, 1961, the US withdrew diplomatic recognition of the Cuban government.
On Oct. 22, 1962, then-US President John F. Kennedy notified Americans about the presence of Russian nuclear missiles, explained his decision to enact a naval blockade around Cuba and made it clear that the US was prepared to use military force if necessary to neutralize this perceived threat to national security. A disaster was avoided when the US agreed to then-Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev’s offer to remove the missiles in exchange for a US promise not to invade Cuba. Kennedy also secretly agreed to remove US missiles from Turkey.
On Dec. 17, US President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced the beginning of a process to normalize relations between the US and Cuba. It ends 53 years of hostile relations. The announcement has been welcomed and supported by most Americans and Cubans.
Cuba’s 109,884km2 of territory is about three times larger than Taiwan. Taiwan’s population of more than 23 million is about twice that of Cuba. The two nations share an almost identical history, being relinquished by a peace treaty to the US Military Government.
Even today, the US military is still the principal occupying power of Taiwan under Articles 4b and 23 of the San Francisco Peace Treaty. Taiwanese are happy for the Cuban restoration of diplomatic recognition by the US, but they are sorry that Taiwan’s status is continually ignored by Washington.
On June 27, 1950, then-US president Harry Truman issued a statement that ended with: “The determination of the future status of Formosa [Taiwan] must await the restoration of security in the Pacific, a peace settlement with Japan, or consideration by the United Nations.”
Peace with Japan was settled in 1952, but the San Francisco treaty’s designation of the US military as the temporary sovereign of Taiwan remains unchanged.
The Three Joint Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act are repeatedly quoted as US policy on the Taiwan issue. The US has clearly separated China and Taiwan on written documents. The “one China” issue is now China’s issue. The Taiwan Relations Act says Taiwan is not the Republic of China (ROC). Unfortunately, most Taiwanese still think Taiwan is the ROC and the ROC is Taiwan. That illusion has trapped Taiwan, excluding it from UN membership and making it the sole political orphan in the international community.
Public opinion was made clear at last month’s nine-in-one elections. Hopefully, the younger generation can look in-depth at the core issue of Taiwan’s international status. It is time to clearly separate Taiwan from the ROC and Taiwan from China. And Obama needs to be reminded that the US has unfinished business in Taiwan. Hopefully, he can fix it before his presidency ends.
