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The Korean War and the fate of Taiwan
By Chen Yi-shen ³¯»ö²`
Wednesday, Jun 30, 2010, Page 8
The Korean War began with North Korean leader Kim Il-sung
launching an attack on Seoul, South Korea¡¦s capital on June 25, 1950. This
attack, was made with the tacit approval of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and
three days later, Seoul succumbed to Kim¡¦s forces.
On June 27, then-US president Harry Truman ordered the US Seventh Fleet to the
Taiwan Strait to protect Taiwan from invasion by communist forces. Subsquently,
a UN force, led by General Douglas MacArthur, was formed on July 7, following a
decision by the UN Security Council. Those forces landed at Incheon shortly
after and pushed the forces of North Korea back. At this point, however, Kim
called on Mao Zedong (¤ò¿AªF) to dispatch his troops to the Korean Peninsula.
What was happening in Taiwan during this period? On Dec. 10, 1949, Chiang
Kai-shek (½±¤¶¥Û), who resigned as president earlier that year, flew from Chengdu
in China to Taipei¡¦s Songshan Airport. Central government agencies had already
relocated to Taipei.
On March 1, 1950, Chiang announced he was officially resuming his duties as
president. At the time, US reaction was rather cool. Not long before, in a
statement issued on Jan. 5, Truman had announced that although the Cairo
Communique and Potsdam Declaration had effectively placed Taiwan under Chiang¡¦s
control, the US would not provide any form of military support or consultation
to his forces stationed in Taiwan.
Truman changed his policy less than six months later when he ordered the Seventh
Fleet into the Taiwan Strait. However, no decision was made regarding Taiwan¡¦s
future status, as this question was deferred to a time when security in the
region was more stable, a treaty was signed with Japan, or a decision reached by
the UN.
Chiang responded to a UN call for assistance in its ¡§police action¡¨ in Korea and
offered to send 33,000 troops and 20 air transports to help. His proposal was,
however, declined by the US Joint Chiefs of Staff on June 30, 1950, as they
sought to limit the war to the Korean Peninsula.
It is generally understood that MacArthur¡¦s judgments were formed by the
instincts of a career soldier. He viewed Taiwan as a natural shield, a fortress
island capable of repelling enemy submarines, ocean-going vessels and aircraft.
As far as he saw it, Taiwan should be been given up under no circumstances.
Truman made the decision on April 11, 1951, to dismiss MacArthur for being
¡§unable to give his wholehearted support to the policies of the US and of the UN
in matters pertaining to his official duties.¡¨
In his testimony to the US Senate¡¦s Foreign Relations and Armed Services
committees following his dismissal, MacArthur made clear that Taiwan¡¦s status
had yet to be decided by any official treaty and it consequently remained under
Japan¡¦s de jure sovereignty. Just as the Allies had placed Japan under the
supervision of the US, Taiwan had likewise been placed under the supervision of
the Republic of China, he pointed out.
At the same public hearing, MacArthur responded to questions regarding the Cairo
Communique, by saying that previous decisions had been a serious mistake putting
Taiwan at risk of falling into the hands of the communists and that this issue
had to be dealt with properly by signing a treaty with Japan. The Treaty of San
Francisco, signed in 1951, stipulated independent status for Korea and gave
sovereignty over the Ryukyu Islands to the US, since transferred to Japan. As
far as Taiwan was concerned, the treaty merely stated that Japan was to renounce
its sovereignty over it. From that point on, Korea and Taiwan would have very
different destinies.
Chen Yi-shen is chairman of the Taiwan Association of
University Professors.
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