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Treaty clear on
Taiwan, Ma says
INTERNATIONAL LAW: The president said the Treaty
of Taipei spelled out very clearly that Taiwan was handed to the Republic of
China after the conclusion of World War II
By Jake Chung / Staff writer, with CNA
The Sino-Japanese Treaty is a treaty verified by international law that clearly
states that Taiwan was returned to the Republic of China (ROC), President Ma
Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday.
Ma made the remarks at an exhibition held by the Academia Historica and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs marking the 60th anniversary of the signing of the
Sino-Japanese Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Taipei.
Ma said that according to the Cairo Declaration jointly issued by the ROC, the
US and Britain on Dec. 1, 1943, Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration, issued on
July 26, 1945, and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, all three stated
clearly that after World War II, Japan agreed to return what was then known as
Manchuria, including current-day Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces,
Taiwan (Formosa), and Penghu (the Pescadores) to the ROC.
These three documents were made within the powers given to the leaders of state
during wartime, so all promises listed therein are of course legally binding, he
said.
The Treaty of Taipei was signed on April 28, 1952, in Taipei by the Republic of
China (ROC) government and the government of Japan and went into effect on Aug.
5 the same year, ending the state of war between the two nations.
Ma said the treaty stated the “renouncement to all right, title and claim to
Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores) as well as the Spratly Islands [Nansha
Islands, 南沙群島] and the Paracel Islands [Xisha Islands, 西沙群島]” by the Japanese
and that “all treaties, conventions and agreements concluded before Dec. 9,
1941, between Japan and China have become null and void as a consequence of the
war.”
The statement that “nationals of the Republic of China shall be deemed to
include all the inhabitants and former inhabitants of Taiwan (Formosa) and
Penghu (the Pescadores) and their descendants who are of the Chinese
nationality” also clearly represented the fact that Taiwan had been returned to
the ROC, Ma said.
Mentioning the First Note of the treaty, which stated: “In -regard to the Treaty
of Peace between Japan and the Republic of China signed this day ... the
understanding reached ... shall, in respect of the Republic of China, be
applicable to all the territories which are now, or which may hereafter be,
under the control of its Government,” Ma said the treaty pertained to all
territories that were and will be owned by the ROC, which, he added, includes
Taiwan.
Separately yesterday, former representative to Japan Lo Fu-chen (羅福全) said Ma
distorted the interpretation of the Sino-Japanese Treaty.
While Japan renounced territorial claims to Taiwan, Penghu, the Spratlys and the
Paracels in the Treaty of San Francisco, Taiwan’s status after World War II
remains undetermined as it did not state which country Taiwan belonged to, Lo
said.
Noting Ma had said during his 2008 presidential campaign that “Taiwan’s future
should be determined by the 23 million Taiwanese,” Lo said it suggested the
president supported Taiwan’s undetermined status theory.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang
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