Almost 100 Taiwanese residing in the US gathered at the Court of Appeals in Washington on Thursday to listen in on the latest proceedings of a lawsuit brought by Roger Lin (林志昇) that is aimed at ascertaining whether the US is still Taiwan's principal occupying power and whether Taiwanese can demand US passports from the US government based on this.
In December 2006, Lin hired Charles Camp to represent this case in the US legal system. Lin cited the fact that Japan merely gave up its power over Taiwan and the Pescadores after surrendering in World War II and that it did not return Taiwan's sovereignty rights to China. He also said that the San Francisco Peace Treaty did not deal with the sovereignty issues of Taiwan and the Pescadores, adding that the US was still Taiwan's principal occupying power.
As a result, Lin and other Taiwanese residing in the US have requested that the US legal system look into what rights Taiwanese have, including whether they should be issued US passports based on the San Francisco Peace Treaty and the US Constitution.
When this lawsuit was first assessed in Washington's district court, Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled in favor of the US government. In the court's judgment, Collyer said that courts do not deal with political matters, adding that the way the US' administrative departments have purposely and carefully avoided making comments about Taiwan's status for years makes it impossible for the courts to decide on the rights of those appealing this case as this would be disrespectful to other administrative departments.
In Thursday's hearing, former Judicial Yuan vice president Cheng Chung-mo (城仲模), representing the plaintiffs, and an assistant representing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared before the court.
Two hundred people attended the hearing, filling all 85 seats in the court, with others crowded outside the courtroom.
The plaintiffs were represented by two lawyers and the defendant by one. The hearing began with the three judges asking questions that were answered by the three lawyers. Most questions concerned sovereignty and political issues.
A dozen journalists from various countries also attended the hearing.
After the oral arguments in the case were finished, many Taiwanese who sat in on the proceedings surrounded Camp to discuss with him how Taiwan's international status has yet to be defined. They also gave him the book Formosa Betrayed by former US diplomat George Kerr so that he could gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan*s history.
Apart from reiterating that this case was political in nature, Melissa Patterson, who represented the US government, said legal documents such as the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, the Joint Communique on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the US and China and the Taiwan Relations Act overthrew the 〝ruling on Taiwan's sovereignty as outlined in the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
However, the judge expressed doubt as to whether the US actually did have legal rights to the sovereignty of Taiwan when it signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
A verdict is expected to be announced within the legally specified time of one to two months.
Cheng said during a press conference held afterward by the National Press Club that according to international legal procedure, the US must play an integral part in solving Taiwan's issues.
Cheng, who has actively been behind this lawsuit, said he would take the case to the US Supreme Court if he fails to win the current lawsuit.
The lawsuit has however also caused an uproar among some overseas Taiwanese groups who feel it conflicts with Taiwan's self-determination and independence.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by