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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