VP: TAIWAN HAS BEEN INDEPENDENT SINCE 1945
RIA Novosti
2005-04-14 23:38:28
Taipei, April 14 (CNA) Taiwan has been independent since 1945 when Japan surrendered at the end of the World War II, Vice President Annette Lu claimed Thursday.
In a meeting with Maximo Soliven, the publisher of the Manila-based newspaper the Philippine Star, Lu claimed that Japan gave up its territorial claims to Taiwan in the 1951 peace treaty it signed with the Allied nations in San Francisco and did not give the island to any country, which means the island was independent.
The United Nations did not acknowledge China's claim that Taiwan is a part of its territory when it granted China's United Nations seat to the People's Republic of China in a 1971 resolution, Lu said.
In light of these historical "facts," Lu said, there is no reason to consider Taiwan a part of China.
Noting that Taiwan and the Philippines share the same Austronesian culture, Lu called for closer ties between Manila and Taipei and urged the Philippines to step up both official and non-official ties with Taiwan in defiance of China's threats.
Lu said she visited Indonesia in 2002 and expressed hope she can visit the Philippines sometime in the future.
(By Maubo Chang)
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