Taiwan belongs to Republic of China: president
ROC Central News Agency
2013/12/02 18:15:32
Taipei, Dec. 2 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou said Monday there should not be any controversy over Taiwan's status because a peace treaty signed between the Republic of China and Japan in 1952 unequivocally recognizes Taiwan as part of the ROC's territory.
Pro-independence activists have argued that Taiwan's legal status remains unsettled because the Peace Treaty of San Francisco signed between the Allied Powers and Japan in 1951 to formally end World War II did not specify to which country Japan surrendered Taiwan.
'Such an argument is unfounded,' Ma said at an international conference that was held in Taipei Sunday to mark the 70th anniversary of the Cairo Declaration.
Ma said it was extremely regrettable that no Chinese representative was invited to the San Francisco treaty signing ceremony because the Chinese civil war had yet to be settled.
But the treaty nevertheless offered a remedy, Ma said, referring to Article 26 that World War II participating countries could sign similar peace treaties with Japan.
The ROC and the now-defunct Soviet Union later signed peace treaties with Japan, Ma said.
Since the ROC-Japan Peace Treaty sealed on April 28, 1952, also known as the Treaty of Taipei, 'clearly states that Taiwan is part of the ROC's territory, it's time to end any dispute over Taiwan's status,' Ma said.
Moreover, United States President Harry Truman issued a statement on Jan. 5, 1950 in which he cited the 1943 Cairo Declaration, the 1945 Potsdam Declaration and the 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender to show that all countries accepted the fact that the ROC government exercises sovereignty in Taiwan, Ma said.
He further said all three documents are legally binding and have been integrated into one that helped shape the international order in East Asia after World War II.
Ma also reaffirmed the validity of the Cairo Declaration as a treaty, saying it was a big mistake to refer to it as a press communique as some people have.
The declaration was signed by ROC President Chiang Kai-shek, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill on Dec. 1, 1943 following a conference in the Egyptian capital from Nov. 23-27.
It demanded that Japan return Taiwan, the Pescadores (Penghu) and Manchuria to the ROC.
Describing the declaration as an 'epoch-making event,' Ma said both the U.S. and Japan have included the Cairo Declaration, the 1945 Potsdam Declaration and the 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender in their official collection on treaties.
The late ROC president wrote in his diary on the Cairo Declaration's signing day that the biggest success in 1943 was on the diplomatic front, Ma said.
Touching on the ROC's history over the past century, Ma said the country has endured many challenges and setbacks.
On Jan. 11, 1943, the ROC finally signed new treaties with the U.S. and the United Kingdom that invalidated all previous unequal treaties, Ma said.
Sixty-eight years later, on Jan. 11, 2011, an ROC-European Union agreement took effect to allow for ROC passport holders to enjoy visa-free entry to EU member states and a number of other European countries.
'It was really a heart-moving day that our citizens were finally granted such a privilege,' Ma said.
At present, 134 countries around the world have offered visa-free treatment to ROC visitors, Ma said.
Among the participants to the conference was Churchill's granddaughter Emma Mary Soames.
Ma cited Churchill's speech at Harvard University in expressing his admiration for the late British prime minister.
'If we are together nothing is impossible. If we are divided all will fail.'
An exhibition on the summit of the three Allied leaders is being held at the Academia Historica to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Cairo Declaration. Featuring many historic documents and artifacts related to the declaration, it will run through Jan. 25, 2014.
(By Lee Shu-hua and Sofia Wu)
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