Taiwan - An Island in the Western Pacific
Taiwan is an island of over 34,000 sq km (over 13,300 sq mi) situated in the Pacific Ocean off the southeastern coast of the Chinese mainland (People's Republic of China). Taiwan was a part of Qing China, but was ceded to Japan in the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki. It was included in the South Pacific Theater of WWII, and was not part of the China Theater.
The island's shape is somewhat like a tobacco leaf, approximately 394 km long and 144 km wide at the maximum. Taiwan has a subtropical climate, and the southern tip of the island is still over 2400 km (1491 mi) north of the equator. Population statistics are as follows:
- Native Taiwanese: approx 19.5 million
- Republic of China Exiles: approx. 3 million
- Others: approx. 500,000
The Central Mountain Range and several minor ranges run from north to south down the island and include 95 peaks above 3,000m (10,000 ft). The most famous one, Yushan, at 3,996m (13,113 ft) is the highest mountain in northeast Asia, even higher than the more photographed Mt. Fuji. The eastern mountains fall sharply to the sea, leaving little or no coastal plain. Mountains in the western part of the island fall less steeply, and there is a broad coastal plain, up to 50 km wide at its widest, interspersed with small hills.
Taiwan is relatively small, ranked 39th in size among islands in the world, but it has an extremely high population density. Approx. 66% of the island is mountainous, while the land below 100m above sea level is widely cultivated, there is also much farming in the mountain valleys. As would be expected, most of the population live in the narrow and congested plains on the western side of the island. The most common types of residences in the cities and towns are multi-story apartment buildings.
Due to the high population density, lack of suitable space, and over sixty years of mismanagement by the Republic of China government in exile, a wide range of environmental problems have developed.
Taiwan History
Important events during the last 125 years of Taiwan history are as follows:
| Date | Historical Event |
| 1895 | Treaty of Shimonoseki |
| 1912 | Republic of China is founded |
| 1937.07.07 | Marco Polo Bridge Incident |
| 1941.08.14 | Atlantic Charter |
| 1941.12 - 1945.08 | World War II in the Pacific |
| 1943.12.01 | Cairo Declaration |
| 1945.07.26 | Potsdam Proclamation |
| 1945.08.15 | Japan's Emperor Surrenders |
| 1945.09.02 | Gen. MacArthur directs "representatives of Chiang Kai-shek" to come to Taiwan to accept Japanese surrender |
| 1945.10.24 | United Nations is founded |
| 1945.10.25 | Japanese troops in Taiwan surrender |
| 1947.02.28 |
The 228 Incident |
| 1949.10.01 | People's Republic of China is founded |
| 1949.12 | Republic of China personnel flee into exile in Taiwan |
| 1952.04.28 | San Francisco Peace Treaty comes into force |
| 1952.08.05 | Treaty of Taipei comes into force |
| 1955.03.03 | ROC - USA Mutual Defense Treaty comes into force |
| 1971.10.25 | Republic of China is expelled from United Nations |
| 1972.02.28 | PRC & USA promulgate "Shanghai Communique" |
| 1978.12.31 | USA breaks diplomatic relations with the ROC government in exile |
| 1979.01.01 | PRC & USA promulgate Second Communique |
| 1979.01.01 | Taiwan Relations Act takes force |
| 1980.01.01 | ROC - USA Mutual Defense Treaty is cancelled |
| 1982.08.17 | PRC & USA promulgate Third Communique |
| 2000.05.20 | Democratic Progressive Party comes to power |
| 2008.05.20 | Kuo Min Tang returns to power |
The post-WWII Treaties
excerpts from the Starr Memorandum of the US Dept. of State, July 13, 1971
Pursuant to Japanese Imperial General Headquarters General Order No. 1, issued [on Sept. 2, 1945] at the direction of the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP), Japanese commanders in Formosa surrendered to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek . . . . . Continuously since that time, the Government of the Republic of China has occupied and exercised authority over Formosa and the Pescadores.
By the peace treaty of Sept. 8, 1951, signed with the United States and other powers, Japan renounced "all right, title and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores." The treaty did not specify the nation to which such right, title and claim passed.
It is the understanding of the Senate that nothing in the [1955 ROC-USA Mutual Defense] treaty shall be construed as affecting or modifying the legal status or sovereignty of the territories to which it applies.
.... technical sovereignty over Formosa and the Pescadores has never been settled. That is because the Japanese Peace Treaty merely involves a renunciation by Japan of its right and title to these islands. But the future title is not determined by the Japanese Peace Treaty nor is it determined by the Peace Treaty which was concluded between the Republic of China and Japan.
Article 2 of the Japanese Peace treaty, signed on Sept. 8, 1951 at San Francisco, provides that "Japan renounces all right, title and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores." The same language was used in Article 2 of the Treaty of Peace between China and Japan signed on April 28, 1952. In neither treaty did Japan cede this area to any particular entity.
excerpts from the case of Sheng v. Rogers (D.C. Circuit, Oct. 6, 1959)
A Department of State Bulletin, Vol. XXXIX, No. 1017, dated December 22, 1958, which constitutes an official expression of the foreign policy of the United States, contains the following discussion of the problem in which we are interested (pp. 1005 and 1009):
'Since the middle of the 17th century and up to 1895 Formosa was a part of the Chinese Empire. In 1895 under the Treaty of Shimonoseki China ceded Formosa to Japan. In the Cairo conference in November 1943 the United States, United Kingdom, and China declared it was their 'purpose' that Manchuria, Formosa, and the Pescadores 'shall be restored to the Republic of China'. Thereafter in August 1945 in the Potsdam conference the United States, United Kingdom, and China declared that 'the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.' This Potsdam declaration was subsequently adhered to by the U.S.S.R. On September 2, 1945, the Japanese Government, in the instrument of surrender, accepted the provisions of the declaration. The Supreme Allied Commander for the Allied Powers then issued Directive No. 1 under which the Japanese Imperial Headquarters issued General Order No. 1 requiring Japanese commanders in Formosa to surrender to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China. Since September 1945 the United States and the other Allied Powers have accepted the exercise of Chinese authority over the island. In article 2 of the Japanese Peace Treaty, which entered into force April 28, 1952, Japan renounced all 'right, title and claim' to Formosa. Neither this agreement nor any other agreement thereafter has purported to transfer the sovereignty of Formosa to China.'
'In giving the historical background of Formosa it has been pointed out that at Cairo the Allies stated it was their purpose to restore Formosa to Chinese sovereignty and at the end of the war the Republic of China received the surrender of Japanese forces in Formosa. It has also been pointed out that under the Japanese Peace Treaty Japan renounced all right, title, and claim to Formosa. However, neither in that treaty nor in any other treaty has there been any definitive cession to China of Formosa. The situation is, then, one where the Allied Powers still have to come to some agreement or treaty with respect to the status of Formosa.' (Emphasis supplied.)
From the foregoing official pronouncements of the Department of State, it appears that the United States recognizes the Government of the Republic of China as the legal government of China; that the provisional capital of the Republic of China has been at Taipei, Taiwan (Formosa) since December 1949; that the Government of the Republic of China exercises authority over the island; that the sovereignty of Formosa has not been transferred to China; and that Formosa is not a part of China as a country, at least not as yet, and not until and unless appropriate treaties are hereafter entered into. Formosa may be said to be a territory or an area occupied and administered by the Government of the Republic of China, but is not officially recognized as being a part of the Republic of China. Expressions of the State Department are drawn with care and circumspection to refrain from such recognition.
The Three Dates Analysis
The following dates are extremely significant in the recent history of Taiwan.
- Oct. 25, 1945 -- the Japanese surrender ceremonies on Taiwan
- Dec. 10, 1949 -- the relocation of the ROC central government to Taiwan
- April 28, 1952 -- the coming into force of the San Francisco Peace Treaty
For each date, it is important to be able to fully clarify (A) the legal status of Taiwan territory, (B) the legal status of the ROC in Taiwan.
This information is provided below.
| Date | the legal status of Taiwan territory | the legal status of the ROC in Taiwan |
| Oct. 25, 1945 | An independent customs territory under USMG on Japanese soil, with administrative authority for the military occupation delegated to the Chinese Nationalists | (1) a subordinate occupying power under USMG |
| Dec. 10, 1949 | An independent customs territory under USMG on Japanese soil, with administrative authority for the military occupation delegated to the Chinese Nationalists | (1) a subordinate occupying power under USMG, (2) a government in exile |
| April 28, 1952 | Unincorporated territory under USMG. In other words: a quasi-trusteeship under military government within the US insular law framework | (1) a subordinate occupying power under USMG, (2) a government in exile |
Conclusions
Both the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of China (ROC) governments have traditionally maintained that current disputes over the determination of the "legitimate government of China" have arisen from the Chinese Civil War period. However, this view is erroneous.
Specifically, a close look at the historical and legal shows that the matter of the "legitimate government of China" is actually an issue left over from WWII in the Pacific. This entire situation can be reviewed in a simple fashion as follows.
According to General Order No. 1, issued by General Douglas MacArthur on Sept. 2, 1945, Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek was directed to go to Formosa and accept the surrender of Japanese troops. The surrender ceremonies were held on October 25, 1945, and the Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have always commemorated this date as "Taiwan Retrocession Day," saying that on this date the sovereignty of Taiwan was returned to China.
However, under international law, such an interpretation is impossible. All matters concerning the "transfer of title" to territory are handled in a detailed post-war peace treaty. The holding of surrender ceremonies only marks the beginning of the military occupation of the territory. In other words, "Taiwan Retrocession Day" is nothing but an elaborate hoax perpetrated on the Taiwanese people.
Under the Hague and Geneva Conventions, details such as "Who surrendered to whom," or "Who defeated whom," are not particularly significant. The key point is: "Who is the occupying power?" It is a matter of historical record that all military attacks against targets in Formosa and the Pescadores during the WWII period were conducted by United States military forces. Hence, the United States is "the conqueror." Under the customary laws of warfare of the post-Napoleonic period, the United States will be "the (principal) occupying power."
From this perspective, the military troops under Chiang Kai-shek are only exercising delegated administrative authority for the military occupation of Taiwan beginning October 25, 1945. They have effective territorial control over Taiwan, but there has been no transfer of sovereignty. Later, when the ROC central government moved to Taiwan in December 1949, it became a government-in-exile.
In the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1952, there was no transfer of sovereignty of "Formosa and the Pescadores" to the Republic of China. Hence, up to the present day, the Republic of China in Taiwan is merely continuing to fulfill its dual roles of (1) subordinate occupying power (beginning October 25, 1945), (2) and government-in-exile (beginning December 10, 1949).
With a realization of these facts, we can clearly see that the PRC is the "sole legitimate government of China." Taiwan remains under the administrative authority of "the principal occupying power" (the United States Military Government), because military occupation is, fundamentally, a transitional period, or a period of interim (political) status. In other words, even in the present day, Taiwan has not yet reached a final political status.
Based on this analysis, we can see that the One China Policy is essentially correct. But we must also realize that the One China policy cannot be interpreted to mean that Taiwan is already a part of China.
This page provides important information on TCG's management of the Taiwan status. Please link as follows:
A Taiwan Civil Government (TCG) website
URL:
