Taiwan Independence Viewpoint
Supporters of Taiwan independence have argued that Taiwanese retrocession was invalid since there is no precedent in international law in which an instrument of surrender effected a transfer of sovereignty, and they base their belief in part on President Truman's June 27, 1950 statement regarding Taiwan's "undetermined status," which they hold as proof of the leading Allies' view. As late as November 1950, the US State Dept. announced that no formal act restoring sovereignty over Formosa and the Pescadores to China had yet occurred; . . . British officials reiterated this viewpoint in 1955, saying that "The Chinese Nationalists began a military occupation of Formosa and the Pescadores in 1945. However, these areas were under Japanese sovereignty until 1952."
In a lengthy legal essay published in Tokyo in 1972, Chairman Ng, World United Formosans for Independence, analyzed the British Parliamentary records and other documents, concluding that the legal status of Taiwan was undetermined. Writing in the American Journal of International Law in July 2000, Jonathan I. Charney and J. R. V. Prescott maintained that the Chinese Nationalists (ROC) began a military occupation of Taiwan in 1945 as a result of Japan's surrender, and that none of the post-World War II peace treaties explicitly ceded sovereignty over Formosa and the Pescadores to any specific state or government.
The official position of both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China are that Taiwan and Penghu were returned to the Republic of China according to the terms of the 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender, which stipulated Japan's compliance with the terms of the Potsdam Declaration. The Potsdam Declaration in turn included the terms of the Cairo Declaration, which required Japan to return all conquered territories to China, including Taiwan and Penghu.
Retrocession Day is currently not an official public holiday in the Republic of China; however, memorial activities are still being held by civilian organizations and individuals. The Democratic Progressive Party, which rejects the idea of Taiwan being taken back by China, downplayed the event during their two terms of presidency from 2000 to 2008. In 2010, small scale memorials were held by the Taipei City Government to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of Retrocession.
Read more about this topic: Retrocession Day
Famous quotes containing the word independence:
“Children are as destined biologically to break away as we are, emotionally, to hold on and protect. But thinking independently comes of acting independently. It begins with a two-year-old doggedly pulling on flannel pajamas during a July heat wave and with parents accepting that the impulse is a good one. When we let go of these small tasks without anger or sorrow but with pleasure and pride we give each act of independence our blessing.”
—Cathy Rindner Tempelsman (20th century)