China's claim invalid
Charles Snyder's report in which he discusses the San Francisco Peace Treaty ("Mem-bers of US Congress mull backing Taiwan," Sep 6, page 3) is a highly informative article on the legal instrument frequently referred to as the title deed to Taiwan under international law.
The legal status of Taiwan is very complex, but the Treaty of Taipei is an important international document related to the San Francisco pact. Under this peace treaty which Japan signed on April 28, 1952, the ROC established a sovereign claim to Taiwan territory as the only officially acknowledged administering authorities of that territory under Article 21 of the San Francisco treaty.
In 1978, however, Japan replaced the Treaty of Taipei with a new pact with Beijing called the "Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between Japan and the PRC." Regrettably, in the new pact Japan officially acknowledged that Taiwan is an inalienable part of Beijing's "one China."
Under Article 26 of the multilateral San Francisco treaty, Japan has arguably violated the original terms of its surrender by negotiating the new pact, which is far more favorable to Beijing.
Unquestionably, the Japan-PRC treaty does not confer to the PRC a valid title to Taiwan since, under Article 26 of the treaty, the San Francisco pact automatically supersedes the more favorable terms extended in any bilateral treaty made by Japan.
Who really owns Taiwan may still be in dispute, but Japan had no treaty authority to "cede" Taiwan to Beijing in 1978. China has no currently recognizable claim to Taiwan under the San Francisco treaty nor any other de jure means of territorial acquisition as recognized under international law. The PRC has never even exercised "effective territorial control" of Taiwan, unlike the ROC.
Jeff Geer
Les Vegas, Nevada
Protecting our heritage
Your report on Taipei City culture chief Lung Ying-tai's (
The site in question is the dormitory of Hsin Chih-ping (
Lung tried her best to save the kiln but failed. Chu appears to be trying her best, along with Tsai, to dismantle the dormitory and build a parking lot on the site.
As local cultural chiefs, Lung and Chu took very different stances on the heritage issue, but alas, the results have been far from satisfactory in both cases. In the former, the government wanted to protect a heritage site which was eventually destroyed by its owner. In the latter, the government is still pretending that a designated heritage site doesn't exist.
This makes me wonder what has gone wrong with our cultural heritage site laws and what has gone wrong with the Taiwanese people's appreciation of their heritage.
Ni Kuo-jung
Hsinchu City
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.