Identify Taiwan first
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) has brainwashed Taiwanese for years, saying that Taiwan is the inherent territory of the Republic of China (ROC), and that the inhabitants of Taiwan and Penghu are Chinese, but the San Francisco Peace Treaty (SFPT) clearly tells us that the Japanese government simply did not transfer Taiwan’s territorial sovereignty to the Chinese government.
Article 2 of the Treaty of Taipei, also known as the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty, which was signed on April 28, 1952, and entered into force on August 5 that year, reads: “According to Article 2 of the SFPT signed on 8 September 1951, Japan renounces all right, title and claim to Formosa and the Pescadores Islands,” and Article 10 states: “Nationals of the ROC shall be deemed to include all the inhabitants and former inhabitants of Taiwan and Penghu and their descendants.”
The Taipei treaty was revoked on Sept. 29, 1972, due to the signing of the Sino-Japanese Joint Communique.
With the abrogation of the treaty, there is no longer any legal connection between Taiwan and the ROC. UN Resolution 2758 only authorized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the legitimate representative of China in the UN, but did not give it sovereignty over Taiwan.
So, the PRC has nothing to do with Taiwan. Regrettably, politicians from all parties hold high the ROC. KMT members have betrayed Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and [former president] Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國), moving from anti-communism to pro-communism after their deaths and claiming that they are as close as family.
Although they hold high the ROC legal system in Taiwan, once they meet Taiwan Affairs Office officials, they are scared and swayed, melting like a snowman under sunshine.
In fact, what they are trying to do is to indefinitely consume, spoil and betray Taiwan.
The Democratic Progressive Party is a Taiwanese grassroots party, but it also holds high the ROC after having been brainwashed by the KMT for decades. Its party resolution states that Taiwan is the ROC and the ROC is Taiwan.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) rejects the “1992 consensus” and “one country two systems,” but she refuses to name the national team “Taiwan” in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, treading water on judicial reform and pardoning former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁), while “maintaining the status quo.”
This is not convincing diehard supporters. Now is the time to clarify what kind of relationship exists between Taiwan and the ROC.
Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) and Keelung Mayor Lin Yu-chang (林右昌) have been invited to visit Washington, receiving a high-level reception.
US Representative Ted Yoho is urging the US government to advocate for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA. The US does care about Taiwan.
Every political party in Taiwan is busy nominating their candidate for the presidential election next year. Those who are running should clearly inform voters about how they see the relation between Taiwan and the ROC, the PRC and the US, and where this will lead.
At the 40th anniversary of the Taiwan Relations Act, it is necessary to clarify that Taiwan does not belong to China, and that it will be reborn as a nation and move toward the international community.
John Hsieh
Hayward, California
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