Examination Yuan President Yao Chia-wen (姚嘉文) yesterday aimed to set the historical record straight while introducing his new book, which examines treaties that had a "strong influence" on Taiwan.
"Due to political factors, Taiwan's history has constantly been twisted. Last week, many ridiculous comments about Taiwan were made during former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman Lien Chan (連戰) and Chinese President Hu Jintao's (胡錦濤) conversations. As a result, I had to do something," Yao said.
Yao made the remarks during a presentation to introduce his book. The book, published in Chinese, with its title loosely translated as Record of Treaties concerning Taiwan, introduced four treaties that influenced Taiwan: the Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Treaty of San Francisco, the Japanese Peace Treaty and the US-Taiwan Mutual Defense Treaty.
The date for yesterday's presentation was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki in Japan on April 17, 1895. In the treaty, the Qing Dynasty ceded Taiwan to Japan.
The Treaty of San Francisco was signed by 48 countries in San Francisco on Sept. 8, 1951. Neither the Republic of China (ROC) or the People's Republic of China were invited to that conference, hence neither signed that treaty.
The Japanese Peace Treaty was signed in Taipei on April 28, 1952. It was a "sub-treaty" of the Treaty of San Francisco, and its intent was to ask Japan to recognize the ROC as the only legal Chinese government in the world.
The US-Taiwan Mutual Defense Treaty was signed on Dec. 2, 1954 and committed the US to helping defend Taiwan.
Yao said many politicians have twisted history by using "weird political language to deceive the public."
"However, facts are facts and history shall not be changed," Yao said, adding that the illustration of these four treaties affirmed the fact that Taiwan is an independent, sovereign country.
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires