A key document used by Beijing to justify its claims that Taiwan is a part of China never had any legally binding power, the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA) said, citing a recent letter from a senior official at the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA).
Founded in 1982 by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮), FAPA is a Washington-based interest group that seeks to build up support in the US for Taiwan independence.
The association said in a statement last week that, according to NARA, the 1943 Cairo Declaration, signed by US president Franklin Roosevelt, British prime minister Winston Churchill and Republic of China (ROC) dictator Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) at the end of WWII, was merely a "communique" and thus non-binding.
Among other provisions, the communique states that Japan shall "return Formosa," or Taiwan, to "the Chinese."
"The document is merely a moment in time," FAPA president CT Lee (
"Although important at the time," he added, "it does not have any legally binding power almost 65 years later enabling either the KMT [Chinese Nationalist Party] or [China] to derive territorial claims from."
In response to a FAPA letter of inquiry as to the declaration's status, NARA assistant archivist for Records Services, Michael Kurtz, wrote in a letter dated June 5 that "the declaration [is] a communique, and does not have treaty series or executive agreement series numbers."
FAPA said that the document's archival status as a "communique" and neither an official agreement nor a treaty, negates any legal claims based on the declaration by China or the KMT that Taiwan is a part of China.
"This marks the first time the US government has officially gone on record to elaborate the lack of legal binding power of the Cairo Declaration, and thus voids the basis of both the KMT's and Beijing's mythic `One China Principle' claims," the association said in the statement.
Despite its status in the US National Archives as a communique, however, the declaration is included in a US State Department publication titled, Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, Kurtz wrote, without explaining the apparent contradiction.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
GLOBAL: Although Matsu has limited capacity for large numbers of domestic tourists, it would be a great high-end destination for international travelers, an official said Lienchiang County’s (Matsu) unique landscape and Cold War history give it great potential to be marketed as a destination for international travelers, Tourism Administration Director General Chen Yu-hsiu (陳玉秀) said at the weekend. Tourism officials traveled to the outlying island for the Matsu Biennial, an art festival that started on Friday to celebrate Matsu’s culture, history and landscape. Travelers to Matsu, which lies about 190km northwest of Taipei, must fly or take the state-run New Taima passenger ship. However, flights are often canceled during fog season from April to June. Chen spoke about her vision to promote Matsu as a tourist attraction in
PAWSITIVE IMPACT: A shop owner said that while he adopted cats to take care of rodents, they have also attracted younger visitors who also buy his dried goods In Taipei’s Dadaocheng (大稻埕), cats lounging in shops along Dihua Street do more than nap amid the scent of dried seafood. Many have become beloved fixtures who double as photography models, attracting visitors and helping boost sales in one of the capital’s most historic quarters. A recent photo contest featuring more than a dozen shop cats drew more than 2,200 submissions, turning everyday cat-spotting into a friendly competition that attracted amateur and professional photographers. “It’s rare to see cats standing, so when it suddenly did, it felt like a lucky cat,” said Sabrina Hsu (徐淳蔚), who won the NT$10,000 top prize in
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS