President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said that commemorating the 1945 recovery of Taiwan by the Republic of China (ROC) is an unshirkable responsibility of each and every ROC president.
Ma made the remarks at a celebration marking the 70th anniversary of “Retrocession Day” at the Zhongshan Hall in Taipei, where the then-ROC government accepted the surrender of Japan.
Retrocession Day, on Oct. 25 is the day the KMT say Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) and his Nationalist forces liberated Taiwan in 1945 after 50 years of Japanese occupation and Taiwan’s supposed return to Chinese rule.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“On the 70th anniversary of Taiwan’s retrocession, we chose to expand the scale of the annual celebration, because today is also the day we celebrate the closely intertwined relationship between the ROC and Taiwan, which are as close as lips and teeth,” Ma said.
In light of Japan’s aggression against the ROC to annex territory in northeast China in the 1930s, Ma said that Chiang, then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) army generalissimo started advocating for the recovery of Taiwan, before abrogating the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki — by which the Qing Dynasty ceded Taiwan to Japan — and declaring war against Japan in 1941.
In addition, the Cairo Declaration — signed by Chiang, then-US president Franklin Roosevelt and then-British prime minister Winston Churchill on Dec. 1, 1943, following a conference in Egypt’s capital — also set forth a consensus that Japan would have to restore Taiwan, the Pescadores Islands (Penghu) and Manchuria to the ROC, Ma said.
“Eventually, Taiwan returned to the embrace of the ROC following its 1945 victory in the eight-year anti-Japanese war,” Ma said.
The ROC is only able to enjoy freedom, democracy and prosperity because of its safeguard and efforts to build up Taiwan, Ma said.
“That is why it is the inescapable duty of each and every ROC president to commemorate this part of history,” he added.
Ma’s statement appeared to be directed at Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) who did not attend Retrocession Day celebrations.
Ma said the Cairo Declaration played a key role in the ROC’s recovery of Taiwan.
“On July 26, 1945, the ROC, the US and the UK jointly issued the Potsdam Declaration, which called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces and stipulated that the terms of the Cairo Declaration be carried out,” Ma said.
On Aug. 15 of the same year, Japan accepted the Potsdam terms and agreed to unconditional surrender, Ma said, adding that two paragraphs in the official Instrument of Surrender, signed by Japanese representatives about a month later, also reiterated its pledge to abide by the Potsdam Declaration.
Moreover, Ma said the Peace Treaty signed between Japan and the KMT regime in Taipei on April 28, 1952, also included Japan’s renouncement of sovereignty over Taiwan and the Pescadores Islands, the nullification contents of the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and acknowledgment that the inhabitants of Taiwan at the time had ROC nationality.
“These documents served as confirmation that the ROC had recovered Taiwan,” Ma added.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS