Pro-independence political parties yesterday delivered a petition to the Ministry of Education, calling for school curricula to reflect that the Treaty of San Francisco did not transfer sovereignty over Taiwan to any government after Japan relinquished control over it following World War II.
Taiwan belongs to the Taiwanese, who have the right to self-governance, the parties told a news conference marking the 73rd anniversary of the treaty’s enactment on April 28, 1952.
It is time to end the “myth of Taiwan retrocession” — the claim that Taiwanese sovereignty was transferred to the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) regime after the war, they said.
Photo: Jason Pan, Taipei Times
Under the treaty, Japan renounced its claim to “Formosa and the Pescadores” (Taiwan and the Penghu Islands), but did not transfer sovereignty to any party, Sovereign State for Formosa and Pescadores Party Chairman Deh Tzutsai (鄭自才) said.
The KMT’s subsequent claim that it did was a “big lie” that must be corrected, he added.
“The situation had distorted history and undermined people’s identity. The KMT forced us to identify as Chinese,” Deh said. “It poses a grave danger, since Beijing claims to be the successor to the Republic of China [ROC] and that Taiwan is a province of China, and would use it to justify using force to annex Taiwan.”
Deh called on President William Lai (賴清德) to end the KMT’s false narrative, clarify the true content of postwar agreements and ensure that education reflects that no sovereignty transfer occurred, so Taiwanese can decide on self-government and independence.
Taiwan Statebuilding Party Chairman Wang Hsin-huan (王興煥) said that the ROC is an illegitimate regime, a military dictatorship that practices Chinese colonialism over the people of Taiwan.
“Today, the Democratic Progressive Party government continues to bound up ‘Taiwan’ with the ‘ROC’, creating confusion about national identity and complicating Taiwan’s international position,” Wang said. “This confusion fosters the dangerous perception of ‘two Chinas,’ which could have tragic consequences for Taiwan.”
Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairwoman Chou Ni-an (周倪安) said that although Japan renounced sovereignty over Taiwan after World War II, the Treaty of San Francisco did not transfer Taiwan’s sovereignty to the ROC or China, so the international document shows that Taiwan does not legally belong to China.
Speakers at the event called on Lai, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education to reject the KMT’s historical interpretations, particularly regarding the Cairo Declaration.
They said the document should properly be referred to as the “Cairo Press Communique,” as it was a statement of wartime intentions rather than a binding legal agreement.
They also urged the government to stop referencing the 1945 Potsdam Declaration and the Japanese Instrument of Surrender selectively and out of context.
Activist Lee Wen-pin (李文賓) said a full examination of postwar treaties “clearly shows that Taiwan does not belong to China, and that the KMT has lied to the pubic about Taiwanese sovereignty for decades.”
“The ROC remains an illegal occupying regime,” Lee said.
Following the conference, the party leaders and independence activists joined a rally at the Ministry of Education organized by the Taiwan Republic Office and other civic groups.
They reiterated calls to remove the KMT’s historical narrative regarding Taiwan “retrocession,” the San Francisco Treaty and Taiwan’s right to self-government from educational materials.
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