The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never ruled Taiwan, and the PRC and the Republic of China (ROC, Taiwan) are not subordinate to each other, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, in response to China’s rejection of the Treaty of San Francisco.
Department of Treaty and Legal Affairs Director-General Andrew Lee (李憲章) made the remark in response to media queries for comment on Beijing’s rejection of the treaty.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s remark on Nov. 7 about a hypothetical Taiwan contingency potentially putting Japan in a “survival-threatening situation” has sparked anger in China. Beijing has pressured her to retract her remarks, which she has resisted.
Photo: CNA
On Wednesday last week, Takaichi said in the Diet that Japan, having renounced all rights and claims under the Treaty of San Francisco, was not in a position to comment on Taiwan’s legal status.
Asked to comment on Takaichi’s remark, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) on Thursday last week said that she had “singularly brought up the illegal and invalid Treaty of San Francisco ... once again showing that the prime minister remains unwilling to own up to the wrongdoing and turn back from the erroneous course.”
Asked to elaborate on Guo’s remark, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning (毛寧) the next day said that “China has never recognized anything set out in the Treaty of San Francisco, including on sovereignty over Taiwan or the handling of the territory and the sovereign rights of China as a non-signatory.”
“Beijing has never accepted the treaty,” Mao added.
The ROC government’s stance on the issue is consistent — “the PRC and the ROC are not subordinate to each other, which is the political status quo and an objective fact,” Lee said yesterday, adding that “the PRC cannot represent Taiwan in international society.”
“Regarding the Treaty of San Francisco, after World War II, the treaty replaced the Potsdam Proclamation and the Cairo Declaration, which were political statements,” he said.
“Therefore, the PRC has never, not even for a day, ruled or governed Taiwan, he said, adding that it was a historical fact.
Only the government democratically elected by the 23 million people of Taiwan can represent ROC, Taiwan on the international stage, Lee said.
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