Posted on 03/20/2009 7:52:31 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Only four years after World War II had ended and two years after modern India, Pakistan and Israel were created, the Republic of China (ROC), originally established in 1911, was reborn on Taiwan in 1949. Since then it has grown from a refugee haven for people fleeing Communist China to a thriving nation of over 23 million citizens -- and today it is rarely remarked upon in the western media.
On April 10 this once Dutch, then Chinese, then Japanese island colony will celebrate thirty years of the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) -- the legal action by the United States Congress that protected the existence of this dynamic, productive nation and at the same time effectively condemned it to state of international political limbo.
From the standpoint of the United States, the driving force behind the TRA was Washington's desire to prevent the communist People's Republic of China (PRC) from having internationally accepted political justification to attack the island of Taiwan and take it over.
President Jimmy Carter's removal of diplomatic recognition of Taiwan (ROC) and the shift of that recognition to mainland's PRC in December 1978 required that a device be established that allowed for continuation of the American commitment to anti-communist Chinese interests in East Asia. Ironically the Taiwan Relations Act became the building block on which future U.S. trade and political relations with the Beijing communist government also would gain a solid footing.
The ROC on Taiwan had been an invaluable support point for U.S. military forces first during the Korean War and then during the Vietnam War. It's foolish to ignore the mutually valuable relationship that grew between Taiwan and the United States in that period. Those who referred to Taiwan as America's unsinkable aircraft carrier in East Asia were not too far off the mark.
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
That may be the only country which is not allowed to be called by the name its citizens prefer, because of the wishes of a more powerful neighbor--other than the Republic of Macedonia (not a competitor in the World Baseball Classic).
Some background...
The United States has FULL ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY OVER TAIWAN under the territorial clause of the Constitution. We control it fully, and, should defend it. A related document is the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco (China not present) where Japan gives up Formosa:
http://www.taiwandocuments.org/sanfrancisco01.htm
Important and interesting history re US and Taiwan (Formosa) from this Taiwan newspaper article link:
http://www.taiwankey.net/dc/lettcomm6.htm
TAIPEI TIMES, Mar. 21, 2006, page 8
Gilles Chartrand’s letter (Letter, March 18, page 8) highlights most Westerners’ complete ignorance about Taiwan and China. While he notes that “Quebec and Taiwan are both democratic societies,” he then adds the curious statement that “They both have a percentage of their citizenry that wants to leave a larger entity.”
For Chartrand’s information, Taiwan is not a part of China. Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Oct. 1, 1949, that nation has ruled Taiwan for a total of 0 hours, 0 minutes and 0 seconds.
Admittedly, there is much confusion about this aspect, since the government in Taiwan continues to call the country the “Republic of China” (ROC). When the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek accepted the surrender of Japanese troops on Oct. 25, 1945, they declared it “Taiwan Retrocession Day,” saying that its territorial sovereignty was given to China on that date.
However, in order for such an interpretation to be true, then US president Harry Truman and General Douglas MacArthur should have had the authority to transfer the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan to the Chinese nationalists. In fact, they had no such authority.
When Truman and MacArthur drafted General Order No. 1, the only authority they had was to direct Chiang’s military forces to come to Taiwan to accept the surrender of Japanese troops. The surrender ceremonies mark the beginning of the military occupation of Taiwan, nothing more nothing less.
Since all military attacks against Taiwan (and indeed against the four main Japanese islands) from 1941 to 1945 were conducted by US military forces, it is clear that the US was the “conqueror.” In the military occupation of Taiwan, the US was the principal occupying power. In contrast, the military troops under Chiang were only a subordinate occupying power.
The PRC was founded in the fall of 1949, and high-ranking officials of the ROC government fled to Taiwan to become a government in exile. Hence, even up to the present day, the ROC only has “effective territorial control” over Taiwan, but does not hold Taiwan’s territorial sovereignty. That territorial sovereignty is held by the US Military Government.
In summary, if Taiwan wants to be independent, it should be talking to members of the US Congress (who have jurisdiction over Taiwan under the territorial clause of the US Constitution), and not holding street demonstrations against the misguided policies of the PRC, or listening to the ramblings of uninformed political commentators who suggest that Taiwan has a need to clearly establish its separate identity from the PRC.
by Roger C. S. Lin
Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies
Yes. Taiwan is a sovereign unincorporated territory of the United States.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.