Although the 1951 San Francisco Treaty did not mention the status of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, the earlier Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Declaration provide ironclad historical proof that the territories were to be returned to the ROC after the war, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sept. 4.
According to the Cairo Declaration, issued in December 1943 by the leaders of the ROC, Great Britain and the U.S., “all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa [Taiwan], and The Pescadores [Penghu Islands], shall be restored to the Republic of China,” MOFA pointed out.
In addition, the ministry noted that the Potsdam Declaration, issued in July 1945 by the leaders of the three nations, stated that “the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.”
Furthermore, in September 1945, Japan signed its instrument of surrender, whose contents clearly state that the Japanese would carry out the provisions of the Potsdam Declaration, thereby providing irrefutable evidence that Taiwan and Penghu were to be handed back to the ROC, the ministry stated.
In addition, Washington listed the Cairo and Potsdam declarations in its compilation of Treaties and Other International Agreements of the United States of America, and the Japanese articles of surrender were added to the United States Statutes at Large, thereby making them legally binding, according to MOFA.
The Treaty of San Francisco, signed between Japan and most of the Allied Powers and serving to officially end World War II, includes Japan’s renunciation of sovereignty over the territories of Taiwan and Penghu. However, as the treaty does not clearly define to whom Taiwan and Penghu should be returned, some observers are of the opinion that the legal status of the territories remains unresolved to this day. (SB)