Hence, the following conclusion can be given with certainty: Taiwan is currently an overseas territory under the jurisdiction of the United States of America. The Taiwanese people have been denied their “fundamental rights” under the US Constitution for fifty-five years, and this is something that the US Congress should be sorely concerned about.
THE CHINESE ARGUMENT
At present, as most people know, the Republic of China maintains jurisdiction over Taiwan, and many academics, researchers, and even members of Congress maintain that it fully qualifies as an independent sovereign nation. Unfortunately, in examining the status of the ROC on Taiwan, these people have failed to consider the military history of WWII in the Pacific, the ramifications of military jurisdiction under the US Constitution, and the internationally recognized laws of war of the post-Napoleonic era.
On October 25, 2004, (former) Secretary of State Powell frankly stated that: "Taiwan is not independent, it does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation." An overview of the historical and legal record shows conclusively that the United States has neither (1) announced the end of USMG jurisdiction over Taiwan, nor (2) recognized the forcible incorporation of Taiwan into Chinese territory.
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a report on July 9, 2007, entitled “China/Taiwan: Evolution of the One China Policy.” In the report’s summary, the following important details were given:
The United States did not explicitly state the sovereign status of Taiwan in the three U.S.-PRC Joint Communiques of 1972, 1979, and 1982. The United States "acknowledged" the "one China" position of both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
U.S. policy has not recognized the PRC's sovereignty over Taiwan; has not recognized Taiwan as a sovereign country; and has considered Taiwan's status as undetermined.
On August 30, 2007, Mr. Dennis Wilder, Senior Director for Asian Affairs at the National Security Council, said: “Taiwan, or the Republic of China, is not at this point a state in the international community. The position of the United States government is that the ROC -- Republic of China -- is an issue undecided, and it has been left undecided, as you know, for many, many years.”
A close overview of the events of Fall 1945, and thereafter shows the accuracy of the statements of Secretary Powell and Director Wilder. Specifically, none of the Allies recognized any transfer of the sovereignty of Taiwan to the ROC on the Oct. 25, 1945, date of the Japanese surrender ceremonies. This date only marked the beginning of the military occupation of Taiwan. As discussed above, the United States is the principal occupying power. The ROC military forces under Chiang Kai-shek are only performing the role of subordinate occupying power.
Then in mid-December 1949, when the ROC moved its central government to occupied Taiwan, it became a government in exile. Importantly, international law does not recognize any procedures, actions, or methods whereby a government in exile can be recognized as the “legal government” of its current locality of residence.
Based on the above analysis, it is clearly seen that the ROC Constitution is not the “organic law” of the Taiwan cession. Today, the ROC cannot be regarded as a legitimate government for Mainland China, or for Taiwan – and this fact confirms the accuracy of the “One China Policy” as examined in the July 2007 CRS report.
Moreover, the following three historical actions are violations of the internationally recognized laws of war by the ROC regime: (1) the announcement of “Taiwan Retrocession Day,” on Oct. 25, 1945, (2) the announced mass naturalization of native Taiwanese persons as “ROC citizens” in January 1946, and (3) the institution of military conscription policies over the Taiwanese populace in the early 1950’s.
Under the US Constitution, with the coming into force of the SFPT in 1952, the Taiwanese people have the right to achieve “name rectification” of their territory as “Taiwan,” and to be rid of the inappropriate “Republic of China” label. At the same time, the Taiwanese people have the right to call a constitutional convention under US administrative authority, and to choose a new territorial seal, flag, and other emblems, similar to the rights granted to the residents of the other five major US unincorporated territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Taiwan is correctly identified as the sixth major unincorporated territory of the United States of America, a part of the great American family.
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