Summary: On December 8, 1941, the day after the outbreak of the Pearl Harbor incident, Lin Sen, chairman of the Nationalist Government, declared in the "Declaration of War on Japan by the Nationalist Government" that all treaties involving Sino-Japanese relations would be abrogated. This includes, of course, the Treaty of Shimonoseki. In 1895, the Qing government was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War and was forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki with Japan, ceding the Liaodong Peninsula, Taiwan Island and its affiliated islands, and the Penghu Islands to Japan. "Who wants someone to gouge out their eyes?"
In December 1941, the Pacific War broke out. The Japanese Air Force launched an attack from bases in Taiwan and bombed American troops in the Philippines. In the midst of successive defeats and retreats, the US military top brass finally realized Taiwan's important strategic value in the western Pacific, and "conquering Taiwan" became the goal of the allied forces.
The Pacific War broke out
At that time, the American academic community proposed post-war international condominium of Taiwan in order to test the reaction of the Chinese people. The editors of the three well-known American magazines, "Happiness," "Life," and "Time," jointly organized a committee to study the issue of postwar peace plans. In August 1942, the committee published an article entitled "Relations in the Pacific," which envisaged that the United Nations would jointly administer Taiwan after the war to maintain the U.S. military-strategic position in the western Pacific. The Chinese Government resolutely opposes this argument. On November 3, 1942, Song Ziwen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Nationalist Government, clearly stated in Chongqing: "China should recover the four northeastern provinces, Taiwan and the Ryukyus, and Korea must become independent." (Note: At that time, the Northeast included Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, known as Fengtian, and Rehe.) After New Year's Day the following year, Chongqing's Ta Kung Pao also published an editorial once again expounding the Chinese people's determination to regain lost territory. The article said, "It (Taiwan) is the barrier of China's southeastern sea frontier, and it and Hainan Island are a pair of eyes for China's surveillance of the sea frontier. Who is willing to let people tear down the barrier? Who is willing to let people gouge out their eyes?" At the same time, some people of insight in the United States have also voiced different voices. In April 1942, Admiral Yan Luer, who was the commander-in-chief of the U.S. Fleet in Asia, issued a "Letter to the Chinese" in San Francisco, advocating the independence of Korea and the return of Manchuria and Taiwan to China. On May 25, Lattimore, an American expert on China, gave a speech at the East-West Association, advocating the return of Taiwan and Northeast China to China. Out of consideration that the US military counteroffensive in the western Pacific needs the support and cooperation of the Chinese people, the US Government cannot but be highly concerned about the solemn stand of the Chinese people opposing the international condominium of Taiwan. In February 1943, President Roosevelt told Wei Daoming, the ambassador of the Nationalist Government to the United States: "All the islands of the Japanese invaders, except for their own country, should be governed by the position of the Central Powers, and Taiwan should of course be returned to China." According to a U.S. State Department official, "the central government cannot maintain its political life without recovering Taiwan." ”
The Cairo Declaration clearly declared the return of Taiwan to China
Later, in order to negotiate the anti-fascist war, from November 22 to 26, 1943, the leaders of China, the United States and the United Kingdom, Chiang Kai-shek, Roosevelt, and Churchill held a meeting in Cairo, the capital of Egypt. Chiang Kai-shek discussed with President Roosevelt on the issue of "the disposition of Japan in the event of a Japanese rout," and the two sides agreed that "the four northeastern provinces of China, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands that Japan had stolen by force must be returned to China after the war." President Roosevelt then instructed Hopkins, special assistant to the president, to draft a communiqué based on the discussions.
The English version of the Cairo Declaration
On 26 November, with regard to the draft communiqué of the Cairo Conference, the British delegate changed "the lands seized by Japan from China, such as Manchuria, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands, which of course should be returned to China," to "of course they must be given up by Japan." Chinese representative Wang Chonghui thought it was inappropriate and argued with reason. He pointed out that "Japan must give up" as a matter of course, but "after Japan gives up, if it is not clear what country it belongs to, it will cause confusion." The Chinese side's revised wording of this paragraph is difficult to accept. The representative of the United States agreed with Wang Chonghui's opinion and advocated maintaining the original text. Subsequently, the leaders of the three countries expressed their approval of the draft and finalized it. On December 1, the Cairo Declaration was issued simultaneously in Chongqing, Washington, and London, clearly declaring: "The purpose of the three countries is to deprive Japan of all the islands in the Pacific that Japan has seized or occupied since the beginning of World War I in 1914." In order to return to the Republic of China the territories stolen by Japan, such as the four northeastern provinces, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands. "Through the Cairo Declaration, the Chinese Government, with the support of the United States and the United Kingdom, affirmed to the world the injustice of Taiwan's original Chinese territory and Japan's forcible occupation, and expressed the solemn commitment of the United States and Britain to the return of Taiwan and Peng to China and the restoration of China's sovereignty over Taiwan and Peng, which is an important basis for international law for handling the Taiwan issue, thus avoiding the internationalization of Taiwan's ownership.
Truman issues the Potsdam Proclamation to the world
From July 17 to August 2, 1945, the heads of state of the United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union, Truman, Churchill (note: after July 28, the new prime minister Attlee) and Stalin held a meeting in Potsdam, a suburb of Berlin. After debate and consultation, agreement was reached on a number of major issues.
The United States set up a secret group and drafted a "Proclamation of the Leaders of the United States, Britain, the Soviet Union, and China Urging Japan's Unconditional Surrender." Truman arrived at the meeting with a draft of the proclamation, and Churchill agreed to publish it. On July 16, the United States successfully tested its first atomic bomb. Truman believed that the horror of the atomic bomb was enough to force Japan to surrender, and he was reluctant to invite the Soviet Union to participate in the proclamation. On July 24, Truman sent a secret telegram to Chiang Kai-shek, preparing to issue a proclamation urging Japan to surrender unconditionally, which was jointly issued by the United States, Britain, and China. After receiving the telegram, Chiang Kai-shek strongly demanded that Truman must send him the full text of the proclamation, and if there was no clause infringing on China's interests, he agreed to put the Chinese state name on the document. Truman had no choice, and finally ordered the full text of the proclamation to be sent to Chiang Kai-shek. On the morning of July 26, Chiang Kai-shek received a telegram, and when it was translated, it was the United States and Britain in the lead. Chiang Kai-shek proposed that Chinese names must be placed second, otherwise they would not participate in the publication. Truman agreed to this request.
Commemorating the Potsdam Proclamation nearly 77 years ago
At 9:20 p.m. Berlin time on July 26, Truman issued the "Proclamation of the Leaders of the United States, China, and the United Kingdom" to the world, which is commonly known as the "Potsdam Proclamation". Article 8 of the Proclamation declares that "the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out, and Japan's sovereignty shall be limited to Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and such other small islands as we may determine." In addition, Article 13 of the Proclamation states, "I hereby inform the Government of Japan of the forthcoming unconditional surrender of all Japanese armed forces and of the intent to carry out such action with appropriate assurances." Otherwise, Japan will be quickly and completely destroyed." The United States continued to broadcast the Potsdam Proclamation to Japan, and distributed 2 million leaflets to the Japanese mainland. However, the Japanese government still resisted stubbornly and refused to accept the Potsdam Proclamation.
Effective Restraint of International Law Makes "Taiwan's Return to China"
On the morning of August 6, 1945, the U.S. military dropped the first atomic bomb "Little Boy" on Hiroshima. Stalin was shocked by the tremendous devastation inflicted on Japan by the atomic bomb. On August 8, the Soviet government declared a state of war against Japan from August 9, with the Potsdam Proclamation attached. On August 9, the U.S. military dropped its second atomic bomb, the Fat Man, on Nagasaki.
Two atomic bombs destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Faced with irreparable defeat, Emperor Hirohito of Japan finally decided to surrender unconditionally. On 14 August, the Japanese government announced its acceptance of the Potsdam Proclamation. The next day, the Emperor of Japan broadcast the Edict of Surrender.
Japan surrendered unconditionally in 1945
On the morning of 2 September, aboard the battleship "Missouri" in Tokyo Bay, representatives of the Japanese Government signed the "Surrender of Japan": "We hereby obey the orders of the Emperor of Japan, the Government of Japan, and their Imperial Base Camp, and on behalf of the Emperor of Japan, the Government of Japan, and their Imperial Base Camp, to accept the terms of the proclamation proclaimed by the heads of state of the United States, China, and Great Britain in Potsdam on 26 July, and to be signed by the Soviet Union thereafter. "The Cairo Declaration is legally binding on China, the United States and the United Kingdom, and the Potsdam Proclamation is legally binding on China, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. If the Japanese Government signs the "Instrument of Surrender of Japan", the "Cairo Declaration" and the "Potsdam Proclamation" constitute legally binding force on the Japanese Government. The Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Letters of Surrender of Japan have been confirmed by China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, as well as accepted by Japan. After Japan's surrender, the Chinese government and army accepted the surrender of Japanese troops in various places in accordance with the relevant contents of the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Japanese Surrender Document, and recovered the lost territories such as Taiwan Island and the Penghu Islands. Source: New Weekly