Editing Political status of Taiwan (section)

==== Chinese sovereignty ====

'''Arguments common to both the PRC and the ROC'''

The ROC and PRC both officially support the One China policy and thus share common arguments. In the arguments below, "Chinese" is an ambiguous term that could mean the PRC and/or ROC as legal government(s) of China.

# The waging of aggressive war by Japan against China in 1937 and beyond violates the peace that was brokered in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. In 1941, with the declaration of war against Japan, the Chinese government declared this treaty void ''ab initio'' (never happened in the first place). Therefore, some{{Who|date=April 2025}} argue that, with no valid transfer of sovereignty taking place, the sovereignty of Taiwan naturally belongs to China.<ref>{{cite web |title=The True Legal Status of Taiwan |url=http://www.taiwanbasic.com/un/truelegal.htm |publisher=Taiwan Civil Government |website=taiwanbasic.com |access-date=22 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140522070049/http://www.taiwanbasic.com/un/truelegal.htm |archive-date=22 May 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
# The Cairo Declaration of 1 December 1943 was accepted by Japan in its surrender. This document states that Taiwan was to be restored to the Republic of China at the end of World War II. Likewise, the [[Potsdam Declaration]] of 26 July 1945, also accepted by Japan, implies that it will no longer have sovereignty over Taiwan by stating that "Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku, and such minor islands".
# The exclusion of Chinese governments (both ROC and PRC) in the negotiation process of the San Francisco Peace Treaty (SFPT) nullified any legally binding power of the SFPT on China, including any act of renouncing or disposing of sovereignty. In addition, the fact that neither ROC nor PRC government ever ratified SFPT terms prescribes that the SFPT is irrelevant to any discussion of Chinese sovereignty.
# SFPT's validity has come into question as some of the countries participating in the San Francisco conference, such as the USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and North and South Korea, refused to sign the treaty.<ref name="The Strait Journal">{{Citation |script-title=zh:兩岸關係與台灣主權 |trans-title=Cross-strait relations and Taiwan's sovereignty |language=zh-tw |url= http://www.haixiainfo.com.tw/FF/214-7301.html |archive-url= https://archive.today/20130419133235/http://www.haixiainfo.com.tw/FF/214-7301.html |url-status= dead |archive-date= 2013-04-19 |publisher= The Strait Journal |date= October 2008 |author8= 李壽林 (Lee, Shou-lin) }}</ref>
# Assuming SFPT is valid in determining the sovereignty over Taiwan, Japan, in article 2 of the SFPT, renounced all rights, without assigning a recipient, regarding Taiwan. Japan, in the same article, also renounced, without assigning a recipient, areas that are now internationally recognized as territories of Russia as well as other countries. Given that the sovereignty of these countries over renounced areas is undisputed, the Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan must also be undisputed.<ref name="The Strait Journal"/>

'''ROC sovereignty'''

# The ROC fulfills all requirements for a state according to the [[Convention of Montevideo]], which means it has a territory, a people, and a government.
# The ROC continues to exist since its establishment in 1911, only on a reduced territory after 1949.
# The creation and continuity of a state is only a factual issue, not a legal question. Declarations and recognition by other states cannot have any impact on their existence. According to the declaratory theory of recognition, the recognition of third states is not a requirement for being a state. Most of the cited declarations by American or British politicians are not legal statements but solely political intents.
# The PRC has never exercised control over Taiwan.
# The Treaty of Taipei formalized the peace between Japan and the ROC. In it, Japan reaffirmed Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Declaration and voided all treaties conducted between China and Japan (including the Treaty of Shimonoseki).
# Article 4 of the ROC Constitution clearly states that "The territory of the Republic of China" is defined "according to its existing national boundaries..." Taiwan was historically part of China and is, therefore, naturally included therein. Also, as Treaty of Shimonoseki is void ''ab initio'', China has never legally dispossessed of the sovereignty of the territory. There is, accordingly, no need to have a National Assembly resolution to include the territory.
# The [[Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty|ROC – USA Mutual Defense Treaty of 1955]] states that "the terms "territorial" and "territories" shall mean in respect of the Republic of China, Taiwan, and the Pescadores" and thus can be read as implicitly recognizing the ROC sovereignty over Taiwan. However, the treaty was terminated in 1980.

'''PRC sovereignty'''

# The PRC does not recognize the validity of any of the unequal treaties the Qing signed in the "century of humiliation," as it considers them all unjust and illegal, as is the position during [[transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong]] from the United Kingdom to the PRC. As such, the cession of Taiwan in the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki actually never took place in a ''de jure'' fashion. The PRC, as the successor to the Qing and ROC in that order, therefore inherited the sovereignty of Taiwan.
# The return of the sovereignty of Taiwan to the ROC was confirmed on 25 October 1945 on the basis of the Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation, Japanese Instrument of Surrender, and the invalidity of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. According to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, the PRC became the successor government to the ROC in representing China, and as such, the PRC should hold the sovereignty of Taiwan.
# In the [[Joint Communique of the Government of Japan and the Government of the People's Republic of China]] to the end of the Treaty of Taipei, the document signifying the commencement of the PRC and Japan's formal relations, Japan in article 3 stated that it fully understands and respects the position of the Government of the People's Republic of China that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China. Japan also firmly maintains its stand under Article 8 of the Potsdam Declaration, which says, "the terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out". The Cairo Declaration says, "All territories Japan has stolen from China, including Manchuria, Taiwan, and the Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China". The PRC argues that it is a successor state of the ROC and is therefore entitled to all of the ROC's holdings and benefits.<ref>{{Citation |url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/tai_gang_ao/2005-10/24/content_3677774.htm |publisher=Xinhua News Agency |date=2008-05-08 |script-title=zh:有关台湾光复的国际法文件 |trans-title=Documents regarding the retrocession of Taiwan |language=zh |access-date=22 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151007195429/http://news.xinhuanet.com/tai_gang_ao/2005-10/24/content_3677774.htm |archive-date=7 October 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>