It Is Time for the U.S. to Acknowledge History

It is time for the U.S. to acknowledge who won the civil war in China in 1949:  It was the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

It is time for the U.S. to acknowledge that after Japan was defeated in WWII, Japan should have returned the island of Taiwan to China.

It is time to correct the omission of the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty that was supposed to officially end WWII and to allocate compensation to the Allied powers.  Besides stating that Japan should give up the territories including Taiwan that Japan took from China, it should have also stated that such territories should be returned to China. [1]  This then would be consistent with the 1943 Cairo Declaration, the 1945 Potsdam Declaration, and the September 2, 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender.  Note:  Although China was the country that suffered the most at the hands of the Japanese military during WWII, neither the PRC nor the Republic of China (ROC) was invited to the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty when over 50 countries were invited and which was masterminded by the U.S.

It is time for the U.S. to acknowledge that the Diaoyu Islands (also called Senkaku Islands) belong to China.  This is a set of eight, small, uninhabited islands about 130 miles northeast of Taiwan on the continental shelf of Taiwan in the East China Sea, that for several centuries have been recognized as parts of China in various international maps (including Japan’s), and have been used by Chinese fishermen as temporary shelters. [2]

It is time for the U.S. to acknowledge that the U.S.’s Mutual Defense Treaty with Japan is not applicable over the Diaoyu Islands since the U.S.’s official position is that the territorial sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands is still undetermined.

It is time for the U.S. to acknowledge that historically and legally China has territorial sovereignty over many islands in the South China Sea. [3] Just because an island is close to the territory of another country, it doesn’t necessarily mean that that country has territorial sovereignty over that island.  It is time for the U.S. to acknowledge that China has the legal right to landfill part of the water around some of its islands in the South China Sea, just like United Arab Emirates landfilled to make the Palm Islands in Dubai.

It is time for the U.S. to stop interfering in the internal affairs of China.  It is time for the U.S. to stop creating and spreading fake news about Xinjiang, like China is carrying out a genocide in Xinjiang during the last decade or so, whereas in reality, from 2010 to 2018, the Uyghur minority population in Xinjiang has grown by about 14%, while the Han population in Xinjiang has shrunk by about 8%. [4] 

It is time for the U.S. to assess and judge fairly and equitably. It is time for the U.S. to acknowledge that such fake news contributes to the rising anti-Asian racism and crimes.

It is time for the U.S. to discontinue its hostile attitude to isolate, surround, weaken, and interfere in the internal affairs of China.  Such attitude is not going to increase the competitiveness of the U.S., and it is wrong and is not in the best interests of the American people, and it is also not in the best interests of the people of the rest of the world.

Instead of trying to create conflicts with China that could lead to wars resulting in a no-win situation for everyone and possibly destroying the world as we know it for our children and grandchildren, it is time for the U.S. to adopt an attitude toward China that is mutually respectful.  While competing with each other, the U.S. and China can also collaborate to solve the many crucially important problems facing the world today, such as climate change, poverty, terrorism, global arms escalation, global pandemic.   Instead of looking at the world as a zero-sum game, it is time to find ways to grow and share the pie.  This is the right strategy to grow the U.S. economy, to repair the U.S. reputation, and to improve the world. [5]


[1] For background information on the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, see, e.g., the section “America’s Foreign Policy Toward China Since the Late 1940s” in the article “US-China Relationship Can Use Another Anson Burlingame”: http://www.dontow.com/2016/12/u-s-china-relationship-can-use-another-anson-burlingame/. A slightly shorter version of the Burlingame article is published in December 20, 2016 of China-US Focus:  English version:  http://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/us-china-relationship-can-use-another-anson-burlingame.  Chinese version:  http://cn.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/20161219/11328.html.

[2] For background information on the Diaoyu Islands, see, e.g., the article “Diao Yu Tai Student Movement: Recollection 50 Years Later”: http://www.dontow.com/2020/09/diao-yu-tai-student-movement-recollection-50-years-later/.

[3] For background information on the South China Sea dispute, see, e.g., the article “South China Sea Dispute: Abuse of World Power”: http://www.dontow.com/2016/09/south-china-sea-dispute-abuse-of-world-power/. That article has also been published on September 15, 2016 in China-US Focus.  For the English version:  http://www.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/south-china-sea-dispute-abuse-of-world-power/.  For the Chinese version:  http://cn.chinausfocus.com/foreign-policy/20160915/8681.html.

[4] For assessment of various reports on bad things happening in Xinjiang, see, e.g., the article “Xinjiang: Horror Story or Historic Transformation?”: http://www.dontow.com/2021/06/xinjiang-horror-story-or-historic-transformation/.

[5] For a discussion of US-China relationship, see, e.g., the article “US-China Relationship at a Crossroad”: http://www.dontow.com/2021/03/u-s-china-relationship-at-a-crossroad/.

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One Response to “It Is Time for the U.S. to Acknowledge History”

  1. Nancy M Lee says:

    Don: This is an excellent article. Well written based on facts. I am forwarding it to all my friends. Thank you.

    Nancy

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