In its drive to be the supreme power in the world, the U.S. government has been trying to get rid of any country who can be a competitor or potential competitor in the world in terms of economic, political, military, intellectual, or social influence in the minds and hearts of the people of the world. With the dissolution of the USSR in 1991 and the rapid rise of China during the past 40+ years, the U.S. government sees that China as the main obstacle to keeping the U.S. to become the supreme hegemonic power in the world, basically dictating how the world should be run, instead of working collaboratively in a win-win situation with the rest of the world.
In this article we focus on the issue of Taiwan which is going to be the most important issue in determining the outcome of the U.S.-China relationship. In a sense, this issue is really trivial if you follow the history of China and the U.S.-relationship with respect to Taiwan, but in reality, because the U.S. is not acknowledging history and wants to rewrite history, this issue could trigger the next world war and another nuclear war.
What Is Happening in the Past Decade?
The U.S. has been mobilizing its vast media apparatus to distort the truth and demonize China at whatever opportunity that may arise, e.g., in situations involving Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan, East China Sea Islands like the Diaoyudao Islands (also called Senkaku Islands in Japan), the South China Sea Islands, hate crimes against Chinese Americans and more generally speaking against Asian Americans, and false espionage charges against Chinese American academics (all accusations have been proven to be false and wrongfully accused in the U.S. courts).
At the same time, the U.S. government is always projecting itself as the model government for the world to admire and mimic; it is a gold standard in terms of governance of the country with respect to democracy and human rights, and in terms of world peace and addressing the world’s critical problems. However, in reality, the U.S. government has been paying lip service to democracy and human rights and has long been involved and documented in destabilizing and overthrowing foreign governments when the leaders in power are not favorable to the U.S. government. [1][2] Therefore, it has repeatedly happened that the U.S. government does not always acknowledged history and will rewrite history whenever it is to the advantage of the U.S. government.
Brief Reminders of Certain Historical Facts Involving Taiwan:
Historically, Taiwan has been a part of China for many centuries and universally so recognized by the world. The island of Taiwan was ceded to Japan after Japan won the first Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 [3]. After WWII ended, Japan was supposed to relinquish all territories in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied since the beginning of the first World War in 1914, and that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and The Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China. This agreement was clearly stated in several major international declarations.
The 1943 Cairo Declaration [4]:
In particular, it was so stated in the November 26, 1943 Cairo Declaration by President Franklin Roosevelt of the U.S., Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom, and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China. The declaration developed ideas from the 1941 Atlantic Charter, which was issued by the Allies of WWII to set goals for the post-war order.
The 1945 Potsdam Declaration [5]:
On July 26, 1945, the Allied Powers represented by President Franklin Roosevelt of the U.S., Prime Minister Winston Churchill of the United Kingdom and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek of the Republic of China issued the Potsdam Declaration that offered an unconditional surrender of Japan to WWII and reiterated the 1943 Cairo Declaration that all territories that Japan seized or occupied from the Chinese, including the island of Taiwan, should be returned to China.
The 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender [6]:
On September 2, 1945, representatives from the Japanese government and Allied forces aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, which ended World War II and also reiterated the Potsdam Declaration that the island of Taiwan should be returned to China.
The 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty [7]:
The 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty [8] was supposed to officially end WWII and to allocate compensation to the Allied powers. China (either the People’s Republic of China or the Republic of China), the country who suffered the most at the hands of the Japanese military during WWII, was not even invited to the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, although over 50 other countries were invited. Unlike the 1943 Cairo Declaration, the 1945 Potsdam Declaration, and the 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender which all stated that the island of Taiwan should be returned to China, the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, which was orchestrated and controlled by the U.S. only stated that these territories should be given up by Japan, but purposely did not state that they should be returned to China (to either the Republic of China or the People’s Republic of China). The People’s Republic of China immediately protested that mistake. But the Republic of China signed the Treaty of Taipei with Japan on April 28, 1952 (almost immediately after the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty took effect) that basically copied the 1951 San Francisco Peace Treaty, i.e., without stating that the island of Taiwan should be returned to the Chinese. In 1951, U.S. was in control of not only the San Francisco Peace Treaty, but also of the Republic of China government in Taiwan, and it once again used its power to dictate the fate of others to the advantage of the U.S. while ignoring history and justice.
It is important to point out that In 1980, while adjudicating a case concerning nationality, the Tokyo High Court wrote in its opinion that the 1952 Treaty of Taipei should lose its significance and should end as a result of the Japan-China Joint Communique signed on September 29, 1972 between Japan and the People’s Republic of China. [8]
Summary:
History clearly tells us that the island of Taiwan should be returned to the Chinese, and should now belong to the People’s Republic of China. If the U.S. would just acknowledge history, this is a non-issue. But if the U.S. wants to rewrite history, then it crosses the openly stated red line of the People’s Republic of China, and could easily trigger another world war, or even a devastating nuclear war.
Unfortunately during the past year, the U.S. government has repeatedly denied history, as in the most recent example that the US State Department has recently changed the wording on the “fact sheet” on its relations with Taiwan when it no longer included a declaration of its long-time position that the U.S. does not support Taiwan independence. The most recent example is when President Biden made the remark on May 23, 2022 that the U.S. will defend Taiwan. It is clear that the U.S. has now been moving clearly into a position that denies history, and could easily trigger a war with China, a war that is not good for Americans, for Chinese, and for the people of the whole world. All the peace-loving people of the world must take actions to keep the U.S. from rewriting history.
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[1] See, e.g., Overthrow, by Stephen Kinzer, Times Books, 2006, ISBN 978-0-8050-7861-9.
[2] See, also, “Tale of Two Standards in World Politics – Part I”: https://www.dontow.com/2022/03/tale-of-two-standards-in-world-politics-part-i/.
[3] See, e.g., “First Sino-Japanese War”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Sino-Japanese_War.
[4] See, e.g., “The 1943 Cairo Declaration”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1943_Cairo_Declaration.
[5} See, e.g., “Potsdam Declaration”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potsdam_Declaration.
[6] See. e.g., September 2, 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender”: https://www.google.com/search?q=9%2F2%2F1945+Japanese+Instrument+of+Surrender&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALiCzsbFH6wgMOxad-1h-T2PRv9Pmo1E2A%3A1651865624297&ei=GHh1YqPPEbK5gge01ryADA&ved=0ahUKEwiju4L-zsv3AhWynOAKHTQrD8AQ4dUDCA0&uact=5&oq=9%2F2%2F1945+Japanese+Instrument+of+Surrender&gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyBwgjELADECcyBwgAEEcQsAMyBwgAEEcQsAMyBwgAEEcQsAMyBwgAEEcQsAMyBwgAEEcQsAMyBwgAEEcQsAMyBwgAEEcQsAMyBwgAEEcQsANKBAhBGABKBAhGGABQAFgAYI4JaAFwAXgAgAEAiAEAkgEAmAEAyAEJwAEB&sclient=gws-wiz.
[8] See, e.g., “Treaty of Taipei,” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Taipei.
Dear Don:
You have the courage to select “untouchable” topics and discuss it openly. That is very rare in the Chinese American community, and in the mainstream media. I salute you for that.
However, I like to encourage you to greatly improve the quality of your publications. One example is your statement “then it crosses the openly stated red line of the People’s Republic of China,”. When you raise such a point, you are obligated to tell your readers what this “openly stated red line of PRC” is, and reference your source(s). Your current publications read to me that you are stating your personal views. It lacks the authority of a carefully researched article.
Thank you. Please keep doing what you are doing, but greatly improve the quality of your publications. S. B. Woo
PS: I don’t understand your 2nd and 3rd boxes above. Please give more explanation. Thank you.