The officials of the ROC in Taiwan and the PRC in Beijing have always referred to this Oct. 25, 1945 date as "Taiwan Retrocession Day. According to their Chinese world view, Taiwan came under Chinese control on that day, hence it was immediately annexed into the national territory of China.
Not surprisingly, none of the Allies have ever held such a view. A further examination of the customary legal norms of the post-Napoleonic period clearly show that in order to transfer the sovereignty of territory, a treaty is needed. The surrender of Japanese forces in Taiwan is merely a convenient marker for the beginning of the military occupation. And of course it is the conqueror that will be "the occupying power.
Treaty Specifications for Taiwan
Taiwan had previously been a territorial cession in the Treaty of Shimonoseki of 1895. In that treaty, Qing China ceded the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan to Japan. After the close of hostilities in WWII in the Pacific, the final draft of a peace treaty wasn't completed until mid-1951. "The San Francisco Peace Treaty came into force on April 28, 1952, says Chung-mo Cheng, Chairman of the Taiwan Law and Policy Research Foundation, and former Vice President of the Judicial Yuan in Taiwan. "In that treaty, Japan renounced all right, title, and claim to Taiwan, but no receiving country was specified. Hence, from the point of view of international treaty law, it is clear that Taiwan is not Chinese territory.
Chien-ming Huang, Chairman of the Taiwan Nation Party, offers a quick overview of the relevant historical and legal details as follows. "After the first Sino-Japanese War, Qing China ceded Taiwan to Japan under the terms of the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. After the close of hostilities in WWII in the Pacific, the Japanese troops in Taiwan surrendered on Oct. 25, 1945, but that date only marked the beginning of the military occupation of Taiwan. The conqueror is the occupying power. The central government of the ROC moved to occupied Taiwan in early December 1949. Taiwan remained as sovereign Japanese territory until ceded in the SFPT effective April 28, 1952.
Yi-hsien Lin, Secretary General of the Taiwan Democratic Party, outlines a number of key points of this overview which most researchers miss. "Essentially speaking, a government in exile is ˜a temporary government moved to or formed in a foreign land by exiles who hope to rule when their country is liberated.' Hence, we have to recognize that when the Republic of China moved its central government to occupied Taiwan in Dec. 1949, it became a government in exile. Although the military forces under Chiang Kai-shek (CKS) handled the military occupation of Taiwan beginning Oct. 25, 1945, technically speaking they are not ˜the occupying power.' All military attacks against (Japanese) Taiwan in the WWII period were conducted by US military forces, so it is the United States which has the right, and also the duty, to conduct the military occupation of Taiwan. The military forces under CKS are merely exercising delegated administrative authority for the military occupation of Taiwan.
The accuracy of Mr. Lin's remarks can be quickly verified by reading the SFPT. The ROC is not a signatory to the treaty, and therefore does not gain any benefits from the treaty, except for those specifically designated. Under the terms of the treaty, Taiwan was not awarded to China. The United States is designated as the "principal occupying power in Article 23, thus giving strong support to the notion that there are "subordinate occupying powers operating within the geographic scope of the treaty. The military forces under CKS who are handling the military occupation of Taiwan must be construed to be one such subordinate occupying power.
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