China is deliberately distorting World War II documents to pressure Taiwan and isolate it because those agreements do not define the island's final political status, the US embassy in Taipei said, Reuters reported, News.bg reports.
The 80th anniversary of the end of the war has been marked by a bitter dispute between Taipei and Beijing over the historical significance of the events and their contemporary relevance.
The Chinese government argues that documents such as the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation support its legal claim to sovereignty over Taiwan, as the wording states that the island was to be “restored“ under Chinese rule, with Taiwan being a Japanese colony at the time.
At the time of these agreements, China was the Republic of China. In 1949, the government fled to Taiwan after losing the civil war to Mao Zedong's communists. The Republic of China remains the official name of Taiwan, and the island's government emphasizes that no World War II agreements mention the People's Republic of China, which did not exist at the time. Therefore, Beijing has no right to claim Taiwan today.
“China is deliberately distorting World War II documents, including the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Treaty of San Francisco, to support its campaign to subjugate Taiwan,“ the American Institute in Taiwan said.
“Beijing's narratives are false, and none of these documents defined the final political status of Taiwan.“
The San Francisco Peace Treaty was signed by Japan in 1951, giving Tokyo its claim to Taiwan, although the island's sovereignty remains unresolved. Beijing claims the treaty is "illegal and void" because China was not a party to it.
The United States severed formal relations with Taipei in 1979 when it recognized Beijing, but remains the island's most important international supporter. Washington follows a "one-China policy," according to which it does not officially take a position on Taiwan's sovereignty and recognizes China's position on the issue.
“The false legal narratives are part of Beijing's broader campaign to isolate Taiwan from the international community and limit the sovereign choices of other countries regarding their interactions with the island,“ the American Institute in Taiwan emphasized.
Taiwanese Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lun expressed gratitude for the US mission's statement:
“Our country and the People's Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, and the People's Republic of China has no right to represent Taiwan in the international community.“