The first time the People’s Republic of China gets to have a voice at the United Nations is 1950. It was the early period of CCP’s regime, and its Ministry of Foreign Relations had drafted up a list of individuals to serve as its ambassadors to the UN, to prepare a long-term warfare, and swore to expel Chiang Kai-Shek and company from the UN. The Republic of China’s international standing was truly in peril. If it wasn’t for an old friend - the United States’ strong support, the ROC would be long gone.
Also on June 28th 1950 Chou En-Lai, receiving order from Mao Tse-Tung, openly announced: “Regardless of any thwarting actions that the American Imperialists take, the truth that Taiwan belongs to China can never be changed.” On June 30th 1950, the UN decided to form an allied military force, led by the US, to join the fight against China in the (China-initiated) Korean War. MacArthur, the US Far East Admiral, will be the chief commander for the allied military force. At the same time, Chiang Kai-Shek, who was permitted by MacArthur to temporarily and militarily occupy Taiwan, will also receive necessary support. Taiwan became an important logistic hub for the allied military force. As a result, the event of the February 28th Massacre, which happened around the same time and actually caught international attention, also quieted down due the Korean War. However, one consequence of the February 28th Massacre is to catch the attention of Chou En-Lai, who thought that the Taiwanese people’s anger is open to political manipulation. He brought charges against the US military occupation, through the former Soviet Union’s UN representative, claiming that the US condoned Chiang Kai-Shek to militarily invade Taiwan. The US then counter-charged China by bring up Chinese invasion of Korean peninsula.
At the time of September 29th 1950, according to the UN Constitution, two countries in disagreement can open a debating session. China, with support from the former Soviet Union, sent a group of representatives to the UN Security Council. Just considering this event and the fact of the current controversial standing of Taiwanese sovereignty in the international community (just like PRC back then), whether the United States has the moral courage to openly and clearly voice support for Taiwan’s entry into the Security Council should be closely observed.
On November 26th 1950, a group of nine Chinese representatives took a British Airways’ plane and landed on New York’s airport. The former Soviet Union, Poland, Checkoslovakia, and even the UN, all sent representatives to welcome their arrival. At that time, China has not yet entered the UN and therefore was not member of the United Nation. And with nothing but Soviet support, it can freely boast its magnificence! On the other hand, the KMT basically lost the ROC. At that time, the international community, even the Chinese communists silently did, still accepted the coexistence of one China and one Taiwan or two Chinas. But the old and stubborn Chiang took on all, and the entire population paid a price: Taiwan became Asia’s orphan. What’s even more outrageous is the “anti-communist” attitude has evolved into “kissing up to communists” today. The KMT now joins with the CCP authority in attempt to seize Taiwan’s political power, and actively coordinates with CCP to suppress Taiwan’s sovereignty and revert it back to China – effectively uniting with the communists to attack Taiwan. Isn’t that infuriating?!
At 12 midnight on November 26th 1950, the CCP representative Wu Hsiu-Chuan walked into the UN Security Council and led to a seat with a tag labeled “People’s Republic of China.” As the representative was settling into his seat, the then Soviet Foreign Minister Vyshinsky was already talking on the stage but immediately changed his subject by saying: “let’s welcome the PRC representatives to participate in the Council and wish their works successful.” According to our understanding, the CCP representatives do not have any rights to participate in UN’s meetings. And even if they do, their place of participation should not be the Security Council room, but only the Conference room for hearing on the outside. If it weren’t for strong Soviet manipulation, this could not have been possible. What is most disappointing is that ROC was a permanent member of the Security Council at that time and should be able to oppose the Chinese representatives entering the Council. Yet now, this “Chinese party at Taiwan” (aka KMT) is anti-American to a preposterous extent. This is likely to be Lian and Sung’s “pilgrimage” to the Chinese communists; the CCP regime then directs them to do so! Have they forgotten the pure-in-judicial-tradition ROC suffered, at that time, the aforementioned insults in the UN? This bunch of communist-fighting heroes’ descendants switched sides, abandoned ROC, and became PRC’s pawns, right?! Furthermore, we also need to ask: Why would the United States allow such a meeting? That, of course, is to curry favor with the former USSR. And the ROC, which parasitically lives off Taiwan, is nothing but a political entity in exile under the American protection. Its vulnerability is a reality.
Then “good” drama unfolds. Chinese representative Wu Hsiu-Chuan charged that the US militarily invaded Taiwan. Without raising sound theory of Taiwan’s undecided political status and avoided widely-accepted international war laws, Wu only paraphrased Truman’s loosely stated words on January 5th 1950: “the US and other allied nations accept China enacting sovereignty on the island;” and also the equally ambiguous statements that the US president Roosevelt made on December 1st, 1943 in the Cairo Declaration: “the territories that Japan stole from China, such as Manchuria, Taiwan, Pescadores islands, etc., should be returned to China.” Because the concepts that Wu raised are controversial and against the norms of international customs and precedents, no member countries signed them into an effective treaty and were immediately rejected. The USSR also refused to fight for it.
The international law, according to the San Francisco Peace Treaty, clearly states that the sovereignty has been transferred to neither country. The 48 nations that signed the Treaty at that time do not include ROC or PRC. Since 1895 when Taiwan was ceded to Japan, and its sovereignty was held by Japan, it was an ownership type of relationship. According to occupation laws, territories fully under the enemy military force’s control and management are considered conquered. Therefore, when on October 25th 1945, Chiang Kai-Shek as a representative accepted the surrendering of Japanese troops at Taiwan – can only be interpreted as the beginning of a “conquest by enemy state” period. It’s nothing but a temporary condition under the occupation laws. So transfer of sovereignty has not yet happened to reach the end condition. The US Military Government has the rights as the main conqueror of the Pan-Pacific region. All other troops under the command of General MacArthur can only carry our tasks on behalf of the rightful main conqueror, and cannot demand to obtain any rights or benefits within this process. After signing the San Francisco Peace Treaty and after the Treaty went into effect, Japan ceded Taiwan on the April 28th of 1952. But the Treaty never states a specific receiving country. (The main reason being that both the China region and the Taiwan region have groups which calls themselves as the “lawful government of China.” As to who is right or wrong, it was highly controversial among the international community.) The period from after the Peace Treaty went into effect until the end of the military government’s authorized conquest/occupation is “friendly residential occupation,” or can also be called the military government’s civil administration regime. As a result, Taiwan continues to stay under the US management, until its sovereignty can be transferred to a local and lawful government. During this period, Taiwan’s sovereignty remains in the hands of the United States. It’s a trustee type of relationship.
Now a day, China manipulates the electorates in the UN and expects every nation in the world to re-recognize “Taiwan is a part of China.” Even if an election is actually held and passed for Taiwan to belong to China, such a result still cannot override the codes stated in the San Francisco Peace Treaty, making it nothing but a “feel-good” result.
If the Taiwanese people really want to build a country, then we should actively participate in activities such as drafting and creating a new constitution as well as name rectification. In the same time, support our foundation’s efforts to promote all kinds of activities to assist Taiwan’s historical rectification and sovereign recognition.
Note: The article is a chapter from Revere the Taiwanese Divinities: Taiwanese People Reject to be a Rootless People by Dr. Yang Hsu-Tung, chairman of Taiwan Tati Cultural and Educational Foundation.
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