In response to the Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s article titled “Drawing Lessons from History and Creating a Better Future” published by the Russian media on the 7th, which distorts historical facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China (Taiwan) have refuted and condemned it, emphasizing the fact that the Republic of China’s leadership achieved victory in the war of resistance.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China issued a press release stating that on the 7th, Xi Jinping published a signed article in the Russian newspaper “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” titled “Drawing Lessons from History and Creating a Better Future”, distorting the historical and legal facts of the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, reversing right and wrong and deviating from the truth. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed strong dissatisfaction and condemnation towards this malicious attempt to deceive and mislead the international community, attempting to undermine the sovereignty of the Republic of China.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China reiterated that documents with international legal effect such as the Cairo Declaration in 1943 and the Potsdam Proclamation in 1945 have confirmed the sovereignty of the Republic of China over Taiwan, at a time when the People’s Republic of China did not even exist, so how could there be any recognition of “the sovereignty of China (Communist) over Taiwan”? The People’s Republic of China did not participate in the anti-Japanese war during World War II and was not invited to sign the San Francisco Peace Treaty, therefore it is not qualified to claim to be a part of the “post-war order”.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China pointed out that the status of Taiwan, Penghu, and their surrounding islands after World War II has been legally resolved by a series of legal documents including the Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation, Japanese Surrender Document, San Francisco Peace Treaty, and the Sino-Japanese Treaty of 1952. These documents all confirm the obligation to return Taiwan and its associated islands (including the Diaoyu Islands) to the Republic of China as stated in the Cairo Declaration.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China emphasized that UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 does not mention Taiwan at all, let alone declare that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China. Legally, it does not authorize the People’s Republic of China to represent Taiwan and the Taiwanese people in the United Nations and its specialized agencies.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China stressed that the misinterpretation of this resolution by the Chinese Communist government not only ignores historical facts but also violates principles of international law. The continuous misleading of the international community by the Chinese Communist Party and its leaders to accept the so-called “One China Principle” and falsely claim that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China, as well as authorizing China to represent Taiwan within the UN system, is an objective attempt to erase the fact that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is a sovereign state and to negate Taiwan’s legitimate right to participate in the UN system.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China called on the international community to oppose the repeated distortion of historical facts by the Chinese Communist Party and the misinterpretation of the resolution, as well as the intentions to change the current status quo where both sides of the Taiwan Strait are not subordinate to each other, and urged the international community to jointly condemn the Chinese Communist Party’s open provocations and acts of undermining the status quo.
Additionally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China reiterated that Taiwan is a sovereign independent state, and Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China; the democratic Taiwan and the authoritarian China are not subordinate to each other, which is the current reality of the Taiwan Strait and the long-recognized objective fact internationally. Only the democratically elected government of Taiwan has the right to represent the 23 million people of Taiwan in international arenas like the United Nations, and the People’s Republic of China has no authority in this matter.
Regarding the joint statement signed during the meeting between the leaders of China and Russia, which erroneously claimed that “the victory on the Chinese battlefield during World War II was achieved under the leadership of the Communist Party” and that “Taiwan is an indivisible part of the People’s Republic of China”, the Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China expressed solemn protest and condemnation.
The Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China stated that the government and all the people and military of the Republic of China made countless sacrifices and contributions during the War of Resistance Against Japan, jointly resisting aggression and defending their homeland, ultimately achieving victory in the war, which holds significant historical significance. The Chinese Communist Party only took advantage of the situation to expand and consolidate communist power without making any substantial contribution to the anti-Japanese war, let alone “leading” the resistance.
The Mainland Affairs Council of the Republic of China emphasized that Taiwan has never belonged to the People’s Republic of China historically, legally, or in reality between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. Taiwan has never been a part of the People’s Republic of China, and the widely recognized fact in the international community is that “both sides are not subordinate to each other”.