Experts rebut 'undetermined status of Taiwan' claim

On Wednesday, a seminar commemorating the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration to China was held at Beijing Union University. Experts at the event emphasized that the false claim of "Taiwan's undetermined status" promoted by certain forces distorts historical facts and violates international law, posing a challenge to the post-World War II international order.

The experts noted that 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War and the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, as well as the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's recovery from Japan's occupation. In 1943, China, the United States, and the United Kingdom signed the Cairo Declaration, which was later endorsed by the Soviet Union. The declaration clearly stated the intention to strip Japan of all territories it had taken or occupied since the beginning of World War I in 1914, including the return of Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to China.

In July 1945, the Potsdam Proclamation was issued by China, the US, and the UK, reaffirming the contents of the Cairo Declaration and transforming its intentions into binding international obligations. In September of the same year, Japan, in its Instrument of Surrender, pledged to faithfully implement the terms of the Potsdam Proclamation, thereby formally accepting the content of the Cairo Declaration, including the return of Taiwan to China. Together, the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, and the Instrument of Surrender form a complete legal framework for Taiwan's return to China, possessing indisputable legal validity.

Li Zhenguang, dean of the Taiwan Research Institute at Beijing Union University, stated that Taiwan's restoration is a result of significant victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japan's Aggression and the Global Anti-Fascist War. No one has the right to override the historical and legal facts established by documents like the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation.

Yang Liuchang, chairman of Hong Kong-based China Review Think Tank Foundation, argued that certain US elements promoting the "Taiwan's undetermined status" narrative aim to undermine the multilateral system centered on the United Nations and revive the law of the jungle where might makes right.

Wang Shushen, deputy director of the Taiwan Studies Institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, emphasized that Taiwan's return to China is a crucial part of the post-war international order. He criticized the San Francisco Peace Treaty as a separate peace agreement between the US and its allies with Japan, excluding major wartime allies like China and the Soviet Union, thus violating key wartime agreements and the principle of unified handling of Japan by the Allies. The Chinese government has consistently declared this treaty illegal and invalid. The "Taiwan's undetermined status" narrative, which uses the San Francisco Treaty as its basis, completely violates international law, order, and justice.

Zhu Zhongbo, director of the Department for World Peace and Security Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, criticized certain major power for selectively applying international law. He stressed that the Chinese and English versions of the three US-China Joint Communiqués are mutually recognized by both sides, and the authority and seriousness of the Chinese version have been established. No forces should be allowed to distort the mutually recognized text and treat political commitments as a game of words.

The experts unanimously agreed that commemorating the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's restoration is not only about reflecting on history but also reaffirming international legal justice. They asserted that there is no room for the "Taiwan's undetermined status" narrative, either now or in the future.