In this annotation, I
trace back to the history of Taiwan. As WWI was coming to an end, a wave of
self-determination swept the world. “President Wilson presented his “14 points”
as a blueprint of the handling of the war’s aftermath. Included in his “14
points” was the principle of self-determination for all people. In handling the
aftermath of this war, the views of all people should be respected.”(15)
Taiwanese intellectuals at that time were inspired by this concept and were determined
to strive for more freedom and equality in Taiwan. “We Taiwanese must seriously
consider our future under Japanese rule.”(26) This could be seen as the first
time that Taiwanese talking about our own future that is related to our sovereignty.
.jpg)
.jpg)
In November 1943, “World War II was
drawing to a close and the Japanese were on the brink of defeat. The leaders of
the allied powers, China, the United States and Great Britain, met at Cairo and
the issue of Taiwan’s future was addressed. The U.S. backed Chiang Kai-shek in
his request that Japan return Manchuria, Formosa and Penghu to the Republic of
China.”(14) However, in the formal treaty, Treaty of Peace with Japan, which
was signed at San Francisco in 1951, the request was not recorded. The original
text of the treaty wrote, “Japan renounces all right, title and claim to
Formosa and the Pescadores.” It simply states that Japan “renounces” all right,
but it doesn’t specify that Japan will give its right to the Republic of China.
The popular dispute now in Taiwan is that
which one is effective, Cairo Declaration in which Chiang Kai-shek requests that
Japan return Manchuria, Formosa and Penghu to the Republic of China or Treaty
of Peace with Japan? The latter should be effective since the allied powers in
WWII had signed the treaty and Cairo Declaration was not a treaty. If the
Chinese National Party didn’t come to Taiwan after WWII, Taiwan would probably
apply the principle of self-determination. Taiwan has the chance to become an
independent country, and for this reason, some Taiwanese don’t recognize the
name “Republic of China.” This is how I try to support the independence of
Taiwan from the perspective of history.
.jpg)
References:
認識台灣歷史. 8, 日本時代(下) : 覺醒的年代 [電子資源] : 覺醒的年代 = The Japanese Era (II) : The Age of Awakening / 鄭丞鈞劇本編寫 ; 劉素珍, 劉昭淵漫畫繪製 ; 何仁傑(Peter Hillman)英譯.
認識台灣歷史. 9, 戰後(上): 強人天空下 [電子資源] : 強人天空下 = The Post-World War II Era (I) : In the Realm of the Strongmen / 何佩琪劇本編寫 ; 劉素珍, 劉昭淵漫畫繪製 ; 文魯彬(Robin J. Winkler)英譯.
https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20136/volume-136-I-1832-English.pdf
To discuss Taiwan's independence issue, it's inevitable to track back to Taiwan's history. You give us some formal documents to show that Taiwan's sovereign right determined by two treats that goes to opposite ways. And in the paragraph 2, you say that "The latter should be effective since the allied powers in WWII had signed the treaty and Cairo Declaration was not a treaty." I can't understand the logic why the latter is more effective, or maybe i just have some misunderstandings. I would like to know more thoroughly the origin of the declamation of our country. Also, since you want to support your point that Taiwan is an independent country by this history, I think you can depict more about Treaty of Peace. For another suggestion, maybe you can give us brief summary of Taiwan's history before and after WWII, since it can let readers understand article quickly! I'm looking forward your solution to it.
回覆刪除P.S. your reference should be translated in English!
In the third annotation you mentioned the term “self-determination” and also raise the readers’ attention that the “14 points” President Wilson suggest was the principle of self-determination. But what does self-determination have to do with the independent of one country, since the topic of your issue paper is to discuss whether should Taiwan be an independent country, I suppose? And also, I wonder what other history incident happened before in Taiwan that mattered strongly on Taiwanese politic nowadays? For that you had trace back to the history of Taiwan, I think there will definitely be more incident to support your point at issue after all.
回覆刪除Lately I've read an article maintaining that the primary reason Taiwan still encountering difficulties getting admission to UN is because the content stating we represent the "only China authority" in our Constitution. Apparently, the post of the representation of China has been taken over by People's Republic of China in middle 20th century. To be truth, it is awkward to have two or more countries stating representing the same country authority or the post in UN which should be one and only. Thus. I'm considering if we revise the content to represent the only "Taiwan", would it be easier to get into UN? Then, if we do revise it, what about dealing with "ROC," the so-called official name of where we live. It is the vague statement in our Constitution and soci-economic complicated concern that intervenes our position to be clear. I wonder if there's more personal perspective of coping with this situation above, it would be more transparent for us knowing your stance.
回覆刪除The name of “Republic of China” is a controversial name for some Taiwanese and even me. You provide the history and the process of the status of Taiwan,and it seems that Taiwan has ever probably become an independent country in the world. But I would like to know more about who are the "Taiwanese intellectuals" inspired by Wilson and own the “self-determination.” Did any historical event or special movement happened in this era? And who was the main leader ? I am curious about the background in paragraph one “We Taiwanese must seriously consider our future under Japanese rule.” Who are “we”? Does there own the specific characters? Thank you! In addition, I appreciate the comic that you put into the annotation. It is simple but clear about the relevant of self-determination.
回覆刪除Dear Angela, thank you for providing us such good historic view to look at Taiwan. From Wilson’s Self-determination to Cairo Declaration in which Chiang Kai-shek requests that Japan return Manchuria, Formosa and Penghu to the Republic of China and Treaty of Peace with Japan. The point of Taiwanese especially your desire to see Taiwan become independent is very clear. This is a sensitive issue. However you use a objective way to illustrate and support your main point. I think it is really good and won’t make others avoid the issue you are discussing. Furthermore, the comics you offer are really impressive, interesting and helpful to understand the thesis progressively. I appreciate it a lot.
回覆刪除The controversy of whether Taiwan should be independent has existed for a long time. And it is very good for you to support your point by using historic data. The excerpt of the comic is precise, because the content of comic you provided can contain all the emphasis you mentioned in the article.
回覆刪除I am not familiar with the topic, so I cannot really know what the most influential controversy is in the issue that whether Taiwan should be independent. I don’t have specific personal opinion about the issue so I won’t know the real problem, and maybe you can try to point it out.
Your reason which support the legitimacy of independency of Taiwan is quite convincible to me. History of Taiwan is seemingly familiar to us, however, there are still lots of controversial questions that worth discussing inside the blank of definitions. There are evidences show that Taiwan owns the right to declare our self-determination, however, as a long historical immigrating country, how to define the "self-determination" is also a tough question. Again, I pretty appreciate your evidence of independency of Taiwan.
回覆刪除