Over the past year since I arrived in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, I have visited many places and talked with many people on issues of common interest. Unexpectedly I find that some Kurdish friends don’t know much about the Taiwan issue, which is so important to China. To my surprise, some of them even hold wrong views on it. I have to emphasize that the One-China Principle is universally recognized by the international community, and the core of the One-China Principle is that Taiwan is not an independent state, it’s an inalienable part of China's territory. Here I would like to take this opportunity to explain reasons as follows.
The historical ins and outs of the Taiwan issue. The Chinese people on both sides across the Taiwan Straits have the same roots, speak same language. They are connected with each other by same blood and same ancestor. A number of historical records document the development of Taiwan by the Chinese people in early historical periods. The earliest reference to this effect is, in Seaboard Geographic Gazetteer compiled in the year 230 by Shen Ying of the State of Wu during the Three Kingdoms Period. The royal court of the Sui Dynasty had on three occasions sent troops to Taiwan, called Liuqiu at that time. Starting from the Song and Yuan dynasties, the imperial central governments of China set up administrative entities to exercise jurisdiction over Taiwan and other small islands. In 1624, Dutch colonialists invaded Taiwan and occupied the southern part of the island. In 1662, General Zheng Chenggong, one of our national heroes, led an army to liberate the island from Dutch people. Subsequently, imperial government of Qing designated Taiwan as a prefecture under administration of Fujian Province in 1684. In 1885, prefecture of Taiwan was upgraded to became the 20th province of China.
The legal facts that Taiwan is part of China. In July 1894, Japan launched an aggression against China. In April 1895, the defeated Qing government was forced to cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan. The Cairo Declaration signed by China, the United States and the United Kingdom on December 1, 1943 stated that all the territories Japan had taken from China, including Northeast China, Taiwan and the Penghu Islands, should be returned to China. The Potsdam Proclamation signed by China, US, UK and Soviet Union on July 26, 1945 reiterated: “The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out.” In September of the same year, Japan signed the instrument of surrender, in which it promised that it would faithfully fulfill the obligations laid down in the Potsdam Proclamation. On October 25, 1945 the Chinese government announced that it resumed the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan, and the ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in Taiwan was held in Taipei. From that forward, China had recovered Taiwan de jure and de facto through a host of international legal documents. On October 1, 1949 the People's Republic of China (PRC) was founded, succeeding the Republic of China (1912-1949), and the Central People's Government became the only legitimate government representing whole China. Thus the regime change in China does not change the subject of international law, and China's sovereignty and inherent territory should remain as same. Therefore, the central government of the PRC should exercise sovereignty over all Chinese territory, including Taiwan. At its 26th session in October 1971, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, which “restores all its rights to the People's Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it”. This resolution settled once and for all the political, legal and procedural issues of China's representation in the UN. It also spelled out that China has one single seat in the UN, so there is no such issues as “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan”. In the UN official docuemtns Taiwan is referred to as "Taiwan, Province of China".
The Taiwan issue is a legacy of the Chinese civil war and is purely China's internal affairs. Shortly after the victory of the China’s Resistance War Against Japanese Aggression, a civil war broke out. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese people overthrew the government of the Republic of China (ROC). In the wake of defeat, the Kuomintang escaped to Taiwan and became de facto administrator of Taiwan with the support of external forces. As a result a state of protracted political separation was created across the Taiwan Straits, and the Taiwan issue started to exist. Since 1949 although the two sides of the Taiwan Straits have not yet been completely unified, but the sovereignty and territory of China have never been divided and will never be divided, and Taiwan's status as part of China's territory has never changed and will never be allowed to change.
The One-China principle has become an universal consensus of the international community. Over half a century since the adoption of Resolution 2758 by the UN General Assembly, the United Nations have unwaveringly adhered to the One-China principle and has consistently followed Resolution 2758 in handling issues related to Taiwan. At present, there are 183 countries on earth that have established diplomatic relations with China under One-China principle, covering more than 93% of the United Nations member states. These facts fully demonstrate that the One-China principle is what most people in the world aspire, the general trend of the times and history, and has long become a recognized norm governing international relations.
Between China and Iraq, One-China principle constitutes a solid foundation for our bilateral relations, which have been growing fast and strong in recent years. Based on mutual respect and equality, we believe this relationship would bring about much benefit for people of two countries.
Liu Jun is the Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Erbil.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rudaw.