Taiwan

How can I prove or disprove the contention that "The Republic of China is the legitimate government of Taiwan"?

One of my friends has made the potentially intelligent observation that all of the poor treatment which Taiwan receives in the international community could be explained easily IF it could be proved that the Republic of China is not the legitimate government of Taiwan. So, this seems a good topic to debate in political science classes. Does the Republic of China have legitimacy just because it is there in Taiwan?? What factors are relevant? In general, how can I prove or disprove the contention that "The Republic of China is the legitimate government of Taiwan" .... Detailed answers will be appreciated.

Public Comments

1. Taiwan is currently claimed by the People's Republic of China (PRC) although the PRC has never controlled Taiwan or any of the current ROC(Republic of China) territory commonly referred to as "Taiwan". The PRC justifies its claim by arguing that the PRC succeeded the ROC in 1949, and pointing out that the ROC had ruled Taiwan for four years from 1945 to 1949.
2. The clearest way to support Taiwan's government's claims it is by pointing out that Taiwan regularly has free elections, and the voters haven't been electing the rulers of mainland China. Mainland China's claim, of course, is that Taiwan is a rebellious province and its government therefore has no legitimacy.
3. Foreign governments go out of their way to be nice to the PRC--they have to. It's a superpower. They don't want their relationships with the mainland Chinese government to deteriorate, because no matter how much you disagree with them, you don't want to get on their bad side by encouraging what they consider to be their "rebel organisations". So I'd say that's one of the key factors contributing to their poor recognition as a government. But it *is* the legitimate government. Taiwan is entirely democratic. If they want to change their constitution, or formally declare their independence--their free to elect someone who will do just that. On the other hand, once they declare that independence, they potentially lose their chance to govern mainland China again...
4. After WWII, Japan signed a "Treaty of Peace" with ROC government in Taipei and transferred the ownership of Taiwan to ROC. The treaty states that all residents and properties on Taiwan become citizens and properties of ROC. No countries in the world disputed this treaty. ROC maintained diplomatic relations with most of the countries, including U.S., Japan, Great Britain, etc...until 1970's. Even today, Taiwan still maintain diplomatic relations with over 20+ countries. The ROC passport is accepted around the world. If it wasn't for the pressure from mainland China, Taiwan would've had diplomatic relations with many more countries.
5. Taiwan is a part of China. The majority of the people in Taiwan consider themselves Chinese, even though the government of Taiwan doesn't want to recognize.
6. Is the Republic of China the legitimate government of Taiwan? The answer is: No. This can be explained as follows. Let's first consider the Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation and Japanese surrender documents. Do these have the force of an internationally binding treaty arrangement to formally transfer the sovereignty of "Formosa and the Pescadores" to the Republic of China (ROC)? No, they are only statements of "intent." Hence, we can analyze the Taiwan sovereignty question in three steps. Step 1: From international law it is easily seen that Oct. 25, 1945 marks the beginning of the military occupation of "Formosa and the Pescadores" by the ROC. In other words, none of the leading world nations recognized any transfer of the sovereignty of Taiwan to the ROC upon this Oct. 25th date of the Japanese surrender ceremonies (or any other date in the 1930s or 1940s). Importantly, international law specifies that military occupation does not transfer sovereignty. Step 2: When the government of the ROC fled to occupied Taiwan in late 1949, it became a "government-in-exile." The ROC continued to exercise "effective territorial control" over this area which it was holding under military occupation. Step 3: In the post-war San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1952, the sovereignty of Taiwan was not awarded to the ROC. (The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty fully recognized these arrangements.) Hence, Secretary of State Colin Powell was correct when he said that Taiwan does not enjoy sovereignty as a nation. Based on the above, the ROC is not the legitimate government of Taiwan. For those persons who still do not understand this analysis, it can be repeated, resummarized, and reclarified as follows: In the book The Creation of States in International Law (2nd edition), author James Crawford, speaking of the Cairo and Potsdam Declarations and the San Francisco Peace Treaty, wrote: "The cession of territory at the end of a war must await the peace treaty ... the problem was that, in 1951, there was no agreement between the signatories as to which government represented that State (`China'). Until 1952, the position of the Republic of China [ROC] in Taiwan was that of a belligerent occupant and, after 1949, government-in-exile of China." This description underlines the fact that there was no transfer of the sovereignty of Taiwan to the ROC upon the Oct. 25, 1945, surrender of Japanese troops on the island. International law does not recognize any methods or procedures by which a "government-in-exile" can become the lawfully recognized government of its current locality of residence. Therefore, it is clear that all actions aimed at gaining more international diplomatic recognition for the ROC in the international community are doomed to failure. In summary, Taiwan is a "country without a government" that is being occupied and run by a "government without a country." As such, it does not fulfill the Montevideo Convention's criteria for statehood. Until the ROC is dissolved and Taiwanese create a new and proper Taiwanese civil government, "Taiwan" can neither be a normal country nor can join the UN. Taiwan's efforts at "self-determination" should begin with the recognition that US military government jurisdiction over Taiwan is still active. If a consensus on this point (clearly stipulated in Article 4b of the San Francisco Peace Treaty) can be reached, then the members of the US Congress can assume jurisdiction over Taiwan based on the territorial clause of the US Constitution. Certainly one of the Congress' first acts will be to rectify the name of Taiwan to "Taiwan," and to discard, once and for all, the inappropriate label of "Republic of China" into the dustbin of history. Under the US Constitution, the Taiwanese people of course have the right to establish their own civil government.
7. Coordinates-TW is insane. oh damn just noticed the name of OP... Overseas E = Coordinates-TW Taiwan was ruled by China's Ming Dynasty, then Qing Dynasty. Which were the last two dynasties of China before ROC(Republic of China). Yes, in 1890s, Japan defeated Qing Dynasty in a war, and forced(means illegally) Qing Dynasty to give up Taiwan to Japan. Don't even argue on the illegal part, or every country can use military force to make another country "legally" give up their territory simply if there is a treaty? The Chinese on the island resisted Japan for several years without the backing from Qing Dynasty. Japan had to send more troops several times. After the resistance were finally put down, Japan ruled Taiwan for about 50 years. Qing Dynasty was replaced by ROC in 1912 as the government of China. Yes, ROC never ruled Taiwan before 1912, but ROC = China just as Qing Dynasty = China. China(ROC) regained control of Taiwan right after WWII. Just 4 years later, KMT lost everything on mainland and Taiwan became their last stronghold. The U.S. was supporting KMT all the way, even had troops on Taiwan to help Jiang Kai Shek to defend it until 1970s after PRC on mainland demanded it when the U.S. tried to use a different approach toward the CCP. The Republic of China was simply a defeated Chinese government in a civil war. CCP(Chinese Communist Party) was a part of ROC government along side of KMT until Jiang Kai Shek ordered massacre of them which started the civil war when CCP fought back with some ROC troops still under their control.