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Introduction

Many people contend that Taiwan was "returned" to China in 1945. In order to discuss this issue, we need to consider the following: Is there any international law or international treaty which can prove that Taiwan has been incorporated into Chinese territory in the period of 1945 to the present?

Also important in answering this question is the concept of the "successor government theory." This is explained as follows.

The people who established the People's Republic of China (PRC) as a country were the Chinese citizens in mainland China, and these same people were indeed the original citizens of the Republic of China (ROC).

The final period of the civil war in Mainland China saw the saw the founding of the PRC on Oct. 1, 1949, with the KMT/ROC government officials fleeing to Taiwan in December of that year. Hence, effectively speaking, the ROC was put out of existence when the PRC was founded on Oct. 1, 1949, and the PRC drafted a new constitution for China.

Under international law this is significant, because it means that the PRC has succeeded the ROC, and therefore the PRC government gains the rights to all assets that the ROC government had.

The "successor government theory" began to be applied in the late 1940's in regard to the domestic Chinese political situation. Obviously, more and more people accepted the legitimacy of this theory when the ROC was expelled from the United Nations in October 1971, and when the United States announced its impending break in relations with the ROC in December 1978.

Today many people would say that this "successor government theory" defines the legal reality of the world situation in which we live here in the 21st century. In other words, the PRC has succeeded the ROC in the international community as the sole legitimate government of China, and therefore (in their view) Taiwan belongs to the PRC.

A Flaw in the "Successor Government Theory"

Is there a flaw in this argument? Yes, there is. The flaw is "Taiwan Retrocession Day." Specifically, Chinese officials on both sides of the Taiwan Strait have always stressed that the surrender ceremonies on Oct. 25, 1945, resulted in Taiwan's sovereignty being transferred to China. However, the Allies did not recognize any such transfer of sovereignty. Nor does international law allow the surrender ceremonies to be interpreted in such a way.

Legally speaking, the completion of the surrender ceremonies merely means that the military occupation of Taiwan has begun. Under international

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