Taipei [Taiwan] September 14 The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) has strongly denounced Beijing for distorting World War II-era agreements in a bid to strengthen its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, stating such narratives are legally unfounded, as reported by Taipei Times.
According to Taipei Times, Beijing held a large-scale military parade on September 3 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, during which it highlighted the 1943 Cairo Declaration, the 1945 Potsdam Declaration and the 1951 Treaty of San Francisco.
China argued that Japan had returned Taiwan to Chinese rule under these wartime agreements. An AIT spokesperson countered that claim, stating that Beijing was deliberately misinterpreting history.
"Beijing's narrative is totally wrong," the spokesperson said, adding that none of those documents determined Taiwan's final status. The AIT clarified that the legally binding San Francisco Treaty superseded wartime statements and left Taiwan's status unresolved.
This aligns with comments made earlier by Taiwanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (who emphasised that the Cairo and Potsdam declarations were only political statements of intent rather than treaties.
The US has previously accused China of a similar distortion of UN Resolution 2758, with Washington warning that Beijing is again rewriting history to isolate Taiwan diplomatically.
US Representative Chris Smith also introduced a congressional resolution last week condemning China's "historical revisionism" and its attempt to claim exclusive credit for the Allied victory in Asia.
Diplomatic sources in Taipei noted that Beijing is tying this year's commemorations to three "80th anniversaries": the end of Japan's occupation, the founding of the UN and what it calls "Taiwan Restoration." By coupling these narratives with military displays, China seeks to reshape the postwar international order, as cited by Taipei Times.
Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the AIT's stance, reiterating that the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China "are not subordinate to one another." The ministry accused Beijing of waging "legal warfare" to destabilise the region and vowed to maintain the "status quo."
It also pledged closer cooperation with the US and democratic allies to safeguard peace, stability and prosperity, as reported by Taipei Times.