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Future of Taiwan at stake in lawsuit over WWII peace treaty with Japan
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A little known but very important lawsuit pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals over the peace treaty that ended the war with Japan may force the United States into a confrontation with China over the future of Taiwan located on the island of Formosa.
China's view that the Republic of China, more commonly known as Taiwan, is a renegade province and that Formosa should be "reunited" with the mainland flies in the face with historical fact. China never owned Formosa--the island belonged to Japan and ceded it to the United States in the San Francisco Peace Treaty.
The United States, moving from war with Japan into the 'Cold War' that followed, allowed the Chinese nationalist government fleeing the Communist takeover of China refuge on Formosa. Much to the current dismay of many on the island, the United States opposes nationhood for Taiwan and has kept it from recognition by the United Nations.
The unresolved status of Taiwan became a pivotal debate point in the famous Nixon-Kennedy presidential debates of 1960. Military exercises by the Chinese navy also periodically bring the topic into the news. However, what consistently is overlooked is the actual ownership of the island.
The plaintiffs in Roger C.S. Lin, et al v. United States, pending in the District of Columbia U.S. Court of Appeals, are seeking recognition of the fact that the United States owns Formosa and has never ceded ownership of the island to anyone, including the government of Taiwan. The lawsuit argues that the status of island residents are as non-citizen U.S. nationals entitled to the protection and privileges that accrue to U.S. territorial possessions.
The Bush administration made every effort to get the case dismissed arguing it was a political issue and not a legal matter. In mid-December the plaintiffs responded to the latest attempt to get the case dismissed.
"The government never addresses the central question at issue in this appeal. It fails to recognize that Appellants are seeking multiple declarations, not just one pertaining to noncitizen national status. It fails to understand that the San Francisco Peace Treaty was not modified by any Executive Order of the President or the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979, and remains in full force and effect today."
In an earlier ruling that the case involved a political matter, the U.S. District Court acknowledged the plaintiffs have "essentially been persons without a state for almost 60 years." The matter is scheduled for oral argument in early February. New Secretary of State Hillary Clinton may want to sit in the courtroom to learn about the case that she no doubt will have to deal with in the future.
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