Explainer: Taiwan's status as inalienable part of China is settled historical and legal fact

Eight decades ago, Taiwan – part of China – was restored to its motherland, ending half a century of Japanese colonial rule. Its return remains a shared glory for compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait and a collective memory of all Chinese people.

The restoration of Taiwan is a key outcome of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and World Anti-Fascist War and strong evidence of the Chinese government's resumption of its exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan. It also forms an essential part of the historical record and legal facts that Taiwan is an integral part of China.

In 1894, Japan initiated a war against China and then occupied Taiwan. Countless compatriots from Taiwan fought to resist Japanese occupation, risking their lives to prove they were Chinese and an integral part of the Chinese nation.

In 1945, all Chinese people, including compatriots in Taiwan, achieved the great victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, which brought about Taiwan's restoration to the motherland.

The Cairo Declaration, issued by China, the United States, and the United Kingdom on December 1, 1943, stated that it was the purpose of the three allies to have all the territories Japan stole from China, such as Northeast China, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands, returned to China.

On July 26, 1945, the Potsdam Proclamation was signed by China, the United States and the United Kingdom, and subsequently recognized by the Soviet Union. It 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 set forth in the Potsdam Proclamation.

On October 25, 1945, the Chinese government announced that it was resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan, and the ceremony to accept Japan's surrender in Taiwan Province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held in Taipei. From that point on, China had legally and practically recovered Taiwan through numerous documents with international legal effect.

The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, adopted in 1971, restored the lawful seat of the People's Republic of China in the UN. The resolution made clear that there is only one seat for China in the UN, precluding "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan."

Taiwan has been an inalienable part of Chinese territory since ancient times. Those documents that laid the foundation of the post-World War II international order clearly confirm China's sovereignty over Taiwan.

As a defeated nation in World War II, Japan's actions are bound by the UN Charter and Article 9 of its constitution, which renounces war as a sovereign right of the nation and the threat or use of force as means of settling international disputes. 

To achieve the goal of the previous paragraph, land, sea, and air forces, along with other military capabilities, will never be maintained. The state's right to belligerency will not be recognized, as per the constitution.

The United Nations, as one of the major achievements of victory in World War II, forms the core institutional framework of the post-War international order. The UN Charter established the purposes and principles that must be observed in the post-War order and entrusted the UN with the historic mission of safeguarding it.

To prevent former enemy states from returning to military expansion, Article 107 of the Charter states: "Nothing in the present Charter shall invalidate or preclude action, in relation to any state which during World War II has been an enemy of any signatory to the present Charter, taken or authorized as a result of that war by the governments having responsibility for such action." In other words, as long as an enemy state's renewed intent to commit aggression is recognized, regional agreement organizations or allied countries may use peaceful means or even "enforcement action" to address the situation.

The Potsdam Proclamation required Japan to be completely demilitarized. After the war, Japan accepted the proclamation, and based on the principle that "treaties must be obeyed," it is bound to follow the obligations outlined in the proclamation.

Furthermore, the legitimacy and authority of the Constitution of Japan come from international agreements such as the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation and the Instrument of Surrender. Therefore, Japan's breach of Article 9 of its constitution is equivalent to undermining the core of the post-War international order.

However, even today, some groups in Japan still glorify and deny their invasion, distort and fabricate history, and even try to rehabilitate the names of war criminals.

Specifically, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent provocative comments on Taiwan have provoked strong opposition and explicit warnings from Chinese authorities, emphasizing that those remarks amounted to blatant interference in China's internal affairs, seriously violated the one-China principle, undermined the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan, and breached fundamental norms of international relations.

Takaichi's frequent visits to the Yasukuni Shrine, which honors convicted war criminals among others, her denial of the Nanjing Massacre, during which 300,000 Chinese people were brutally killed, and her vigorous promotion of the "China threat" theory collectively demonstrate a persistent attempt to whitewash Japan's history of aggression and revive militaristic ambitions. These actions represent more than just political posturing but a systematic campaign to undermine the post-War international order.

"Our message to Japan is clear: Japan must fully repent for its war crimes, immediately stop its wrong and provocative statements and moves that interfere in China's internal affairs, and stop playing with fire on the Taiwan question," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian has said.

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