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The Foreign and Cross-Strait Policies of the New AdministrationIn the Republic of China 151
Truman, however, stated in a press conference on January
5, 1950, and I quote, “In the Joint Declaration at
Cairo on December 1, 1943, the President of the United
States, the British Prime Minister, and the President of
China stated that it was their purpose that territories
Japan had stolen from China, such as Formosa, should
be restored to the Republic of China. The United States
was signatory to the Potsdam Declaration of July 26,
1945, which declared that the terms of the Cairo Declaration
should be carried out. The provisions of this
declaration were accepted by Japan at the time of its
surrender. In keeping with these declarations, Formosa
was surrendered to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek,
and for the past 4 years the United States and other Allied
Powers have accepted the exercise of Chinese [referring
to the Republic of China] authority over the
island.” End quote.
In fact, the U.S. Embassy accredited to the Republic
of China government in Nanjing relocated to Taipei
with the government. It is true that the Embassy in Taipei
was headed by a young Charge d’Affaires, while the
U.S. Ambassador, Leighton Stuart, stayed on the mainland.
This fact did not diminish a bit the legal status of
the U.S. diplomatic mission.
Later that day, Secretary of State Dean Gooderham
Acheson, citing the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam
Declaration, said:
“In the middle of the war, the President of the
United States, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, and
the President of China [referring to the Republic of
China] agreed at Cairo that among the areas stolen from
China by Japan was Formosa and Formosa should go
back to China.
“As the President pointed out this morning, the
statement was incorporated in the declaration at Potsdam
and that declaration at Potsdam was conveyed to
the Japanese as one of the terms of their surrender and
was accepted by them, and the surrender was made on
that basis.
“Shortly after that, the island of Formosa was
turned over to the Chinese [referring to the Republic of
China] in accordance with the declarations made with
the conditions of the surrender.
“The Chinese [referring to the Republic of China]
have administered Formosa for 4 years. Neither the
United States nor any other ally ever questioned that
authority and that occupation. When Formosa was
made a province of China nobody raised any lawyers’
doubts about that. That was regarded as in accordance
with the commitments.
“Now, in the opinion of some, the situation is
changed. They believe that the forces now in control of
the mainland of China, the forces which undoubtedly
will soon be recognized by some other countries, are
not friendly to us, and therefore they want to say, ‘Well,
we have to wait for a treaty.’ We did not wait for a treaty
on Korea. We did not wait for a treaty on the Kuriles.
We did not wait for a treaty on the islands over
which we have trusteeship.
“Whatever may be the legal situation, the United
States of America, Mr. Truman said this morning, is not
going to quibble on any lawyers’ words about the integrity
of its position. That is where we stand.
“Therefore, the President says, we are not going to
use our forces in connection with the present situation
in Formosa. We are not going to attempt to seize the
island. We are not going to get involved militarily in
any way on the island of Formosa. So far as I know, no
responsible person in the Government, no military man
has ever believed that we should involve our forces in
the island.” End quote.
The international political scene experienced a
drastic change after the Korean War broke out on June
25, 1950. Seeing Taiwan’s strategic importance, President
Truman ordered the Seventh Fleet to patrol the
Taiwan Strait and declared, “Regarding confirmation of
Taiwan’s status … it should not be decided until after
peace and stability are restored in the region, or until