Retrocession Day is the annual observance and former

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, federal holiday, statutory holiday, bank holiday or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Types Civic holiday A ''civic holiday'', also k ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

commemorating the end of Japanese rule of Taiwan and Penghu and the claimed return of Taiwan to the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

on 25 October 1945. However, the idea of " Taiwan Retrocession" remains in dispute.

Historical background

, then more commonly known to the Western world as "Formosa", became a colony of the

Empire of Japan The Empire of Japan, also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was the Japanese nation state that existed from the Meiji Restoration on January 3, 1868, until the Constitution of Japan took effect on May 3, 1947. From Japan–Kor ...

after the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

lost the

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

in 1894 and ceded the island with the 1895

Treaty of Shimonoseki The , also known as the Treaty of Maguan () in China or the in Japan, was signed at the hotel in Shimonoseki, Japan, on April 17, 1895, between the Empire of Japan and Qing China. It was a treaty that ended the First Sino-Japanese War, ...

. Japanese rule in Taiwan lasted until the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In November 1943, Chiang Kai-shek took part in the

Cairo Conference Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

with

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

and

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...

, who firmly advocated that Japan be required to return all of the territory it had annexed into its empire, including Taiwan and the

Penghu The Penghu ( , Hokkien Pe̍h-ōe-jī, POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, about west of the main island of Taiwan across the Penghu Ch ...

(Pescadores) Islands. Article 8 of the

Potsdam Declaration The Potsdam Declaration, or the Proclamation Defining Terms for Japanese Surrender, was a statement that called for the surrender of all Japanese armed forces during World War II. On July 26, 1945, United States President Harry S. Truman, ...

, drafted by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, and China in July 1945, reiterated that the provisions of the Cairo Declaration be thoroughly carried out, and the

Japanese Instrument of Surrender The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was the written agreement that formalized the surrender of the Empire of Japan, marking the end of hostilities in World War II. It was signed by representatives from the Empire of Japan and from the Allied n ...

stated Japan's agreement to the terms of the Potsdam Proclamation. Under the authorization of American General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

General Order No. 1 General Order No. 1 for the surrender of Japan was prepared by the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff and approved by President Harry Truman on August 17, 1945. It was issued by General Douglas MacArthur to the representative of the Empire of J ...

, Chen Yi (Chief Executive of Taiwan Province) was escorted by George H. Kerr to Taiwan to accept the Japanese government's surrender as the Chinese delegate. When the Japanese surrendered at the end of World War II, General

Rikichi Andō was a general in the Imperial Japanese Army and 19th and final Japanese Governor-General of Taiwan from 30 December 1944 to October 1945. Biography Early career Andō was a native of Miyagi Prefecture. He served as an instructor at the Army W ...

governor-general of Taiwan The governor-general of Taiwan (, shinjitai: ) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945. The Japanese governors- ...

and commander-in-chief of all Japanese forces on the island, signed a receipt of Order No. 1 and handed it over to

Governor-General of Taiwan The governor-general of Taiwan (, shinjitai: ) was the head of the Government-General of Taiwan in the Japanese era (including Formosa and the Pescadores) when they were part of the Empire of Japan, from 1895 to 1945. The Japanese governors- ...

Chen Yi, representing the Republic of China Armed Forces to complete the official turnover in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

(known during occupation as Taihoku) on 25 October 1945, at Taipei City Public Auditorium (now

Zhongshan Hall Zhongshan Hall () is a historic building which originally functioned as the Taipei (Taihoku) City Public Auditorium (public hall). It is located at 98 Yanping South Road in the Ximending neighborhood of Zhongzheng District, Taipei, Taiwan. In 19 ...

). Chen Yi proclaimed that day to be "Retrocession Day" and organized the island into the

Taiwan Province Taiwan Province ( zh, t=臺灣省 , p=Táiwān Shěng , poj=Tâi-oân-séng; PFS: ''Thòi-vàn-sén'' or ''Thòi-vân-sén'') is a ''de jure'' administrative division of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Provinces remain a titular division as ...

of the Republic of China. Chen Yi's unilateral act, however, did not gain agreement from the US and the UK, for both considered Taiwan still under military occupation pending a peace treaty, though the US accepted Chinese authority over Taiwan at the time and viewed the Republic of China as the legal government of China. Taiwan has since been governed by the

Government of the Republic of China The Government of the Republic of China is the central government, national authority whose actual-controlled territory consists of Taiwan (island), main island of Taiwan (Formosa), Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu Islands, Matsu, and list of islands of ...

Interpretations and disputes

Governmental positions

The official position of both the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(PRC) and the

(ROC) is that Taiwan and Penghu were returned to the Republic of China according to the terms of the 1945 Japanese Instrument of Surrender, which stipulated Japan's compliance with the terms of the

. The Potsdam Declaration in turn included the terms of the Cairo Declaration, which required Japan to return all conquered territories to China, including Taiwan and the Pescadores. The ROC clarified its understanding of the Cairo Declaration in 2014 as a legally binding instrument. Among other things, the clarification listed later treaties and documents that "reaffirmed" aspects of the Cairo Declaration as legally binding, including the Potsdam Proclamation, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, the

Treaty of San Francisco The , also called the , re-established peaceful relations between Japan and the Allied Powers on behalf of the United Nations by ending the legal state of war, military occupation and providing for redress for hostile actions up to and inclu ...

, and the

Treaty of Taipei The Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty ( zh, t=中日和平條約; ), formally the Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan ( zh, t=中華民國與日本國間和平條約, links=no; ) and commonly known as the Treaty of Taipei ( zh, t=� ...

The post-war status and jurisdiction over Taiwan and its appertaining islands, including Penghu, was resolved through a series of legal instruments—the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and the Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan of 1952. The implementation of the legal obligation to return Taiwan and its appertaining islands (including the Diaoyutai Islands) to the ROC was first stipulated in the Cairo Declaration, and later reaffirmed in the Potsdam Proclamation, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, the San Francisco Peace Treaty, and the Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan. The Cairo Declaration is therefore a legally binding instrument with treaty status.

In November 1950, the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

announced that no formal act restoring sovereignty over Formosa and the Pescadores to China had yet occurred; British officials reiterated this viewpoint in 1955, saying that "The Chinese Nationalists began a military occupation of Formosa and the Pescadores in 1945. However, these areas were under Japanese sovereignty until 1952" and that

airo Declarationwas couched in the form of a statement of intention, and as it was merely a statement of intention, it is merely binding in so far as it states the intent at that time, and therefore it cannot by itself transfer sovereignty.

In March 1961, in a meeting of the

House of Councillors The is the upper house of the National Diet of Japan. The House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives is the lower house. The House of Councillors is the successor to the pre-war House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. If the t ...

of Japan, a councillor of the

Japanese Communist Party The is a communist party in Japan. Founded in 1922, it is the oldest political party in the country. It has 250,000 members as of January 2024, making it one of the largest non-governing communist parties in the world. The party is chaired ...

brought up the notion that Taiwan had been returned to China according to the Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation, and Japanese Instrument of Surrender. The then- Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs responded that:

It was specified in Potsdam Proclamation that the articles in Cairo Declaration shall be carried out, and in accordance with Japanese Instrument of Surrender we announced that we would comply with Potsdam Proclamation. However, the so-called Japanese Instrument of Surrender possesses the nature of
armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from t ...
and does not possess the nature of territorial disposition.

In April 1971, the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

spokesman stated in a press release that the US government regarded the status of Taiwan as unsettled, and that Cairo Declaration was a statement of purpose of the

Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...

and was never formally implemented or executed. As late as December 2014, the US government still considered Taiwan's status an unsettled issue.

Other positions

* Supporters of the

Taiwan independence movement The Taiwan independence movement is a political movement which advocates the formal declaration of an independent and sovereign Taiwanese state, as opposed to Chinese unification or the status quo in Cross-Strait relations. Into the 21st- ...

have argued that Taiwanese retrocession was invalid since there is no precedent in international law in which an instrument of surrender effected a transfer of sovereignty, and they base their belief in part on both a declassified CIA report from March 1949 confirming that Taiwan was not a part of the Republic of China and

President Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th Vice president of the United States, vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Frank ...

's 27 June 1950 statement regarding Taiwan's " undetermined status", which they hold as proof of the leading Allies' views. In a lengthy legal essay published in Tokyo in 1972, Chairman Ng Chiau-tong, World United Formosans for Independence, analyzed the British Parliamentary records and other documents before concluding that the

political status of Taiwan The island of Taiwan is the subject of a geopolitical dispute between the Republic of China (ROC), which controls it, and the People's Republic of China (PRC), which claims it as part of its territory. The Republic of China (ROC) was establ ...

was undetermined. * Taiwanese historian claims the following: After

ended, officials of the

traveled to Taiwan to accept the surrender of Japanese forces on behalf of the

. Although they claimed that it was "Taiwan Retrocession", it was actually a provisional

military occupation Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling pow ...

and was not a transfer of territories of Taiwan and Penghu. A transfer of territory requires a conclusion of an international

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

in order to be valid. But before the government of the Republic of China was able to conclude a treaty with Japan, it was overthrown by the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

and fled its territory. Consequently, that contributed to the controversy of the " Undetermined Status of Taiwan" and the controversy over "Taiwan Retrocession". * The

Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a centre to centre-left Taiwanese nationalist political party in Taiwan. As the dominant party in the Pan-Green Coalition, one of the two main political camps in Taiwan, the DPP is currently the ...

, which rejects the idea of Taiwan being taken back by China, downplayed the event during its two presidencies. * Because the

officials who accepted the surrenders of Japanese Forces in 1945 were all representatives of the

Allies of World War II The Allies, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international Coalition#Military, military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Four Policeme ...

, there are opinions that Japanese forces on Taiwan actually surrendered to the Allies, not to the Republic of China, and therefore the so-called "Taiwan Retrocession Day" is merely "Surrenders of Japanese Forces to the Allies Day", which marked the beginning of

and was not a retrocession. The opinions further believe that "Taiwan Retrocession" is a misleading term. * Writing in the ''American Journal of International Law'' in July 2000, Jonathan I. Charney and J. R. V. Prescott maintained that the Chinese Nationalists (ROC) began a military occupation of Taiwan in 1945 as a result of Japan's surrender, and that none of the post–World War II peace treaties explicitly ceded sovereignty over Formosa and the Pescadores to any specific state or government.

References

External links