ANNOTATIONS to Article 4 |
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PART 1: Article 4(b) of the SFPT specifies that, in relation to the SFPT Article 2 and Article 3 territories, the dispositions of property of Japan and Japanese nationals is subject to the determination of the United States Military Government (USMG). |
Comparison of the Treaty specifications
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Item | SFPT specs
specifications for Ryukyus
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SFPT specs
specifications for Taiwan
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United States is the (principal) occupying power | Article 23(a) | Article 23(a) |
Original "owner" did indeed cede (aka relinquish) the territory | Article 3 | Article 2(b) |
No "receiving country" was specified (i.e. "limbo cession") | Article 3 | Article 2(b) |
USMG has disposition rights over the territory | Article 4(b) | Article 4(b) |
Military government is present, and military occupation is a reality | Article 4(b) and the Hague Conventions (1907) | Article 4(b) and the Hague Conventions (1907) |
USMG jurisdiction continues past the date when the peace treaty comes into effect | Article 4(b), Article 23(a), and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cross v. Harrison (1853) | Article 4(b), Article 23(a), and the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Cross v. Harrison (1853) |
ANNOTATIONS to Article 23 | |
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PART 1: Article 23(a) confirms that under the geographic scope of the treaty, the United States of America is the principal occupying power of all territories which remain under military occupation (aka "civil affairs administration of USMG") after the peace treaty has come into force. The territories as specified in Articles 2 and 3 of the treaty have been separated from the "motherland" of Japan, therefore as explained in the ANNOTATIONS to Article 4(b) above, the military governments exercising jurisdiction over these areas do not end with the coming into force of the peace treaty. More detailed explanations regarding this principle can be found in specific U.S. Supreme Court cases, beginning with Cross v. Harrison, 57 U.S. 164 (1853), and with reaffirmation in Dooley v. U.S., 182 U.S. 222 (1901), Santaigo v. Nogueras, 214 U.S. 260 (1909), etc.
CONDOMINIUM:
To summarize what was stated previously: |
PART OF THE PRC
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Under the One China Policy, some people deny any longstanding legal relationship between the United States and Taiwan whatsoever, strongly asserting that the U.S. government fully recognizes that Taiwan belongs to China, i.e. the PRC. However, this is not true. The U.S. government has never recognized Taiwan as having been incorporated into or belonging to the national territory of the People's Republic of China. In fact, United States' officials have issued statements about this many times. Please visit the REFERENCES page and see further analysis in the China/Taiwan: Evolution of the "One China" Policy. |
AUTHORITY EXERCISED BY THE ROC OVER TAIWAN |
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As early as late April 1971, a US Dept. of State spokesman stated that: "We regard the Republic of China as exercising legitimate authority over Taiwan and the Pescadores by virtue of the fact that ROC forces had accepted the surrender of Formosa on behalf of the victorious allies." |
Footnotes: (1) Military government is the form of administration by which an occupying power exercises governmental authority over occupied territory. The US Constitution has placed no limit upon the war powers of the government, but they are regulated and limited by the laws of war. One of these powers is the right to institute military governments. (2) 1907 Hague Conventions IV. [Annex] Hague Regulations "Regulations Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land," Article 42: "Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army." In 1946 the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal stated with regard to the Hague Convention on Land Warfare of 1907: "The rules of land warfare expressed in the Convention undoubtedly represented an advance over existing International Law at the time of their adoption . . . but by 1939 these rules . . . were recognized by all civilized nations and were regarded as being declaratory of the laws and customs of war." In other words, the 1907 Hague Conventions and their accompanying Regulations are binding on all nations. (3) On Nov. 28, 1950 (nearly fourteen months after the founding of the PRC on Oct. 1, 1949), Mr. Wu Hsiu-chuan, representative of the Central People's Government of the PRC, delivered a lengthy speech in the United Nations Security Council, regarding the armed aggression of the United States' in its invasion and military occupation of Taiwan. Official Records of the Security Council, Fifth Year, 527th Meeting, Nov. 28, 1950 (4) INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY STUDY, Series A, LIMITS IN THE SEAS, No. 43, STRAIGHT BASELINES: PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. July 1, 1972. quote: "The Taiwan and Penghu areas are still occupied by the United States by armed force." Re-Issued by the Geographer,
US Dept. of State, Bureau of
Intelligence and Research. A statement issued on September 4 by the PRC Government declared a 12-mile limit for Chinese territorial waters. The final paragraph reads: "The Taiwan and Penghu areas are still occupied by the United States by armed force. This is an unlawful encroachment on the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the People's Republic of China. Taiwan, Penghu and such other areas are yet to be recovered, and the Government of the People's Republic of China has the right to recover these areas by all suitable means at a suitable time. This is China's internal affair, in which no foreign interference is tolerated."
Text is in American Foreign Policy: Current Documents, 1958, p. 1199.
history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/ https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1958-60v19/d66 (5) Condominium is defined as: a territory over which joint sovereignty, and/or concurrent sovereignty, is exercised by several states. (6) Czyzak Memorandum, US Department of State, Memorandum from the Assistant Legal Adviser for Far Eastern Affairs (L/FE - John J. Czyzak) to Mr. Abram Chayes, Legal Adviser, Feb. 3, 1961. Subject: "Legal Status of Formosa (Taiwan) and the Pescadores Islands (Penghu)." (7) Starr Memorandum, US Department of State. Memorandum from the Assistant Legal Adviser for East Asia and the Pacific (L/EA - Robert I. Starr) to the Director of the Office of Republic of China Affairs (Charles T. Sylvester), July 13, 1971. Subject: "Legal Status of Taiwan." |
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