Remarks at the Reception for Participants
in the International Conference on
Taiwan's Sovereign Status
April 17, 2008

Subject: Taiwan’s legal status and the post-WWII Peace Treaty

In international law, the signing of peace agreements effects a war's end, and such agreements trump any decrees published during the war. Documents like the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation were simply policy statements released by the Allied Powers concerning military operations. The question of Taiwan's sovereignty remained one that needed to be determined through the signing of a peace agreement.

Chen Shui-bian
President
Republic of China (Taiwan)