Taiwanese Groups Call for San Francisco Peace Treaty in History Textbooks
Pro-independence groups are urging the government to include the San Francisco Peace Treaty in history materials and remove 'Retrocession of Taiwan' narratives to clarify that Taiwan's sovereignty remains undetermined under international law.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 28, 2026 at 12:41
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 13:01 (20 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 13:08 (6 min after Collected)
Taipei, April 28 (CNA) – Pro-independence groups including the Taiwan Restoration Party, Taiwan Statebuilding Party, and Taiwan Hakka Association stated today that on the 74th anniversary of the San Francisco Peace Treaty's implementation, the government should explicitly include the treaty in history textbooks and delete erroneous narratives such as 'Retrocession of Taiwan.' They emphasized that the sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu remains undetermined to prevent China from using the 'succession of the ROC regime' as a pretext to justify illegal 'armed unification' aggression threats.
Groups such as the Taiwan Restoration Party, Taiwan Statebuilding Party, Labor Party, Taiwan Association of University Professors, and Taiwan Hakka Association held a joint press conference titled '74 Years Later: Only the San Francisco Peace Treaty, No Republic of China (Taiwan).'
The groups pointed out in a press release that today marks the 74th anniversary of Japan officially renouncing its territorial sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu under international law via the San Francisco Peace Treaty. It is also the anniversary of the day when the sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu no longer belonged to any country, and a day when residents could directly exercise their right to external self-determination to establish their own country on their own land.
However, the groups believe the current administration's attention to the San Francisco Peace Treaty is clearly insufficient. Not only is it deliberately ignored in history and social education for residents, but the government also continues to emphasize the 'Cairo Declaration' and 'Potsdam Declaration,' which only function as statements of intent in international law, and the 'Instrument of Surrender,' which is merely a ceasefire agreement. They criticized the claim that the ROC regime acquired sovereignty through the so-called 'Retrocession of Taiwan' based on these documents, which do not have the effect of transferring territorial sovereignty.
Therefore, the groups proposed several demands, including that the Taiwanese authorities should immediately include the San Francisco Peace Treaty in the history and civics curriculum to provide accurate historical and international law education for students. Furthermore, all official promotional materials related to sovereignty should remove content erroneously claiming that 'Taiwan's retrocession allowed the ROC to acquire sovereignty.'
The groups explained that regardless of the current self-positioning of the ROC regime, its attribute in international law is a 'Chinese regime that can be recognized as a representative government of China.' The 'struggle for China's representation' between it and the People's Republic of China will not end until one side completely disappears from the world.
Thus, the groups emphasized that the ROC regime must not claim to have acquired sovereignty over Taiwan for any reason, to prevent the PRC—established on October 1, 1949—from using the excuse of succeeding the ROC to claim 'Taiwan is part of China' and justify illegal military aggression.
Groups such as the Taiwan Restoration Party, Taiwan Statebuilding Party, Labor Party, Taiwan Association of University Professors, and Taiwan Hakka Association held a joint press conference titled '74 Years Later: Only the San Francisco Peace Treaty, No Republic of China (Taiwan).'
The groups pointed out in a press release that today marks the 74th anniversary of Japan officially renouncing its territorial sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu under international law via the San Francisco Peace Treaty. It is also the anniversary of the day when the sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu no longer belonged to any country, and a day when residents could directly exercise their right to external self-determination to establish their own country on their own land.
However, the groups believe the current administration's attention to the San Francisco Peace Treaty is clearly insufficient. Not only is it deliberately ignored in history and social education for residents, but the government also continues to emphasize the 'Cairo Declaration' and 'Potsdam Declaration,' which only function as statements of intent in international law, and the 'Instrument of Surrender,' which is merely a ceasefire agreement. They criticized the claim that the ROC regime acquired sovereignty through the so-called 'Retrocession of Taiwan' based on these documents, which do not have the effect of transferring territorial sovereignty.
Therefore, the groups proposed several demands, including that the Taiwanese authorities should immediately include the San Francisco Peace Treaty in the history and civics curriculum to provide accurate historical and international law education for students. Furthermore, all official promotional materials related to sovereignty should remove content erroneously claiming that 'Taiwan's retrocession allowed the ROC to acquire sovereignty.'
The groups explained that regardless of the current self-positioning of the ROC regime, its attribute in international law is a 'Chinese regime that can be recognized as a representative government of China.' The 'struggle for China's representation' between it and the People's Republic of China will not end until one side completely disappears from the world.
Thus, the groups emphasized that the ROC regime must not claim to have acquired sovereignty over Taiwan for any reason, to prevent the PRC—established on October 1, 1949—from using the excuse of succeeding the ROC to claim 'Taiwan is part of China' and justify illegal military aggression.