台湾问题的由来

台湾问题的由来

台湾是中国领土不可分割的一部分

台湾有文字记载的历史可以追溯到公元三世纪。公元230年，三国吴王孙权派1万多名官兵到达“夷洲”(台湾)，吴人沈莹《临海水土志》留下了世界上对台湾最早的记述。隋唐时期称台湾为“流求”，隋朝曾三次派兵到台湾。公元610年开始，祖国大陆沿海居民开始迁居澎湖。公元12世纪中叶，南宋王朝将澎湖划归福建泉州晋江县管辖，并派兵戍守。元朝在澎湖设巡检司，进行有效管辖。宋元时期汉人开始移居台湾岛拓垦，明代祖国大陆沿海移民移居台湾岛增多，开拓规模越来越大。16世纪中后期，明朝恢复澎湖巡检司，并增兵驻防。明末，福建地方政府和郑芝龙集团曾大规模地组织移民赴台垦殖。1622年，荷兰殖民者侵占了台湾南部，1624年西班牙殖民者入侵台湾北部，1642年荷兰取代西班牙占领台湾北部。1661年，郑成功率军进取台湾，于1662年驱逐了盘踞台湾的荷兰殖民者，收复台湾。1683年，清政府派兵攻取澎湖，郑氏集团投降，实现了国家统一。1684年，清政府设立台湾府，隶属于福建省，并在台湾设立分巡台厦兵备道，统辖台湾与厦门两地守军。此后，祖国大陆沿海居民纷纷渡海赴台，台湾的开发进入了一个新的历史时期，1811年，台湾人口已达190余万。1874年，日本以琉球船民被杀为由，染指琉球，出兵台湾。清政府遂实行“开山抚番”，招募祖国大陆移民进一步开发建设台湾，巩固海防，同时规定福建巡抚每年冬春驻台。1884至1885年中法战争期间，福建巡抚刘铭传率领台湾军民击退了法军入侵。1885年10月12日，清政府宣布台湾建省，成为中国第20个行省。首任台湾巡抚刘铭传积极推行自强新政，使台湾成为当时中国最先进的省份之一。

1894年日本发动甲午战争，清政府战败，被迫于1895年4月签订丧权辱国的《马关条约》，把台湾及澎湖列岛割让给日本。日据初期，台湾人民坚持武装斗争达20年之久，之后又开展非武装民族反抗运动。1937年日本发动全面侵华战争，加紧掠夺台湾的资源，同时强制推行“皇民化运动”，企图消除台湾民众的中华民族认同，遭到台湾民众的强烈抵制和反抗。日本侵占台湾50年，台湾民众共有65万人牺牲罹难。台湾同胞反抗日本殖民统治的历史，闪耀着中华民族抵御外侮的伟大精神。

1941年12月太平洋战争爆发，12月9日中国政府发布《中国对日宣战布告》，郑重宣布，将收复台湾、澎湖。1943年12月1日中美英三国政府签署的《开罗宣言》，明确规定“三国之宗旨在使日本窃取于中国之领土，例如满洲、台湾、澎湖群岛等，归还中国。”1945年7月26日，中美英三国签署、后来又有苏联参加的《波茨坦公告》，再次重申“开罗宣言之条件，必将实施。”1945年8月15日，日本战败宣布无条件投降，10月25日，同盟国中国战区台湾省受降仪式在台北举行，中国受降官代表中国政府宣告：“自即日起，台湾及澎湖列岛已正式重入中国版图，所有一切土地、人民、政事皆已置于中国主权之下”。为纪念台湾光复，10月25日被定为台湾光复节。

台湾问题的由来

台湾在第二次世界大战之后，不仅在法律上而且在事实上已归还中国。之所以又出现台湾问题，与随后中国国民党发动的反人民内战有关，但更重要的是外国势力的介入。

台湾问题与国民党发动的内战。中国抗日战争期间，在中国共产党和其他爱国力量的推动下，中国国民党与中国共产党建立了抗日民族统一战线，抗击日本帝国主义的侵略。抗日战争胜利后，两党本应继续携手，共肩振兴中华大业，惟当时以蒋介石为首的国民党集团依仗美国的支持，置全国人民渴望和平与建设独立、民主、富强的新中国的强烈愿望于不顾，撕毁国共两党签订的《双十协定》，发动了全国规模的反人民内战。中国人民在中国共产党领导下被迫进行了3年多的人民解放战争，由于当时的国民党集团倒行逆施，已为全国各族人民所唾弃，中国人民终于推翻了南京的“中华民国”政府。1949年10月1日成立了中华人民共和国，中华人民共和国政府成为中国的唯一合法政府。国民党集团的一部分军政人员退据台湾。他们在当时美国政府的支持下，造成了台湾海峡两岸隔绝的状态。

台湾问题与美国政府的责任。第二次世界大战后，在当时东西方两大阵营对峙的态势下，美国政府基于它的所谓全球战略及维护本国利益的考虑，曾经不遗余力地出钱、出枪、出人，支持国民党集团打内战，阻挠中国人民革命的事业。然而，美国政府最终并未达到它自己所希望达到的目的。美国国务院1949年发表的《美国与中国的关系》白皮书和艾奇逊国务卿给杜鲁门总统的信，都不得不承认这一点。艾奇逊在他的信中说：“中国内战不祥的结局超出美国政府控制的能力，这是不幸的事，却也是无可避免的”；“这种结局之所以终于发生，也并不是因为我们少做了某些事情。这是中国内部各种力量的产物，我国曾经设法去左右这些力量，但是没有效果”。

中华人民共和国诞生以后，当时的美国政府本来可以从中国内战的泥潭中拔出来，但是它没有这样做，而是对新中国采取了孤立、遏制的政策，并且在朝鲜战争爆发后武装干涉纯属中国内政的海峡两岸关系。1950年6月27日，美国总统杜鲁门发表声明宣布：“我已命令第七舰队阻止对台湾的任何攻击。”美国第七舰队侵入了台湾海峡，美国第十三航空队进驻了台湾。1954年12月，美国又与台湾当局签订了所谓《共同防御条约》，将中国的台湾省置于美国的“保护”之下。美国政府继续干预中国内政的错误政策，造成了台湾海峡地区长期的紧张对峙局势，台湾问题自此亦成为中美两国间的重大争端。

为了缓和台湾海峡地区的紧张局势，探寻解决中美两国之间争端的途径，中国政府自上世纪50年代中期起，即开始与美国对话。1955年8月至1970年2月，中美两国共举行了136次大使级会谈，但在缓和与消除台湾海峡地区紧张局势这个关键问题上，未取得任何进展。及至60年代末70年代初，随着国际局势的发展变化和新中国的壮大，美国开始调整其对华政策，两国关系逐步出现解冻的形势。1971年10月，第二十六届联合国大会通过2758号决议，恢复中华人民共和国在联合国的一切合法权利，并驱逐台湾当局的“代表”。1972年2月，美国总统尼克松访问中国，中美双方在上海发表了联合公报。公报称：“美国方面声明：美国认识到，在台湾海峡两边的所有中国人都认为只有一个中国，台湾是中国的一部分。美国政府对这一立场不提出异议”。

1978年12月，美国政府接受了中国政府提出的建交三原则，即：美国与台湾当局“断交”、废除《共同防御条约》以及从台湾撤军。中美两国于1979年1月1日正式建立外交关系。中美建交联合公报声明：“美利坚合众国承认中华人民共和国政府是中国的唯一合法政府。在此范围内，美国人民将同台湾人民保持文化、商务和其他非官方联系”；“美利坚合众国政府承认中国的立场，即只有一个中国，台湾是中国的一部分”。自此，中美关系实现正常化。

但遗憾的是，中美建交不过三个月，美国国会竟通过了所谓《与台湾关系法》，并经美国总统签署生效。这个《与台湾关系法》，以美国国内立法的形式，作出了许多违反中美建交公报和国际法原则的规定，严重损害中国人民的权益。美国政府根据这个关系法，继续向台湾出售武器和干涉中国内政，阻挠台湾与中国大陆的统一。

为解决美国售台武器问题，中美两国政府通过谈判，于1982年8月17日达成协议，发表了有关中美关系的第三个联合公报，简称“八·一七公报”。美国政府在公报中声明：“它不寻求执行一项长期向台湾出售武器的政策，它向台湾出售的武器在性能和数量上将不超过中美建交后近几年供应的水平，它准备逐步减少它对台湾的武器出售，并经过一段时间导致最后的解决。”然而，十多年来美国政府不但没有认真执行公报的规定，而且不断发生违反公报的行为。1992年9月，美国政府甚至决定向台湾出售150架F-16型高性能战斗机。美国政府的这一行动，给中美关系的发展和台湾问题的解决增加了新的障碍和阻力。

由上可见，台湾问题直到现在还未得到解决，美国政府是有责任的。上世纪自70年代以来，美国朝野许多有识之士和友好人士，曾经为促使中美之间在台湾问题上的分歧的解决做了大量有益的工作，上述三个联合公报就包含着他们的努力和贡献。中国政府和人民对此十分赞赏。然而也不能不看到，美国确也有人至今仍不愿看到中国的统一，制造种种藉口，施加种种影响，阻挠台湾问题的解决。

中国政府相信，美国人民与中国人民是友好的。两国关系的正常发展，是符合两国人民的长远利益和共同愿望的。中美两国都应珍视来之不易的指导两国关系发展的三个联合公报。只要双方都能恪守三个公报的原则，相互尊重，以大局为重，历史遗留下来的台湾问题就不难得到解决，中美关系就一定能不断获得改善和发展。

HISTORY OF THE TAIWAN ISSUE

Taiwan Is an Inseparable Part of Chinese Territory

Taiwan has a written history which can be traced back to the third century. In 230 A.D., during the Three Kingdoms period, the King of Wu, Sun Quan,dispatched an army of 10,000 men to “Yizhou”(Taiwan), which was recorded by Shen Ying of Wu in Coastal Waters – the world’s earliest written record of Taiwan. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Taiwan was known as “Liuqiu,” and armies were dispatched to the island on three separate occasions during the Sui Dynasty. Beginning in 610 A.D., residents along the coast of mainland China began to migrate to the Penghu Islands. In the middle of the twelfth century,the Southern Song Dynasty placed the Penghu Islands under the jurisdiction of Jinjiang County, Quanzhou,Fujian, and dispatched troops to defend them. The Yuan Dynasty established an Inspection Division on the Penghu Islands and exercised effective control over them. During the Song Dynasty, Han Chinese began to migrate to Taiwan and develop land for farming.During the Ming Dynasty greater numbers of mainland coastal inhabitants moved to Taiwan and the island became increasingly developed. In the latter half of the sixteenth century, the Ming Dynasty revived the Penghu Inspection Division and increased the number of troops stationed there to defend it. Towards the end of the Ming Dynasty, the local government in Fujian and the Zheng Zhilong group organized for migrants to move to Taiwan and cultivate the land on a greater scale. In 1622, Dutch colonists seized the southern part of Taiwan. Spanish colonists then arrived in 1624 and seized the northern part of Taiwan, only to be replaced by the Dutch in 1642. In 1661, Zheng Chenggong commanded his army to make their way to Taiwan, drove the Dutch colonists from the island, and recaptured it. In 1683, the Qing government sent troops to attack and seize the Penghu Islands, which resulted in the surrender of the Zheng Shi group and national uni fi cation. In 1684, the Qing government established a Taiwan government subordinate to Fujian Province and established a military force in Taiwan to patrol Taiwan and Xiamen which had jurisdiction over the defensive forces of both Taiwan and Xiamen. Afterwards,mainland coastal inhabitants moved to Taiwan in great numbers and Taiwan entered a new historical period.By 1811, Taiwan’s population exceeded 1.9 million.In 1874, due to the slaughter of boat people from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan annexed the islands and dispatched troops to Taiwan. The Qing government recruited migrants from the mainland to further open up and develop Taiwan and shore up coastal defenses,and at the same time, instructed the governor of Fujian to station troops on Taiwan every year from winter to spring. During the Sino-French War of 1884 and 1885, the Taiwan army, led by Liu Mingchuan of the Fujian Inspection Division, fought off the French forces. On October 12, 1885, the Qing government declared the establishment of Taiwan province, making Taiwan China’s twentieth province. The fi rst governor of Taiwan, Liu Mingchuan, actively promoted selfreliance in the new government and made Taiwan one of China’s most advanced provinces at that time.

In 1894, Japan initiated the Sino-Japanese Warin which the Qing government were defeated and forced to sign the Treaty of Shimonoseki, surrendering China’s sovereign rights under humiliating terms,including ceding Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to the Japanese. In the early stages of Japanese occupation,the people of Taiwan continued their arm struggle for almost 20 years and afterwards launched an unarmed national resistance movement. In 1937, Japan began its full war of aggression against China, and intensi fi ed its efforts to plunder Taiwan’s resources. At the same time, it coercively carried out the Kominka Movement,which sought to eliminate the Taiwanese people’s sense of identity with the Chinese. However, this was met with an intense reaction and strong resistance from the Taiwanese people. The Japanese illegally occupied Taiwan for 50 years. During that time, 650,000 Taiwanese people were murdered. The history of our Taiwanese compatriots’ resistance against the rule of Japanese colonists illuminates the great spirit of the Chinese nation in withstanding foreign aggression.

In December 1941, the Pacific War broke out.On December 9, the Chinese government issued a declaration of war against Japan, which solemnly announced the Chinese government’s intention to recover Taiwan and the Penghu Islands. On December 1, 1943, China, the United States and Britain signed the Cairo Declaration which clearly specified “It is [our] purpose… that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa[Taiwan], and the Pescadores [Penghu Islands], shall be restored to the Republic of China.” On July 26,1945, China, the United States and Britain signed the Potsdam Proclamation, which was later signed by the Soviet Union. The Potsdam Proclamation affirmed that “the conditions of the Cairo Declaration must be implemented.” On August 15, 1945, the Japanese government announced its unconditional surrender,and on October 25, a ceremony was held in Taiwan attended by the allied nations involved in the Chinese theatre of war to formally accept Japan’s surrender. The Chinese official who accepted Japan’s surrender on behalf of the Chinese government made the following declaration: “From this day forth, the islands of Taiwan and Penghu are once again of fi cial territories of China,and all their land, people, and government affairs come under Chinese sovereignty.” To commemorate Taiwan’s restoration, October 25 was named Taiwan’s Restoration Day.

History of the Taiwan Issue

After the Second World War, Taiwan returned to China not only in law but in fact. The emergence of the Taiwan issue was not only due to the anti-popular civil war initiated by the Kuomintang but, more importantly,the interference of foreign powers.

The Taiwan Issue and the Civil War Initiated by the Kuomintang

During China’s War of Resistance against Japan,under the impetus of the Communist Party of China and other patriotic forces, the Chinese Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China established the anti-Japanese national united front to fight Japanese imperialist aggression. After they had achieved victory in the War of Resistance against Japan, the two parties continued their cooperation and worked together for the great cause of rejuvenating China. However, the Kuomintang, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, enlisted the support of the US and, with complete disregard for the people of China who yearned for peace and who had an intense desire to establish an independent, democratic,rich and powerful new China, tore up the October 10th Agreement signed by both parties and began the nationwide anti-popular civil war. The Chinese people were left with no option but to engage, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, in the People’s Liberation War, which lasted for over three years, and due to the Kuomintang’s retroaction at that time, which had already been severely renounced by the people of the entire country, the Chinese people fi nallyoverthrew the government of the Republic of China in Nanjing. On October 1, 1949, the People’s Republic of China was established, and the government of the PRC became China’s sole legal government, with members of the Kuomintang government and army fleeing to Taiwan. Supported by the US government at that time,this resulted in a state of cross-Straits isolation.

US Government’s Responsibility for the Taiwan Issue

After the Second World War, as the two great camps of East and West faced off, based on its global strategy and in order to protect its own interests, the US government spared no effort in supporting the Kuomintang in the civil war, providing money, guns and personnel in an attempt to thwart the Chinese people’s revolution. Despite this, in the end, the US government was unable to achieve the objective it had hoped for. Neither the White Paper on United States’ Relations with China issued by the US State Department in 1949 nor the letter from Secretary of State Dean Acheson to President Truman could help but acknowledge this fact. In his letter to the President,Acheson wrote, “The unfortunate but inescapable fact is that the ominous result of the civil war in China was beyond the control of the government of the United States. Nothing that this country did or could have done within the reasonable limits of its capabilities could have changed that result; nothing that was left undone by this country has contributed to it. It was the product of internal Chinese forces, forces which this country tried to in fl uence but could not.”

Following the birth of the People’s Republic of China, the US government could have extricated itself from the quagmire of the Chinese civil war. It did not do so however. Instead, it adopted isolationist and containment policies against New China and, following the outbreak of the Korean War, it undertook armed intervention in China’s domestic affairs—cross-Straits relations. On June 27, 1950, US President Truman issued a statement announcing, “I have already ordered the 7th Fleet to prevent any attack on Taiwan.” The US 7th Fleet then entered the Taiwan Straits, while the 12th Air Force positioned itself on Taiwan. In December 1954, the US signed the Joint Defense Treaty with the Taiwan authorities, thereby placing the Chinese province of Taiwan under US protection. The US government persisted with their misguided policies which meddled in China’s domestic affairs, which created a tense, long-term stand off in the Taiwan Straits. Since then, the Taiwan issue has become a major point of contention between the US and China.

In order to ease the tense situation in the Taiwan Straits and in an attempt to find a channel through which the US and China could resolve their dispute,the Chinese government opened dialogue with the US beginning in the 1950s. Between August 1955 and February 1970, China and the US held 136 talks at ambassadorial level, but both sides failed to make any progress on the key matter of easing and eliminating the tense situation in the Taiwan Straits. At the end of the 1960s and the start of the 1970s, as changes took place in the international situation and China grew in strength, the US began to adjust its policies towards China, and relations between the two countries gradually thawed. In October 1971, the 26th United Nations General Assembly passed resolution 2758,which restored the People’s Republic of China’s legal rights in the United Nations and expelled the Taiwan authorities’ representative. In February 1972, US President Nixon visited China, at which time both sides issued the Joint Communiqué. The communiqué stated,“The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.”

In December 1978, the US government accepted the three principles for establishing diplomatic relations proposed by the Chinese government: the US must cease diplomatic relations with the Taiwan authorities,cancel the Joint Defense Treaty and withdraw troops from Taiwan. China and the US officially established diplomatic relations on January 1, 1979. The Sino-American Joint Communiqué on establishing diplomatic relations declared, “The United States of America recognizes the Government of the People's Republic of China as the sole legal Government of China. Within this context, the people of the United States will maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan…The Government of the United States of America acknowledges the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China.” At this time Sino-US relations were normalized.

Unfortunately, within three months of establishing diplomatic relations, the US Congress unexpectedly passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which was ratified with the signature of the President. The Taiwan Relations Act, which used US domestic legislation,contained a number of regulations that contravened the Sino-US Joint Communiqué and international laws and regulations, and which seriously damaged the rights and interests of the Chinese people. On the basis of the Taiwan Relations Act, the US government continued to sell arms to Taiwan and interfere in China’s domestic affairs, thereby hindering the uni fi cation of Taiwan with the Chinese mainland.

In order to resolve the issue of the US selling arms to Taiwan, following discussions, the Chinese and US governments reached an agreement on August 17, 1982, and issued their third Joint Communiqué:the August 17th Communiqué. In the communiqué,the US government declared, “The United States Government states that it does not seek to carry out a long-term policy of arms sales to Taiwan, that its arms sales to Taiwan will not exceed, either in qualitative or in quantitative terms, the level of those supplied in recent years since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, and that it intends gradually to reduce its sale of arms to Taiwan, leading, over a period of time, to a final resolution.” Nevertheless, over the following 10 years,the US government not only failed to implement the regulations in the Joint Communiqué, but constantly broke the terms of it. In September 1992, the US government even sold 150 F-16 fi ghter jets to Taiwan.This action by the US government increased the barriers and resistance to developing Sino-US relations and resolving the Taiwan issue.

From the above it is clear that the Taiwan issue has not yet been resolved and that the US government bears some responsibility for this. Since the 1970s, many friendly people in government and among the public with breadth of vision in the US have done a great deal of bene fi cial work to urge China and the United States to resolve their differences over the Taiwan issue, and the three Joint Communiqués encapsulate their hard work and contributions. The Chinese government and people are very appreciative of this. However, it is impossible to neglect the fact that the US also contains people who, even today, do not wish to see a unified China, and who make up various excuses and exert their influence to hinder the resolution of the Taiwan issue.

The Chinese government believes that the US people and Chinese people are friends. The normal development of relations between our two countries accords with the long-term interests and common aspirations of our two peoples. Both China and the US should value highly the hard-won three Joint Communiqués which guide the development of Sino-US relations. As long as both sides can scrupulously abide by the principles of the three communiqués,respect each other and focus on the major issues, it will not be dif fi cult to resolve the lingering historical issue of Taiwan, and Sino-US relations will, without doubt,constantly improve and develop.