How Come United Nations Expelled Taiwan?

Answer 1

Because our wonderful President Carter let them. Nice ram job on a democracy, if you ask me.

Answer 2

The government of the Republic of China held China's seat after that government went into exile on Taiwan in 1949. In 1971 (under Nixon, not Carter as the previous answer stated), after 20+ years, the idea that China should be represented by the government that was actually ruling the country finally won out, and the ROC government-in-exile on Taiwan was replaced by the communist People's Republic of China.

Taiwan cannot currently be a UN member because (1) it continues to claim it is the legitimate government of mainland China, and (2) The PRC claims that Taiwan is part of mainland China. Until both of those claims end, admitting Taiwan would have the effect of recognizing 2 different legitimate governments for one country.

Answer 3

Technically speaking, the United Nations did not expell "Taiwan." The United Nations expelled the "Republic of China," which up to that point in 1971 had been recognized as the legal government of China.

In order to properly understand the relationship between the ROC, Taiwan, the PRC, and the USA, the following background information should be overviewed.

BACKGROUND: Formosa and the Pescadores had been ceded to Japan in the 1895 Treaty of Shimonoseki. Under international law, there is no doubt that Japan had possession of the sovereignty of these areas after 1895.

During the course of the Pacific war, the historical record shows that all military attacks against Japanese Formosa and the Pescadores, and indeed against the four main Japanese islands, were conducted by United States military forces. It is very significant that the Republic of China military forces did not participate. According to the precedent established in the Mexican American War, the Spanish American War, etc., after the end of hostilities, the United States will be the (principal) occupying power of these areas.

In early August 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Japan, and the Japanese announced their acceptance of an unconditional surrender on August 15th. US troops were in Formosa soon after, and on September 1st, US naval vessels arrived to arrange for the transport of 1,000 US prisoners of war to Manila. On September 2nd, General Douglas MacArthur directed the senior Japanese commanders and all ground, sea, air and auxiliary forces within Formosa to surrender to Chiang Kai-shek (CKS).

The relationship between the United States and the CKS' Republic of China in the military occupation of Formosa and the Pescadores (hereinafter called "Taiwan") is important. The United States is the principal occupying power. The Republic of China under CKS (hereinafter called "ROC") is the subordinate occupying power. General MacArthur gave orders to Chiang Kai-shek, and the Generalissimo accepted them. This is a principal - agent relationship.

The ROC military forces accepted the surrender of Japanese troops on October 25, 1945, in Taipei. The ROC officials immediately announced this occasion as "Taiwan Retrocession Day," however such an announcement is a violation of the laws of war. It is extremely regrettable that the United States government made no efforts to correct this error at the time. This was the first major mistake by the USA in the handling of Taiwanese affairs in the post-war period.

According to the Hague Conventions of 1907, the date of October 25, 1945 can only be interpreted as the beginning of the military occupation of Taiwan. Military occupation is conducted under "military government," and the United States has delegated the military occupation of Taiwan to the ROC. United States Military Government (USMG) in Taiwan has begun as of October 25, 1945.

In January of 1946, the ROC government announced mass naturalization of native persons in Taiwan as "ROC citizens." Additionally, some Taiwanese males were conscripted to fight in the Chinese civil war. (More formal military conscription laws over Taiwanese males were put into effect several years later.) Such unilateral announcements regarding naturalization and military conscription over persons in occupied territory are violations of the laws of war. It is extremely regrettable that the United States government made no efforts to correct these errors at the time. These were the second and third major mistakes by the USA in the handling of Taiwanese affairs in the post-war period.

In late 1949, with a civil war raging in Mainland China, additional military forces and government officials of the ROC fled to Taiwan. As of early 1950, the ROC government in Taiwan is "wearing two hats" -- it is a subordinate occupying power (beginning October 25, 1945), exercising "effective territorial control" over Taiwan, and at the same time it is a government-in-exile (beginning December 1949). Decisions regarding the transfer of the sovereignty of Taiwan will be made in the post-war peace treaty, hence in early 1950 the ROC is clearly not in possession of the sovereignty of Taiwan.

On April 28, 1952, the San Francisco Peace Treaty (SFPT) came into force. Japan renounced the sovereignty of Taiwan in Article 2b, however, no receiving country was specified. This is a "limbo cession." The United States is confirmed as the principal occupying power in Article 23. Final disposition of Taiwan will be according to the directives of USMG, as per Article 4b: "Japan recognizes the validity of dispositions of property of Japan and Japanese nationals made by or pursuant to the directives of the United States Military Government in any of the areas referred to in Articles 2 and 3."

As we know, the ROC is the legal government of "China" as spoken of in WWII. However, the ROC failed to maintain its legal position when it fled to Taiwan in late 1949. As of late April 1952, with the coming into force of the SFPT, the ROC is not the legally recognized government of Taiwan; it is merely a subordinate occupying power and government in exile.

Meanwhile, the PRC officials successfully staged a coup d'etat and announced the founding of the PRC on Oct. 1, 1949. The PRC succeeded the ROC in the mainland China territorial areas.

The United Nations observed this entire series of events for over twenty years, and finally decided to kick out the ROC in 1971.

The final question remains: Can the ROC/Taiwan become admitted to the United Nations in the present era? The answer is no. ROC/Taiwan does not meet the international law criteria for statehood. This is explained as follows.

Under international law, the ROC does not have its own "territory" (except for the island groups of Kinmen and Mazu, which lie within the territorial seas of the PRC.) More specifically, the ROC does not hold the "territorial sovereignty" of the areas of Formosa and the Pescadores.

At the same time, as mentioned above, at the most basic level, the original military order dictating "mass naturalization" of native Taiwanese persons as ROC citizens in January 1946 is illegal under international law, and moreover it was never confirmed by the ROC Legislative Yuan. Hence, in reality, there is no solid legal basis under international law, or under ROC law, to consider native Taiwanese persons as ROC citizens, thus ROC/Taiwan has no "permanent population."