A new exhibit has opened in Taipei commemorating the 77th anniversary of the Marco Polo Bridge incident, which marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War.
President Ma Ying-jeou attended the opening ceremony on Monday. He said that although the Second Sino-Japanese War was one of the most brutal conflicts ever to have occurred in human history, there were still some positive results. Those results, he said, included China becoming one of the four leading nations in the world, all the unequal treaties were abrogated, and most important of all, he said, Japan returned sovereignty over Taiwan to the Republic of China.
President Ma also said that it’s important to bear in mind that although the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Declaration, and other treaties between the Republic of China and Japan have all stated that the sovereignty of Taiwan and the Pescadores have been returned to the Republic of China, the status of Diaoyutai remains unclear.
“We cannot forget that Diaoyutai was the first Chinese territory that Japan occupied," said Ma. Japan took control of the islands three months before the signing of the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Therefore, Japan’s occupation of Diaoyutai is invalid in the eyes of international law.”
The president said that mistakes in history can be forgiven, but not forgotten. Taiwan and Japan have signed a fisheries agreement, but the government will not compromise when it comes to territorial issues.