Retrocession of Taiwan

On 25 October 1945, Japan handed over Taiwan and Penghu to the Republic of China, as a result of the World War II. This marked the end of Japanese rule and the beginning of post-war era of Taiwan. This event was referred to by the Republic of China as the retrocession of Taiwan (臺灣光復).^[1][2][3][4] The Republic of China government viewed this as the restoration of Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan, following its cession to Japan in 1895 after the Qing dynasty's defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War. Therefore, the event was named "retrocession",^[2] a notion that has been controversial since the democratisation of Taiwan in the 1990s. The date of the handover was annually celebrated as the Retrocession Day, a former public holiday in Taiwan from 1946 to 2000.

Retrocession of Taiwan

Part of World War II
Japanese surrender ceremony in Taipei
Native name	臺灣光復
Date	25 October 1945
Outcome	Taiwan came under control of the Republic of China
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	臺灣光復
Simplified Chinese	台湾光复
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Táiwān Guāngfù Wade–Giles T‘ai2-wan1 Kuang1-fu4
Japanese name
Kanji	台湾光復
Hiragana	たいわんこうふく

On 15 August 1945, Japan announced its surrender following its defeat in World War II. On 2 September, Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers, issued General Order No. 1, instructing Japanese forces in various locations to surrender to the Allies. The order specified that Japanese troops in Taiwan were to surrender to the Chinese leader Chiang Kai-shek. Chiang delegated He Yingqin as his plenipotentiary for the surrender process, who further appointed Chen Yi to oversee the surrender in Taiwan. The Governor-General of Taiwan and Commander of the Japanese 10th Area Army, Rikichi Andō, on behalf of Japan, surrendered to Chen Yi at the Taipei Public Hall on 25 October, signing the documents to formalise the transfer.^[5][6]

Background

Chinese propaganda poster featured portraits of Chiang Kai-shek and Franklin D. Roosevelt, where the Japanese military was depicted as an octopus entrenched on the island of Taiwan

The Qing dynasty of China ceded Taiwan to Japan in 1895 following its defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War. The 1911 Revolution brought about the fall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China.^[7]

Japanese aggression escalated into full-scale conflict after the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, drawing the Republic of China into the Second Sino-Japanese War. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Republic of China officially joined the Allies in World War II.^[8] The Republic of China sought Allied agreement for Japan to relinquish Taiwan and return its sovereignty to China after the war. This intention was included in the Cairo Declaration and reiterated in the Potsdam Proclamation, which called for the fulfilment of these terms.^[9][7]

It is their purpose that Japan shall be stripped of all the islands in the Pacific which she has seized or occupied since the beginning of the first World War in 1914, and that all the territories Japan has stolen from the Chinese, such as Manchuria, Formosa, and The Pescadores, shall be restored to the Republic of China.

— 1943 Cairo Declaration

The terms of the Cairo Declaration shall be carried out and Japanese sovereignty shall be limited to the islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu, Shikoku and such minor islands as we determine.

— 1945 Potsdam Declaration

Government plans

On 17 April 1944, the National Government of the Republic of China in Chongqing, through the Kuomintang's Central Design Bureau, established the Taiwan Investigation Committee. Chen Yi, who had participated in the 40th Anniversary Commemorative Taiwan Expo, was appointed as the head. Initially, no Taiwanese members were part of the committee, but in September, several Taiwanese members were added.^[10] In May 1944, the Central Design Bureau divided the Chinese territory into three zones, the rear zone, the recovered zone, and the retroceded zone, with Taiwan and Manchuria being the retroceded zone.^[11][12]

With the end of the war, the Nationalist government debated two plans for Taiwan: a normal Chinese province or a special administration area with additional military authorities. Chiang Kai-shek, upon the suggestion of Chen Yi, turned Taiwan into a Chinese province, yet he set up the Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office, which had extensive political and military power. This design was criticised by Taiwanese and was called the New Governor-General Office.^[13]

Takeover

Initial reactions

On 15 October 1945, the National Revolutionary Army of China arrived in Taiwan, landing at Keelung, where they were greeted warmly by the local Taiwanese population.^[14] Businesspeople took out advertisements in local newspapers to celebrate the takeover, and streets were filled with celebrations marked by firecrackers and Chinese lanterns. Although there were limited incidents of Taiwanese retribution against the Japanese, the general situation remained calm and orderly, with the Taiwanese anticipating the Chinese administration's arrival.^[15]

Surrender ceremony

Surrender ceremony in Taipei

On 25 October 1945, the Japanese surrender ceremony in Taiwan took place at 10 a.m. at the Taipei Public Hall. The surrendering party was the Japanese Empire's 10th Area Army, represented by Governor-General of Taiwan and 10th Area Army Commander General Rikichi Andō. Chen Yi represented the Allied Commander-in-Chief Chiang Kai-shek to accept the surrender, which was witnessed by representatives of Nationalist government, Taiwanese people, Japanese forces, and American forces.^[16][17]

• Representatives of the National Government: Chen Yi, Ge Jing'en, Ko Yuan-fen, Huang Chao-chin, Yu Mi-chien, Sung Fei-ju, Li Wan-chu.
• Representatives of the Taiwanese people: Lin Hsien-tang, Chen Hsin, Mosei Lin, Tu Tsung-ming, Lo Wan-chu, Xie Shuangqiu, Huang Shih-hung, Wang Baiyuan.
• Representatives of Japan: Rikichi Andō, Haruki Isayama, Hifumi Suda, Tasuku Nakazawa.
• Allied representatives: Edwin A. Locke Jr., Cecil J. Gridley, Henry Berk, Ulmont W. Holly, George H. Kerr, among 19 others.^[16][17]

After the surrender ceremony, Chen Yi delivered a radio speech proclaiming that Taiwan and the Penghu Islands had rejoined China, marking Taiwan's retrocession.^[2] George H. Kerr, who was invited to proofread the English translation of Chen Yi's Chinese speech, noted that it omitted any mention of the role played by the United States.^[18] On the Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office officially began operations, with its headquarters located at the former Taipei City Hall.^[19]

Property takeover

From November, the Taiwan Provincial Administrative Executive Office and the Taiwan Garrison Command jointly established the Taiwan Provincial Receiving Committee, tasked with taking over military and administrative functions, as well as Japanese assets in Taiwan. In January 1946, the Handling Committee was set up under the Receiving Committee, with branches in 17 counties and cities to oversee the management of Japanese assets.^[19] By July, additional bodies—the Property Auction Committee and the Property Liquidation Committee—were established to handle the valuation, auction, and settlement of debts and claims related to the properties and financial institutions.^[20]

Aftermath

See also: 28 February incident

Shortly after the takeover, the Taiwanese people witnessed a corrupt and undisciplined Chinese administration that seized Taiwan's resources to support the civil war on the mainland.^{[21][22][23]: 111 [24]: 69 [25][26]} The government's poor economic management led to hyperinflation, reduced production,^[27][28][13] widespread unemployment and hunger,^[29] and a rise in violent crime.^[30] Taiwanese citizens faced discrimination by mainland military and government officials,^[31] which fueled growing resentment. These factors ultimately contributed to the eruption of the 28 February incident.^[32] Many intellectuals who had supported the end of Japanese rule and were hopeful for Chinese governance, including Lin Hsien-tang, were either killed or forced to flee by the government.^[33]

Controversy

Main article: Political status of Taiwan

The Nationalist government was criticised for controlling Taiwan as "conquerors", displaying an attitude of "superiority" and exercising authoritarian power.^[34] It implemented a 40-year-long period of White Terror, during which Taiwan's indigenous people were repressed, and democracy, human rights, and freedoms were stifled. Therefore, a good number of Taiwanese scholars believed that there was no retrocession of Taiwan, but the island was once again conquered by a foreign government.^{[35][36][37][38][39]}

See also

• Retrocession Day
• White Terror
• "Dogs left, pigs came", Taiwanese phrase describing the retrocession
• Theory of the Undetermined Status of Taiwan