The Chinese Communist Party is undergoing a power transition, U.S. statement: Taiwan’s status undetermined

The U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington

[People News] On September 10, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2026, which includes many clauses targeting the CCP, and substantially increases authorized funding for Taiwan security assistance.

On September 12, CCP leader Xi Jinping, without going through the National People’s Congress, issued seven presidential decrees in one day. Current affairs commentators believe that Decree No. 51 on the “Atomic Energy Law of the People’s Republic of China” and Decree No. 52 on the “Law on the Response to Public Health Emergencies of the People’s Republic of China” may be related to the upcoming Taiwan conflict.

I. Sudden deterioration of U.S.-China relations

The U.S. side believes that Beijing turned the September 3rd large-scale military parade into a political show, grabbing the narrative power of the War of Resistance Against Japan. All countries in the world know that the United States played an irreplaceable role in the victory of World War II. The CCP distorts history, woos authoritarian regimes worldwide, and positions itself against the United States.

On the 14th, U.S. and Chinese officials held talks in Madrid, Spain, over a series of issues: tense trade relations, the imminent U.S. deadline for TikTok to “sell or be banned,” the U.S. request for its allies to impose tariffs on the CCP’s purchase of Russian oil, and export control measures on both sides. However, the Chinese side dragged out time with a “neither doing nor retreating” approach, causing the U.S. to lose patience.

CCP Foreign Minister Wang Yi went further, citing the Cairo Declaration and other World War II documents, and claimed Japan had returned sovereignty over Taiwan to China. He said: “The Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation, and a series of international documents required Japan to return territories stolen from China, including Taiwan, to China.”

On September 14, the spokesperson for the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) responded to the media, condemning the CCP’s distortion of the Cairo Declaration and other WWII documents to support its coercive actions against Taiwan. He stated that Beijing’s narrative is completely false, that these documents did not determine Taiwan’s final political status, and that Beijing’s intention is to isolate Taiwan from the international community.

II. Taiwan’s undetermined status is a fact

The U.S. side made a rare statement that Taiwan’s political status is undetermined. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung emphasized that the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China are not subordinate to each other, which is an objective fact, and the PRC has no right to represent Taiwan in the international community.

Wang Zhisheng, Secretary-General of the Chinese Asia-Pacific Elite Exchange Association, analyzed: “AIT came prepared, clearly aiming to refute the CCP’s narrative. The CCP is using sleight of hand, turning the Cairo Declaration and Potsdam Proclamation—essentially press-release-type documents—into something that appears to have international legal effect. I think the U.S. is alert to this, alert to the CCP’s distortion of the laws and history concerning Taiwan’s status by leveraging its international influence.”

According to the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, the Qing government permanently ceded Taiwan to Japan, and the people of Taiwan became Japanese nationals.

The 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation proposed that Taiwan be “returned to China,” and that China was the Republic of China. After Japan surrendered in 1945, ROC troops were stationed in Taiwan.

In 1949, the CCP usurped power and established the People’s Republic of China. But the CCP regime had legitimacy issues, as the ROC was a continuation of the Qing Empire’s constitutional monarchy reform and not overthrown by force. The CCP claimed the ROC had perished, and thus the PRC was founded. However, the ROC did not perish. In December 1949, the ROC retreated to Taiwan and the Penghu Islands.

On June 27, 1950, the Korean War broke out. President Truman issued the “Taiwan Strait Neutrality Declaration,” saying Taiwan and Penghu’s status was undetermined.

In 1951, Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty, declaring Japan renounced sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu. But it did not specify whether sovereignty was transferred to the ROC or the PRC. Therefore, under international law, the territorial sovereignty of Taiwan and Penghu has remained undetermined.

According to the post-WWII order, since the United States led the Allies to victory, it had the authority to militarily oversee undetermined territories. That means Taiwan and Penghu should be determined by the U.S. whether they are independent states.

On April 28, 1952, Japan and the ROC government signed the Treaty of Taipei, also called the Sino-Japanese Peace Treaty, stating Japan renounced sovereignty over Taiwan and Penghu, and former Japanese nationals in Taiwan could be considered Taiwanese.

On December 2, 1954, the U.S. recognized the Kuomintang’s exiled government as representing China, and both sides signed the Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty. The treaty stipulated that the defensive territories included Taiwan, Penghu, as well as Kinmen and Matsu. The treaty took effect on March 3, 1955, and expired on January 1, 1980. In the effective document, the U.S. specified that the defense treaty would not strengthen or weaken Chiang’s claim to “Formosa sovereignty.” Formosa is the Portuguese name for Taiwan. Since Taiwan changed rulers multiple times in history—including Dutch, Spanish, Zheng regime, Qing, and Japanese rule—the Western customary name was used.

From a historical perspective, Taiwan has never belonged to the People’s Republic of China. Even Japan did not explicitly state that Taiwan was handed over to the Republic of China, the then-nationalist government.

III. Unusual events inside mainland China

On September 11, the CCP’s Great Firewall (also known as the CCP National Firewall/Data Cross-Border Security Gateway) experienced the largest internal document leak in its history. Over 500GB of source code, work logs, and internal communication records were exposed, revealing in detail the development and operation of the Great Firewall, as well as the export of related technology overseas.

On September 13, at the Shandong-Hebei border, a missile launch and interception scene appeared, clearly captured by netizens.

September 13 is the anniversary of Lin Biao’s attempted defection. But one version says it was not a defection—Lin was vacationing in Beidaihe and could not return to Beijing, so the pilot flew into Russian airspace and was shot down by a missile. Researcher Chen Pokong analyzed that the Second Artillery admitted at the time that they received a secret order from Mao Zedong to launch a missile at Lin’s plane, but they did not know who was inside.

On September 10, Xinhua News Agency published an article: “Xi Jinping replied to encourage representatives of special post teachers nationwide to continuously improve their teaching skills, and strive to cultivate more socialist builders and successors with all-round moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor development. Li Qiang gave instructions on doing a good job with special post teachers.” Li Qiang’s rare gesture of greeting teachers nationwide was previously Xi Jinping’s exclusive domain. Earlier, Jiang Wangzheng revealed that Li Qiang would succeed, becoming Xi’s puppet emperor, while Xi would rule from behind the curtain as a retired emperor.

Looking at it now, the CCP is undergoing a power transition. At the same time, U.S.-China relations are worsening, with the U.S. constantly exerting external pressure. The future may bring great upheaval.

(People News first published) △