00:00The U.S. is stepping into the debates on Taiwan sovereignty.
00:06The American Institute in Taiwan, Washington's de facto embassy,
00:10says Beijing mischaracterizes World War II-era documents like the Cairo Declaration
00:15and Treaty of San Francisco to claim Taiwan as part of China.
00:19It was responding to media questions about Chinese pressure on Taiwan,
00:24and called Beijing's narrative false,
00:26saying none of those documents determined Taiwan's political status.
00:33Japan gave up its claims to Taiwan in the 1951 San Francisco peace treaty,
00:38but left sovereignty unresolved.
00:40Beijing, not a signatory of that pact, calls the treaty illegal and invalid,
00:46paving the way for its claims on Taiwan.
00:49Responding to AIT, Taiwan's foreign ministry also accused China of distorting historical narrative.
00:55In Taiwan, reactions to AIT's remarks have been mixed.
01:14The Kuomintang-friendly Ma Ying-jou Foundation released a statement saying AIT's new position
01:21contradicts Washington's longstanding policy, which emphasizes no change in its stance on Taiwan sovereignty.
01:28The organization added that shifting to a Taiwan status undetermined view threatens Taiwan's security,
01:34as China hasn't ruled out the use of force to take Taiwan.
01:38But Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Wang Dingyu told reporters that Washington is responding to China's increased legal warfare tactics aimed at isolating Taiwan.
01:49Over the past few years, the U.S. has been emphasizing that its policy on cross-ray relations has not changed.
01:56In 2022, the State Department said the following.
01:59One China policy has not changed.
02:01We don't take a position on sovereignty.
02:04But the policy that has been at the crux of our approach to Taiwan since 1979 remains in effect today.
02:13What we want to see continue, what we want to see preserved is the status quo.
02:18And even for the recent statement, former AIT Chairman Richard Bush told Taiwan Plus that it remains aligned with the U.S. government's stance on Taiwan's legal status.
02:29An analyst say AIT's statement isn't exactly rare, but expresses the U.S.'s longstanding position on the Taiwan Strait more explicitly.
02:38The timing of AIT's remarks also noteworthy.
03:06Coming just after China's massive parade marking the end of World War II.
03:11And Taiwan's recent exclusion from the Pacific Islands Forum.
03:15Dolphin Chen and Ellen Lu for Taiwan Plus.
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