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
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, then called Formosa, 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 Nationalist 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, 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, Ke Yuanfen, Huang Chaoqin, You Mijian, Song Feiru, Li Wanju.
Representatives of the Taiwanese people: Lin Hsien-tang, Chen Xin, Lin Maosheng, Du Congming, Luo Wanqian, Xie Shuangqiu, Huang Shihong, Wang Baiyuan.
Allied representatives: Edwin A. Locke, 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]
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]
The Nationalist government was criticised for controlling Taiwan as "conquerors," displaying an attitude of "superiority" and exercising authoritarian power.[34] It implemented a forty-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]
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