Beijing has inaccurately interpreted a UN resolution adopted in 1971 to exclude Taiwan from the international organization and its affiliates, a US Department of State official said on Thursday.
“The People’s Republic of China [PRC] has misused Resolution 2758 to prevent Taiwan’s meaningful participation,” said Rick Waters, deputy assistant secretary of state in the department’s Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, during a virtual talk hosted by the Washington-based German Marshall Fund.
Waters said that Taiwan’s exclusion from UN activities “creates an immense cost” to the nation, as well as the bloc’s members, adding that “Beijing is denying the international community the ability to gain valuable contributions that Taiwan offers.”
Photo: AFP
In the resolution adopted on Oct. 25, 1971, the UN General Assembly decided to “expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it.”
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the US for firmly supporting Taiwan’s bid to join UN organizations.
“The Republic of China is a democratic country with independent sovereignty,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that the nation and the PRC are not subordinate to each other.
Only an elected government in Taiwan can represent its 23.5 million people on international occasions, including the UN, the ministry said.
The resolution only addressed the PRC’s representation in the UN without authorizing it to represent Taiwan, nor did it mention that Taiwan is part of the PRC, it said.
The PRC has been intentionally abusing the resolution to pressure the UN into excluding Taiwanese from its system, it added.
The ministry denounced Beijing prioritizing its political maneuvers over the interests of global cooperation, while calling on international society to face China’s “overt plot” against Taiwan.
The government would continue to bolster its cooperation with the US and other like-minded countries to expand Taiwan’s international space, and defend the shared values of democracy, freedom and a rules-based international order, the ministry said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said that support from a high-ranking US official would benefit Taiwan’s UN bid, either in terms of aiding its appeal or gaining the moral high ground.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Charles Chen (陳以信) said that under former president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, Taiwan participated as an observer at the World Health Assembly — the WHO’s decisionmaking body — for eight years.
It shows the nation could make a breakthrough by endorsing the so-called “1992 consensus,” he said, adding that rejoining the UN under the name the Republic of China should be a priority.
The “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the KMT and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
FORCED LABOR: A US court listed three Taiwanese and nine firms based in Taiwan in its indictment, with eight of the companies registered at the same address Nine companies registered in Taiwan, as well as three Taiwanese, on Tuesday were named by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as Specially Designated Nationals (SDNs) as a result of a US federal court indictment. The indictment unsealed at the federal court in Brooklyn, New York, said that Chen Zhi (陳志), a dual Cambodian-British national, is being indicted for fraud conspiracy, money laundering and overseeing Prince Holding Group’s forced-labor scam camps in Cambodia. At its peak, the company allegedly made US$30 million per day, court documents showed. The US government has seized Chen’s noncustodial wallet, which contains
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
SENATE RECOMMENDATION: The National Defense Authorization Act encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s navy to participate in the exercises in Hawaii The US Senate on Thursday last week passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2026, which strongly encourages the US secretary of defense to invite Taiwan’s naval forces to participate in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise, as well as allocating military aid of US$1 billion for Taiwan. The bill, which authorizes appropriations for the military activities of the US Department of Defense, military construction and other purposes, passed with 77 votes in support and 20 against. While the NDAA authorizes about US$925 billion of defense spending, the Central News Agency yesterday reported that an aide of US
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
RSS