UN Resolution 2758 did not address Taiwan’s representation in the UN, the Taiwan International Solidarity Act passed by the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee says.
The bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives in February to amend the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act of 2019.
Photo: AP
The amendment was passed by the committee with a voice vote without objection and would be sent to the House of Representatives for consideration.
Photo: AFP
The bipartisan TAIPEI Act was introduced in the US Congress in 2019 and signed into law in 2020 to “express United States support for Taiwan’s diplomatic alliances around the world.”
It requires the US to advocate for Taiwan’s membership in international organizations and support the nation to bolster diplomatic ties with countries around the world.
The amendment includes new paragraphs calling on the US, as a member of any international organizations, to “oppose any attempts by the People’s Republic of China to resolve Taiwan’s status by distorting the decisions, language, policies, or procedures of the organization, and for other purposes.”
UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 established the representatives of the government of China as the only lawful representatives of China to the UN, the amended bill says.
“The resolution did not address the issue of representation of Taiwan and its people in the United Nations or any related organizations, nor did the resolution take a position on the relationship between the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan or include any statement pertaining to Taiwan’s sovereignty,” it adds.
Beijing interpreted the resolution adopted in 1971 to exclude Taiwan from international organizations and their affiliates.
In the resolution, 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.”
The amendment also reiterates that the US “opposes any initiative that seeks to change Taiwan’s status without the consent of the people.”
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the US Congress for its bipartisan support of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
Passing the bill ahead of the 76th World Health Assembly, which is to begin this weekend, is especially meaningful, the ministry said.
Taiwan has not received an invitation to attend the meeting of the top decisionmaking body of the WHO for the sixth consecutive year due to pressure by China.
US representatives Michael McCaul, who chairs the committee, and Gregory Meeks, its former chairman, backed the bill, saying that excluding Taiwan from the UN system would be a disservice to the world, the ministry said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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