The Presidential Office today thanked the UK House of Commons after it unanimously voted to reject China’s “distortion of the international law around Taiwan” to undermine its participation in international organizations, including the UN.
The motion followed a debate in the chamber yesterday on Taiwan’s international status.
It is the fifth legislative body to condemn Beijing's interpretation of UN Resolution 2758, following Australia, Canada, The Netherlands and the EU.
Photo: UK parliament / AFP
The House said that UN Resolution 2758 passed on Oct. 25, 1971 — which states that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the only legitimate government of China — does not mention Taiwan and therefore does not establish PRC sovereignty over Taiwan or define its political status.
The chamber urged the UK government to clarify its position that nothing in international law forbids Taiwan’s participation in international organizations such as the UN.
Lawmakers also called for the condemnation of PRC officials' efforts to “distort” the resolution in support of Beijing’s “one China” principle and alter historic documents to “change the name of the country from Taiwan to Taiwan, province of China.”
Taiwan’s government and people are sincerely thankful to the UK parliament and government for their continued support, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement today.
The nation vows to stand with its democratic allies in defending their shared values of freedom, democracy and human rights, she added.
Yesterday’s debate was held by Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China member and Labour Party lawmaker Blair McDougall, who proposed the motion to “back the democratic rights of the people of Taiwan.”
The UK continues to be a "staunch advocate for Taiwan’s meaningful international participation" in bodies including the UN and the World Health Assembly, UK Foreign Office Minister for the Indo-Pacific Catherine West said yesterday.
The UK government should condemn any attempts by the Chinese Communist Party to “rewrite history,” as this behavior does not benefit Taiwanese, the interests of the UK or the wider international community, West added.
In the debate, McDougall said that “diplomatic technicalities on an issue as fraught as the status of Taiwan could have far-reaching consequences for the entire world,” citing the importance of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, shipping routes and geopolitical position.
The economic toll of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan would be felt in every household in the UK, he added.
McDougall also stressed that the Russian invasion of Ukraine serves as a stark reminder to “form policy on a crisis before the crisis emerges,” he said.
ACTION PLAN: Taiwan would expand procurement from the US and encourage more companies to invest in the US to deepen bilateral cooperation, Lai said The government would not impose reciprocal tariffs in retaliation against US levies, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, as he announced five strategies to address the issue, including pledging to increase Taiwanese companies’ investments in the US. Lai has in the past few days met with administrative and national security officials, as well as representatives from various industries, to explore countermeasures after US President Donald Trump on Wednesday last week announced a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports. In a video released yesterday evening, Lai said that Taiwan would not retaliate against the US with higher tariffs and Taiwanese companies’ commitments to
Intelligence agents have recorded 510,000 instances of “controversial information” being spread online by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) so far this year, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report yesterday, as it warned of artificial intelligence (AI) being employed to generate destabilizing misinformation. The bureau submitted a written report to the Legislative Yuan in preparation for National Security Bureau Director-General Tsai Ming-yen’s (蔡明彥) appearance before the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee today. The CCP has been using cognitive warfare to divide Taiwanese society by commenting on controversial issues such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) investments in the
HELPING HAND: The steering committee of the National Stabilization Fund is expected to hold a meeting to discuss how and when to utilize the fund to help buffer the sell-off The TAIEX plunged 2,065.87 points, or 9.7 percent, to close at 19,232.35 yesterday, the highest single-day percentage loss on record, as investors braced for US President Donald Trump’s tariffs after an extended holiday weekend. Amid the pessimistic atmosphere, 945 listed companies led by large-cap stocks — including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Largan Precision Co (大立光) — fell by the daily maximum of 10 percent at the close, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. The number of listed companies ending limit-down set a new record, the exchange said. The TAIEX plunged by daily maxiumu in just
‘COMPREHENSIVE PLAN’: Lin Chia-lung said that the government was ready to talk about a variety of issues, including investment in and purchases from the US The National Stabilization Fund (NSF) yesterday announced that it would step in to staunch stock market losses for the ninth time in the nation’s history. An NSF board meeting, originally scheduled for Monday next week, was moved to yesterday after stocks plummeted in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s announcement of 32 percent tariffs on Taiwan on Wednesday last week. Board members voted to support the stock market with the NT$500 billion (US$15.15 billion) fund, with injections of funds to begin as soon as today. The NSF in 2000 injected NT$120 billion to stabilize stocks, the most ever. The lowest amount it
RSS