US senators on Thursday introduced a bipartisan resolution restating US support for Taiwan, saying China has “weaponized” UN Resolution 2758 to distort history and isolate Taiwan.
The proposed nonbinding resolution reaffirms that the US’ “one China policy” and the similar policies of its partners are not equivalent to the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “one China principle.” It also states that the US opposes China’s efforts to prevent Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.
The resolution was introduced by US senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen — the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee respectively — and US senators Pete Ricketts and Chris Coons. US representatives Young Kim, Ami Bera, John Moolenaar and Raja Krishnamoorthi joined the senators in introducing the resolution.
Photo: Reuters
In 1971, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed UN Resolution 2758, transferring the seat representing China at the UN from the Republic of China to the People’s Republic of China (PRC), but it did not address China’s territorial claim to Taiwan or take a position on Taiwan’s political status.
“Let me make one thing very clear: America does not recognize China’s claim over Taiwan,” a Senate Foreign Relations Committee news release cited Risch as saying.
“Once again, the Chinese government has attempted to trick the world and subvert the UN for its own purposes — but we see these malign tactics and stand in support of our friends in Taiwan,” he said.
The US Senate resolution states that the PRC in the past few years has linked UN Resolution 2758 with Beijing’s “one China principle” and claimed that it addresses the matter of sovereignty over Taiwan, as the CCP claims “the PRC is the sole sovereign nation using the name ‘China,’” and that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.”
“Beijing’s attempts to prevent Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN further erode international support for Taiwan, and this bipartisan resolution makes it clear that the United States won’t allow for that,” he said. “To be clear, UNGA Resolution 2758 does not define Taiwan’s political status, does not dictate how countries can engage with Taiwan and should not prevent Taiwan from meaningfully participating in UN bodies, full stop.”
Shaheen said the US and its partners, and the UN must oppose the CCP’s coercive tactics regarding sovereign nations’ treatment of Taiwan and its deliberate distortion of international resolutions.
The US Senate resolution also states that Resolution 2758 did not endorse and is not equivalent to the “one China principle,” so countries that supported Resolution 2758 do not necessarily accept the “one China principle,” but the PRC misleadingly claims that those countries abide by Beijing’s policy.
“Communist China’s pressure campaign for its ‘one China principle’ has one goal — international backing to isolate, coerce and, potentially, invade Taiwan,” Ricketts said, adding that Beijing’s strong-arming and revisionist history must be rejected, while supporting Taiwan’s meaningful engagement on the world’s stage.
“Taiwan is a strong, thriving democracy and an important US partner in the Indo-Pacific,” Coons said. “The US fully supports Taiwan’s role in international organizations.”
The US rejects China’s coercive attempts to limit Taiwan’s global role and to intimidate other countries from strengthening partnerships with Taiwan, he said.
In addition, the Senate resolution states that the US recognizes Taiwan as a reliable and indispensable partner on issues ranging from global health to advanced manufacturing, and its resources and expertise are assets from which the international community should fully benefit.
It also encouraged the US government to work with partners on joint efforts to counter China’s false narratives about UN Resolution 2758 and support other countries to differentiate their policies and “one China principle” propaganda.
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