China is misusing and mischaracterizing UN Resolution 2758 to exclude Taiwan from international organizations, the US Department of State said on Friday.
“Intentional misuse and mischaracterization of UNGA [UN General Assembly] Resolution 2758 is part of China’s broader coercive efforts to isolate Taiwan from the international community,” a State Department spokesperson said.
The resolution “puts no limits on any country’s sovereign choice to engage substantively with Taiwan,” and it “does not preclude Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the United Nations system and other multilateral fora,” they said.
Photo: AFP
The spokesperson was responding to Central News Agency’s request for comments on Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi’s (王毅) use of the UN resolution to assert Beijing’s territorial claims over Taiwan during a news conference earlier that day.
The resolution has “addressed the issue of representation for all of China, including Taiwan, in the United Nations,” Wang said at a news conference for the third session of the 14th National People’s Congress, the most important annual gathering for China’s legislature and top government advisory body.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a protest, calling Wang’s claims “absurd” and “false,” while describing them as an attempt to “deceive and mislead the international community.”
The ministry said the resolution does not mention Taiwan nor authorize the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to represent Taiwan and its people in the UN and affiliated agencies.
It also urged the international community to “reject China’s repeated misinterpretation of the resolution.”
The resolution, adopted by the UNGA in 1971, recognized the People’s Republic of China as “the only lawful representatives of China” to the international body, and expelled “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.” It does not mention Taiwan.
In the past few years, academics and the State Department have repeatedly said that China is distorting the resolution by falsely linking it with its “one China” principle.
For two consecutive years, the US Senate has passed bipartisan resolutions emphasizing that the adoption of UN Resolution 2758 does not represent acceptance of Beijing’s claim to Taiwan, and that the US’ “one China” policy is not the same as Beijing’s “one China” principle.
The US’ policy recognizes the PRC as the sole legal government of China, but only acknowledges Beijing’s position that Taiwan is a part of China.
Last year, the Dutch House of Representatives and the Australian Senate passed resolutions stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not involve Taiwan, Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Chen Gau-tzu (陳昭姿) said yesterday.
The TPP caucus has proposed the legislature pass a resolution reiterating that the UN resolution does not involve Taiwan and expressing Taiwan’s gratitude to counties that have shown support of that position, she said.
The TPP caucus also hopes to invite Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) to report on Taiwan’s participation in international organizations to the legislature, she said.
Unfortunately the caucuses could not reach a consensus in a cross-party negotiation called on Oct. 8 last year to discuss passing such a resolution, she said.
Since US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January, the international situation has been changing, so Taiwan should again reiterate that its stance on UN Resolution 2758 has not changed, to consolidate more international support, Chen said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus deputy secretary-general Lo Chih-chiang (羅智強) said the Republic of China and the KMT have always opposed UN Resolution 2758.
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