The US House of Representatives on Tuesday last week passed the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which aims to counter efforts by China to exclude Taiwan from participating in international organizations. It is a milestone, clarifying Taiwan’s rightful status on the global stage through an allied nation’s legislation.
For decades, China has deliberately misrepresented Resolution 2758 passed by UN General Assembly in 1971, which “[recognizes] that the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China are the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations” and “[d]ecides to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it.” Beijing has used the resolution as the basis of its “one China” principle to push exclusive recognition of China and to exclude Taiwan from international organizations, such as the WHO, the International Civil Aviation Organization and Interpol, to the detriment of global health and security efforts.
Beijing has further distorted the resolution to assert its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, which could be a pretext for blocking international aid that Taiwan requires to protect against China’s coercion and a possible invasion. Beijing’s overly broad interpretation not only runs counter to the original text of the resolution; it also ignores that China never exercised sovereignty over Taiwan.
In 2007, the US and ally countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan and New Zealand, issued stern protests to oppose a letter by then-UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon that said “in accordance with that resolution [2758], the UN considers Taiwan to be an integral part of the People’s Republic of China.” Ban apologized and pledged to drop the fallacious remark.
The bill passed by the US House clearly states that Resolution 2758 only deals with the issues of China’s representation, and does not apply to Taiwan.
“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 says.
Once the bill is approved by the US Senate and signed in to law by the president, it requires the US to support Taiwan’s bids to join international organizations, and to oppose attempts by Beijing “to resolve Taiwan’s status by distorting the decisions, language, policies, or procedures” of such organizations. It also “opposes any initiative that seeks to change Taiwan’s status without the consent of the [Taiwanese] people.”
Although a member country’s national legislation cannot affect the effectiveness of a UN resolution, the passage of the bill has demonstrated an unprecedented level of support for Taiwan in Washington. Shifting from a policy of ambiguity and international appeasement to avoid conflict with China, this legislation shows that the US is taking a definite stand to clarify the facts of Taiwan’s sovereignty, a significant step against China’s distortion of Taiwan’s legal status in UN and the global arena.
The bill is also considered a countermeasure against China’s escalating aggression against Taiwan. It is a strong signal from the world’s leading democratic country that China’s hegemony and expansionism must be opposed.
For Taiwan, the US bill is definitely a show of support, but more must be done to ensure that the global community understands Taiwan’s sovereignty as this would result in more international recognition and participation in international organizations.
A failure by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to respond to Israel’s brilliant 12-day (June 12-23) bombing and special operations war against Iran, topped by US President Donald Trump’s ordering the June 21 bombing of Iranian deep underground nuclear weapons fuel processing sites, has been noted by some as demonstrating a profound lack of resolve, even “impotence,” by China. However, this would be a dangerous underestimation of CCP ambitions and its broader and more profound military response to the Trump Administration — a challenge that includes an acceleration of its strategies to assist nuclear proxy states, and developing a wide array
Eating at a breakfast shop the other day, I turned to an old man sitting at the table next to mine. “Hey, did you hear that the Legislative Yuan passed a bill to give everyone NT$10,000 [US$340]?” I said, pointing to a newspaper headline. The old man cursed, then said: “Yeah, the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] canceled the NT$100 billion subsidy for Taiwan Power Co and announced they would give everyone NT$10,000 instead. “Nice. Now they are saying that if electricity prices go up, we can just use that cash to pay for it,” he said. “I have no time for drivel like
Twenty-four Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers are facing recall votes on Saturday, prompting nearly all KMT officials and lawmakers to rally their supporters over the past weekend, urging them to vote “no” in a bid to retain their seats and preserve the KMT’s majority in the Legislative Yuan. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), which had largely kept its distance from the civic recall campaigns, earlier this month instructed its officials and staff to support the recall groups in a final push to protect the nation. The justification for the recalls has increasingly been framed as a “resistance” movement against China and
Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) reportedly told the EU’s top diplomat that China does not want Russia to lose in Ukraine, because the US could shift its focus to countering Beijing. Wang made the comment while meeting with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas on July 2 at the 13th China-EU High-Level Strategic Dialogue in Brussels, the South China Morning Post and CNN reported. Although contrary to China’s claim of neutrality in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, such a frank remark suggests Beijing might prefer a protracted war to keep the US from focusing on
RSS