China has misrepresented a UN resolution to undermine Taiwan’s standing and participation in the international community, US lawmakers said in a statement issued on Monday, which marked the 50th anniversary of the passage of the resolution.
“The People’s Republic of China [PRC] has sought to intentionally misuse, misinterpret and mislead others on the underlying purpose of UN Resolution 2758,” Bob Menendez, chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and James Inhofe, a ranking member of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a joint statement.
The anniversary should “serve as a turning point to correct the continued injustice of Taiwan’s marginalization on the world stage,” the statement said, adding that “Beijing should not be allowed to continue twisting history and isolating Taipei.”
Photo: AFP
The resolution, adopted in 1971, was “to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations and 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 Republic of China, as Taiwan is officially known, has not been a member of the UN since the resolution was approved in 1971.
Chinese officials maintain the issue of Taiwan’s participation in the UN and its affiliates should be handled in accordance with its “one China” principle, which it claims is a guiding principle established by UN Resolution 2758.
US Representative Michael McCaul, a ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, rejected Beijing’s rhetoric, describing it as “false claims” that should be rooted out from the UN.
“Resolution 2758 does not say Taiwan is a part of China. It does not say China may represent Taiwan before the UN. It does not address Taiwan’s sovereignty — it doesn’t even include the word Taiwan,” McCaul said in a statement.
US representatives Ami Bera and Steve Chabot echoed their colleague’s view in a joint statement.
Beijing’s attempts to impose the “one China” principle on the UN and other UN member states have denied the global community the full benefit of Taiwan’s knowledge and resources, they said.
“We oppose any ahistorical reinterpretations of UNGA [UN General Assembly] Resolution 2758 that isolate Taiwan or impose Beijing’s views on other countries,” they added.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2