China is mischaracterizing UN Resolution 2758 for its own interests by conflating it with its “one China” principle, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for China and Taiwan Mark Lambert said on Monday.
Speaking at a seminar held by the German Marshall Fund, Lambert called for support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the international community at a time when China is increasingly misusing Resolution 2758.
The resolution had a clear impact when it changed who occupied the China seat at the UN, Lambert said.
Photo: CNA
“Today, however, the PRC [People’s Republic of China] increasingly mischaracterizes and misuses Resolution 2758 to serve its own interests,” Lambert said.
“Beijing mischaracterizes the resolution by falsely conflating it with China’s ‘one China’ principle, and wrongly asserts that it reflects an international consensus for its ‘one China’ principle,” he added.
Resolution 2758 was adopted by the 26th UN General Assembly in 1971 to solve the issue of China’s representation in the UN system. It ultimately led to the UN expelling the Republic of China, and the PRC taking its place.
The resolution passed on Oct. 25, 1971, recognizes the PRC as the “only lawful representative of China.”
However, the governments of Taiwan and the US have repeatedly said that it does not mention Taiwan, does not state that Taiwan is part of the PRC, and does not explicitly authorize Beijing to represent Taiwan in the UN system.
Lambert said the “one China” principle refers specifically to China’s position that it claims Taiwan to be part of China.
“To be clear, Resolution 2758 has absolutely no bearing on countries’ sovereign choices with respect to their relationships with Taiwan. Such decisions are clearly outside of the UN General Assembly’s purview to dictate,” he said.
Lambert emphasized that China was aiming to influence decisions made by partner countries regarding their relationships with Taiwan by conflating Resolution 2758 with its “one China” principle.
The resolution does not constitute an institutional UN position on the political status of Taiwan, and does not preclude Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system and other multilateral fora, he said.
“Through its misuse of Resolution 2758, China has denied the international community the ability to gain from Taiwan’s valuable contributions to global challenges, which require us all to work together,” Lambert said.
He said that a good step would be inviting Taiwan to participate as an observer in the World Health Assembly slated for next month so that it could join efforts in fighting emerging health threats and planning for global health challenges.
Had Taiwan been able to share its knowledge of public health ahead of the COVID-19 outbreak, “the world might have been a very different place. Taiwan’s exclusion from key international fora has a direct negative impact on the well-being of the global community,” Lambert said.
Meanwhile, US Representative John Moolenaar, the new chair of the US House of Representatives Select Committee on Strategic Competition between the US and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), in a video on Monday vowed to deter Chinese military aggression against Taiwan.
Moolenaar said he would continue to counter Chinese efforts to “weaken America,” citing its use of TikTok to “indoctrinate our children,” buying farmland and setting up secret police stations abroad.
As a first priority, Moolenaar said that the committee would “work tirelessly to deter CCP military aggression against Taiwan and our allies in the Indo-Pacific.”
It would also work to prevent the CCP from stealing technology and harassing people on US soil, while examining how to reduce supply chain reliance on China, he said.
Additionally, “we will continue to promote engagement and partnerships with allies around the world,” Moolenaar said as the video showed footage of him shaking hands with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Additional reporting by Kayleigh Madjar
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