The Legislative Yuan has not been able to produce a joint statement rejecting China’s disinformation regarding UN Resolution 2758, which is a failure that risks sending the wrong message to the international community, an academic said yesterday.
Parliaments in Europe and the US have already passed resolutions opposing Beijing’s use of Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan, said Hung Pu-chao (洪浦釗), deputy director of the Center for Mainland China and Regional Development Research at Tunghai University.
US senators and representatives from across the political aisle and representatives of Taiwan’s allies to the UN have also denounced China for distorting the resolution to block Taiwan’s participation ahead of the 80th UN General Assembly this week.
Photo: AFP
They urged the UN to acknowledge reality and stop cooperating with Beijing in its attempt to isolate Taiwan from the international community.
By contrast, Taiwan’s legislature has been unable to reach consensus. Although the three major party caucuses have submitted proposals, cross-party negotiations that began on Sept. 20 last year have stalled without producing a joint statement.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposal called for explicitly opposing China’s distortion of the resolution, while the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) said the proposal should state that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign state and a founding UN member.
The ROC has consistently opposed Resolution 2758 since its adoption, the KMT said.
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) proposal stated its approval of a resolution passed by the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) in July last year calling for Taiwan’s international participation.
That IPAC resolution said that the 1971 UN Resolution 2758 only recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as China’s legal representative at the UN, but did not mention Taiwan or its political status, endorse Beijing’s claims over Taiwan, or explicitly address Taiwan’s eligibility to join the UN and related agencies.
Hung said that the legislature’s continued failure to issue a joint statement risks signaling that the international community is more willing than Taiwan itself to clarify the facts.
It could create the impression that Taiwan’s stance on the issue is inconsistent, weakening its ability to shape the narrative internationally and giving Beijing the upper hand in its legal warfare, he said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus chief executive Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) said he looked forward to a breakthrough in the new legislative session.
The DPP caucus hopes to engage in dialogue and to foster effective communication and negotiation, he said.
A joint statement on UN Resolution 2758 could serve as a touchstone for cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties in safeguarding Taiwan’s international status, Chung said.
Taiwan cannot rely solely on its allies to speak up on its behalf, he said, adding that all political parties should work together to present a unified national stance.
Producing a joint statement in the legislature is a consensus and shared expectation of the whole country, he said.
Without such a statement, the legislature risks giving the impression that it lacks unity on core issues, DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) said.
This could undercut the efforts of Taiwan’s allies when they voice support, he said, calling on Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to launch cross-party negotiations to produce a joint statement to demonstrate Taiwan’s unity.
TPP caucus director Chen Chao-tzu (陳昭姿) urged the DPP to support the TPP’s proposal.
The Executive Yuan should fight to secure Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, she said, adding that the legislature should invite the premier to report on progress regarding Taiwan’s involvement in the UN, the WHO, the International Civil Aviation Organization, Interpol and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
The KMT caucus maintains a pragmatic stance, caucus deputy secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said.
The US and other allies should establish formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognize the ROC as a UN member state, he said.
Only then would UN Resolution 2758 carry substantive meaning, he added.
Additional reporting by Lin Hsin-han
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