The UN resolution that led to Beijing assuming China’s seat from Taipei was about switching representation and did not mention Taiwan, the EU said, commenting on an escalating dispute over the interpretation of the key document.
China says that 1971’s UN Resolution 2758, which led to Beijing taking over representing China from Taipei, gives international legal backing to its territorial claims over Taiwan, and reiterated that point in a long foreign ministry statement last week.
Taiwan says Beijing is trying to use its “misleading” interpretation of the resolution to create the legal basis for a future attempt to invade and take over the country.
Photo: Reuters
Taiwan’s formal name is the Republic of China, and it held on to China’s UN seat post-1949, when its government fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong’s (毛澤東) communists, until the 1971 resolution was passed.
“United Nations Resolution 2758 is very short — only 150 words. And among those 150 words, the word ‘Taiwan’ does not appear,” an EU spokesperson said in an e-mailed statement
“The resolution switched representation in the United Nations from the ‘representatives of [former president] Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石)’ to the ‘representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China,’” the spokesperson added.
China called on the EU not to “challenge” the UN resolution, adding that the EU remarks were a “distortion” of the resolution.
“We urge the EU side to strictly abide by the ‘one China’ principle and its promises on the Taiwan issue, not challenge UN Resolution 2758 and not send any wrong signals to Taiwan independence separatist forces,” the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The comments also come after the US Department of State last week said that China was intentionally mischaracterizing and misusing the resolution as part of broader “coercive attempts to isolate Taiwan from the international community.”
“As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has a special responsibility in upholding the rules-based international order, the United Nations Charter and international law. This includes the prohibition of the use of force, and the maintenance of international peace and security,” the EU spokesperson said.
No EU member state has formal ties with Taiwan.
However, Taiwan has sought greater support from Europe, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) visiting European countries twice last month.
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