As UN’s 78th General Assembly Convenes, Taiwan’s Status Ignites Heated Debate

A coalition of Taiwanese-American groups held a press conference Sept. 9, urging UN inclusion for Taiwan. Nathan Su/The Epoch Times

As the United Nations General Assembly begins its high-level segment on Sept. 19, there are an increasing number of calls for Taiwan’s inclusion in the international organization.

The nation of 23 million people has been barred from the U.N. since 1971, when U.N. Resolution 2758 accepted the Chinese communist regime as the legitimate representative of China.

As tensions across the Taiwan Strait continue to escalate, the debate about Taiwan’s status in the U.N. system is heating up as well.

A coalition of Taiwanese-American organizations issued a joint press release Sept. 9, accusing the U.N. of yielding to pressure from China, erroneously interpreting U.N. Resolution 2758, and inappropriately excluding Taiwan from the diplomatic organization.

On the heels of the press conference, U.S. lawmakers issued a statement Tuesday rejecting resolution 2758 and calling for Taiwan’s inclusion in international organizations.

‘Is China Running the UN?’

The U.N.’s 78th General Assembly convened Sept. 5. The global organization’s high-level meetings—formally known as the “General Debate”—will kick off Sept. 19. Representatives and heads of state from 193 member nations will come together at U.N. headquarters in New York to address issues of importance to them.

Notably, Taiwan will not be present. Currently, Taiwan passport holders are not allowed to enter the United Nations. In previous years, Taiwanese journalists, like journalists from all around the world, were present at the U.N. However, journalists with media credentials issued by Taiwan are no longer allowed to enter the U.N.

The exclusion prompted a French reporter to ask a U.N. spokesperson in March, “Is China running the U.N.?”

The U.N.’s website states: “The U.N. has evolved over the years to keep pace with a rapidly changing world. But one thing has stayed the same: it remains the one place on Earth where all the world’s nations can gather together, discuss common problems, and find shared solutions that benefit all of humanity.”

Hands Off Taiwan

“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) should get its hands off Taiwan,” said Li Hanwen, who spoke at the press event. Ms. Li is the spokeswoman for the Taiwan Forum and the Northern California School Association for Languages of Taiwan. The organizations were among ten Taiwanese-American groups that coordinated the press conference.

“The United Nations is an important communication platform. Excluding Taiwan from this platform is very dangerous, especially during [a] time when the peace across Taiwan Strait is challenged,” said Zhuang Yashu, director of the Culture Center of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Milpitas, California.

Leaders from several other Taiwanese organizations in northern California urged Americans to support Taiwan.

Zhou Xinjie, the president of the Northern California South Bay Taiwanese Association, criticized Beijing’s aggressive diplomacy style and said that people who love freedom and democracy must help Taiwan participate in the U.N.

Ye Junxiong, the spokesman for the Northern California Taiwanese American Center, said that excluding a democratic Taiwan from the U.N. is a “big loss” for the international society.

US Congress Passes Taiwan Solidarity Act

Taiwan’s exclusion was based on U.N. Resolution 2758, passed in 1971. Taiwan was formally expelled from the organization and its seat was given to the People’s Republic of China.

Since that time, China has worked to frame U.N. Resolution 2758 as an acknowledgment of its “One China” policy, according to Russell Hsiao, Executive Director of the Global Taiwan Institute. Writing in the organization’s newsletter (pdf), Mr. Hsiao said China maintains that the resolution “also recognized Beijing’s ‘One-China Principle’ and that Taiwan is a part of the PRC.”

That interpretation is incorrect, U.S. lawmakers concurred recently. On July 25, the U.S. Congress passed the Taiwan International Solidarity Act (resolution H.R. 1176), which stated the following:

“Resolution 2758 (XXVI) established the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations. 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.”

The text of HR 1176 states that its purpose is to “provide that the United States, as a member of any international organizations, should oppose any attempts by the People’s Republic of China to resolve Taiwan’s status by distorting the decisions, language, policies, or procedures of the organization, and for other purposes.”

In response, Chinese state media Global Times published an article on July 26, calling H.R. 1176 a provocative action against U.N. Resolution 2758, and accusing the U.S. Congress of “purposely twisting ... U.N. Resolution 2758.”

The contents of the original resolution, written in less than 200 words, are as follows:

2758 (XXVI). Restoration of the lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations

The General Assembly, Recalling the principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Considering that the restoration of the lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China is essential both for the protection of the Charter of the United Nations and for the cause that the United Nations must serve under the Charter,

Recognizing 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 that the People’s Republic of China is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council,

Decides 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 from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it.

1976th plenary meeting,

25 October 1971

Not a single word in the resolution mentions Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) issued a statement on Aug. 29, appealing to the U.N. to address the exclusion of Taiwan’s 23 million people from the U.N. system, “which stems from the misrepresentation of U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758.”

The statement asked the U.N. to “stop the discriminatory policy against Taiwan passport holders and journalists,” and to “facilitate peace, stability, and security across the Taiwan Strait and the region.”

Finally, it called on the U.N. to give Taiwan the right to “meaningfully participate in meetings, mechanisms, and activities related to the implementation of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and make greater contributions.”