Australian Senate Votes to Reject CCP’s Claim Over Taiwan

Taiwan's national flags flutter beside Taipei 101 at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei on Oct. 7, 2012. Mandy Cheng/AFP via Getty Images

On Aug. 21, the Australian Senate passed a bipartisan-backed motion rebuking the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “One China” principle.

The motion, led by Liberal Senator David Fawcett and Labor Senator Deborah O'Neill, stated that United Nations (UN) Resolution 2758 did not give the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) sovereignty over Taiwan.

It also said the Resolution did not determine the future status of Taiwan in the U.N. nor the independent democracy’s ability to participate in U.N. agencies or international organisations.

The Resolution, voted by the General Assembly on Oct. 25, 1971, recognised the PRC as the “only lawful” representative of China to the U.N. and established the PRC’s position as one of five permanent members of the Security Council.

However, the CCP has distorted the meaning of the Resolution and claimed Taiwan was an “inalienable part” of its territory because of its “One China” policy.

Under this rule, Taiwan is a province, and its elections are just local votes all under the CCP umbrella, this is despite the island operating independently with entirely separate legal and political systems.

Meanwhile, for decades, governments including the United States and Australia, have adopted an ambiguous stance on the issue—a situation that has emerged as part of an effort to develop trade with the Mainland.

While Australia does not recognise Taiwan as a country, it retains unofficial ties with the island by promoting trade and cultural interests.

Bipartisan Support

During the Senate debate, O'Neill said any assertion that Resolution 2758 established PRC’s sovereignty over Taiwan was false and should be considered an active attempt to undermine its “true and genuine” objectives.

“We must be diligent in opposing such disinformation because attacks on truth are also attacks on democracy,” she told the Senate.

“It is deeply regrettable that the representatives of the PRC continue to distort the meaning of Resolution 2758 in support of the One China principle and to alter historical documents to change Taiwan, to ‘Taiwan province of China.’”

O'Neill also noted that Australia should not allow any individual or group to undermine the genuine meaning of the Resolution, saying such action opposed Australia’s initial intention in supporting the Resolution and the country’s current position on China and Taiwan.

Shadow foreign affairs minister and Senate Opposition Leader Simon Birmingham said Australia respected the will of the Taiwanese people, including the democratic principles they shared with Australia.

“Taiwan is a major trading partner for Australia and supplies critical componentry into global supply chains,” he said.

“A strong Taiwan is good for Australia and good for all economies in our region, contributing to growth that all regional partners should be striving for.

“We also support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite.”

Meanwhile, Labor Senator Raff Ciccone said Australia did not want to see any unilateral change to the current status across the Taiwan Straits.

“The government has repeatedly expressed its concerns about the PRC’s military and coast guard activity around Taiwan in recent times,” he said.

“Pursuing peace and stability is in all our interests because the alternative is too catastrophic to consider.”