US, China lock horns in renewed debate over Tartwan’s UN status

Debate gains steam after report by think-tank highlights mischaracterisations’ by Beijing

- Lim Min Zhang

The US and China are embroiled in a renewed debate over a landmark United Nations resolution that ceded Taiwan's UN seat to China as part of a growing American pushback against Chinese pressure on the self-governing island.

The latest debate gained steam in April when the Washingtonbased German Marshall Fund think-tank published a report highlighting so-called "mischaracterisations" by China on Resolution 2758, which was passed by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Oct 25, 1971.

The resolution had recognised the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the "only legitimate representatives of China to the UN", and expelled the "representatives of Chiang Kaishek", who led the Kuomintang government in Taiwan until 1975.

The 53-page, Taipei-funded report argued that while the resolution gave the PRC the exclusive role of representing China in the UN and related organisations, such as the World Health Organisation (WHO), it did not go further to address the international legal status of Taiwan.

On May 20, China's Foreign Ministry disputed the findings of the report, saying that Resolution 2758 reaffirmed the "one China" principle, which is China's view that there is only one sovereign China, represented by the PRC government.

A ministry spokesman said US claims that the resolution neither made a determination on the status of Taiwan nor precluded its meaningful participation in the UN system were "a lie".

"They are trying to reopen the closed case that Taiwan is part of China - a matter already settled by the international community once and for all to deny UNGA Resolution 2758 and the 'one China' principle," he said.