Understanding UNGA Resolution 2758 And One-China Principle
By Lawal Sale
There is no gainsaying the fact that the Taiwan question has remained a subject of debate among skeptics for a long time.
What is, nonetheless, obvious on the world stage is that Taiwan is not recognized as a sovereign state with a permanent seat at the United Nations (UN), while the geographical entity called Taiwan has not been granted other corresponding privileges of a UN member-state.
On October 25, 1971, during the 26th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a historic Resolution was adopted with an overwhelming majority which “decided to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognise the representatives of its government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations, and expel forthwith the illegal representatives of Chiang Kain Shek from the place they unlawfully occupied at the UN and all its related organizations.’’
The 1971 session of UNGA took the action following the adoption of the UN Resolution 2758, which states that all issues on the representation of the whole China, including Taiwan, have been resolved in the UN as a political, legal and procedural issue.
The resolution brooks no challenge to its legitimacy, validity and authority.
According Charles Liu, a Taiwan-born and Senior Fellow at Taihe Institute, who witnessed the historic proceedings and passing of the motion on October 25, 1971 at the UN headquarters, said that the Resolution was passed with majority votes coming from the “Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)” countries that massively voted for China to secure the historic feat via a landslide victory, instead of the two-thirds majority votes, as suggested by the U.S. and its allies.
Liu also recalled the efforts by Algeria, Tanzania and other non-aligned countries in the support of China to reclaim its lawful rights at the United Nations and its related organisations.
One-China Principle:
After the affirmation of the lawful rights of China at the UN via Resolution 2758 of 1971, which fully embodies the One-China Principle, it became obvious that the core meaning of the One-China Principle could be summarized under three broad categories:
The first aspect is that there is only one China in the world, while the second is that the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China’s territory. T
The last aspect emphasizes that the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China.
In pragmatic terms, the UN Resolution 2758 was perspicuous and straightforward, hence the application and affirmation of the one-China principle has become universal, unconditioned and unquestionable.
It, therefore, behoves all countries which have established diplomatic relations with China and all UN member countries to unconditionally adhere to and respect the one-China principle that is based on the UN Resolution 2758, which was overwhelmingly adopted on October 25, 1971.
Down the memory lane, China, according the UN charter, is a member of the United Nations and a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
Prior to the establishment of the UN in 1945, the official name of China was the Republic of China (ROC).
Four years after — in 1949 to be specific — due to defeat of the nationalist Koumingtang Party, the victorious Chinese people overthrew the ROC government and renamed the country as the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and established the Central People’s Government of the People’s Republic of China – the current official name of China.
However, the resultant political arrangement only involved a new government replacing the old one within the same country; hence China’s sovereignty and inherent territorial boundaries remained unaltered and intact.
There was no doubt or ambiguity regarding the fact that the People’s Republic of China naturally and firmly enjoys and exercises territorial sovereignty over the whole of China, including the Taiwan region.
It also represents the whole of China in international relations, while exercising authority for the whole of China in the UN and its related organisations.
Although, certain external interests have wittingly misconstrued the extant geopolitical arrangement by asserting that the terms “Republic of China” and “Taiwan” did not appear in the UN Resolution 2758, the adopted Resolution had nothing to do with Taiwan, as it only affirmed China’s lawful status in the UN.
This is because the UN Resolution 2758 completely precluded any possibilities of having “two Chinas” or one China, or one Taiwan”.
The Resolution never recognised any geopolitical entity apart from the People’s Republic of China, which currently has a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Similarly, since Taiwan has been an integral part of China and not a sovereign state, it has no right whatsoever to claim a status of an independent state and participate in the UN and its related organisations as a sovereign nation.
As far back as 1949, the displaced KMT ruling class has continued to parade itself as “Republic of China” after retreating to Taiwan.
However, the so-called “Republic of China” and “government of China” were totally different from the “Republic of China” and “government of the Republic of China” when the UN charter was signed in 1945.
Taiwan has no sovereignty or authority on behalf of China in the UN, therefore, the term “representative of the government of the Republic of China” could not be used or reflected in the UN Resolution 2758 of 1971.
In the same vein, the phrase “expelling the representatives of the Taiwan authorities” must not be used either.
Unequivocally, the UN Resolution 2758 of 1971 came with an authoritative legal force and it, therefore, became a potent tool for all the UN organisations in efforts to handle the Taiwan question properly.
After all the necessary legal documentation at the UN, Taiwan was simply referred to as “Taiwan province of China” with no separate or independent status. Since 1971, the one-China principle has become a basic norm of international relations and to date, more than 183 countries have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle.
Sustained efforts of external parties to scuttle the one-China principle:
For China, it has not been an easy task to enforce global respect for its territorial sovereignty over the whole of China prior to the adoption of the UN Resolution 2758 and the restoration of its lawful rights in 1971, as historical records revealed that the U.S. was particularly in the vanguard of efforts to obstruct the process.
However, the U.S. attempt, was thwarted through the overwhelming support of many member nations that voiced strong opposition against the U.S. plot.
The UN Resolution 2758 saw the light of the day, and the issue of China-Taiwan question was somewhat tackled.
Besides, the question of China’s representation was also resolved without putting to vote the infamous “Dual Representation” draft resolution, which was also presented by the U.S. Eventually, the U.S. failed to have its way and in the end, the majority of the UN member nations affirmed that Taiwan is part of China.
Analysts, however, observed that in recent times, there have been renewed attempts by some forces to use fake narratives and deconstruct the implementation of the UN Resolution 2758 of 1971.
These forces, they add, have been spreading fake narratives using different think tanks and media questioning the Resolution — that the resolution did not stipulate the UN position on Taiwan being a province of China and that it could not, therefore, serve as international basis for other countries’ recognition of Taiwan as part of China.
Commenting further, Charles Liu, said that any attempt to deconstruct the UN Resolution 2758 would be a waste of time and was doomed to fail as exercise in futility.
He noted that the recent narratives on the Taiwan question were a veiled attempt by some Western nations to ignite unnecessary tension between the West, China and Non-Aligned Movement countries (now known as Global South/Multipolar world).
Experts on Global South Affairs are also of the view that any attempt by the West to distort the status of Taiwan with false and misleading narratives will not change the fact of history, insisting that the reunification of Taiwan with China is the only viable option in efforts to solve the problem.
The analysts believe that the reunification is inevitable in spite of external interferences, the activities of Taiwan’s DPP ruling party and its recalcitrant separatists.
All in all, China’s position, influence and respect in the global stage will not change; and that whatever the plots, nothing will change the course of history.they add.
*Sale is Global South Affairs Analyst.(lawalmaida1@yahoo.com)*
(vitalnewsngr.com)
