The past few weeks saw repeated ill-intentioned comments from some U.S. officials to challenge the authority of United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, noting that those comments distort the facts and history, tread on international law and the basic norms of international relations, and breach the U.S. own commitment.
Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing in response to a relevant query that Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times. This is a historical fact; it is also the international consensus. The 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation clearly stipulated that Taiwan, a Chinese territory stolen by Japan, shall be restored to China. These documents with international legal effect formed an integral part of the post-WWII international order and also affirmed Taiwan's status as China's inalienable territory from a legal perspective.
He noted that on October 25, 1971, the 26th session of the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758 with an overwhelming majority. The Resolution resolved once and for all the question of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the United Nations as a political, legal and procedural issue.
It made clear that there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is a part of China, not a country. It also made clear that there is only one seat of China in the United Nations, and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal representative, precluding "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan," Wang said.
The United States is a signatory to the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation, the spokesperson noted that in the three China-U.S. joint communiques, the U.S. side clearly states that "the government of the United States of America recognizes China's position that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China." U.S. leaders have, on multiple occasions, reaffirmed the commitment of not supporting "Taiwan independence," "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan."
However, the U.S. is now publicly questioning and misinterpreting UNGA Resolution 2758, fudging and hollowing out the one-China principle, and trumpeting for the participation of Taiwan in the UN system which requires sovereign statehood. The spokesperson said what the U.S. is doing violates its own commitment and aims to turn back the wheel of history.
Wang stressed that the U.S. distortion and slander of UNGA Resolution 2758 is reminiscent of the U.S. recent claim that UNSC Resolution 2728 demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is "non-binding." Both cases reflect the U.S. selective approach to international law and the basic norms of international relations, and U.S. bullying and double standards.
However, gone are the days when hegemony and power politics dominated international relations. Any country, including the U.S., that tries to challenge the UNGA Resolution and the one-China principle will only find it futile, Wang said, noting that fifty-three years ago, before UNGA Resolution 2758 was adopted with an overwhelming majority, the U.S. came up with the so-called "dual representation" proposal in an attempt to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" which was discarded. Today, any U.S. attempt to go against the trend of the times, play the "Taiwan card" and use Taiwan to contain China will only end up in greater failure.
