China Prepares 75th Anniversary amidst Dispute on UNGA Resolution 2758

As China prepares to commemorate its 75th Anniversary on 1 October 2024 the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 passed in 1971 is being disputed in Taiwan by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

In an article in Xinhua (13.09.2024) China’s political analysts have slammed the DPP claims that the UNGA Resolution 2758 has nothing to do with Taiwan.

This dispute comes hard on the heels of a very successful FOCAC summit and state visit by South African President Ramaphosa to Beijing.

During the FOCAC summit and the state visit the official statements made explicit statements supporting the One China Policy and recognising that Taiwan is a province of China and an integral part of China.

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa reiterated former president Nelson Mandela’s statement in 1998 that South Africa recognises the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole representative of the people of China and that Taiwan is in fact an integral part of the PRC.

Prior to 1994 the South African apartheid government had official diplomatic relations with Taiwan and in 1971 was one of the few nations that opposed the UNGA Resolution 2758.

Following the adoption of the new Constitution in 1996 President Mandela made an official announcement in 1998 recognising the PRC government as the official representative of China.

Today the ruling DPP in Taiwan is making a concerted effort to gain a seat at the United Nations under the pretext that the UNGA Resolution 2758 did not exclude Taiwan from assuming a seat at the UN.

However, the UNGA Resolution 2758 made it abundantly clear that there is only one seat for China at the United Nations and excluded the possibility of two Chinas or one China and one Taiwan.

Over 183 countries recognise the PRC based on the recognised international relations one-China principle. Perhaps it is important recall at this stage that prior to 1971 Taiwan was represented at the UN by the representatives of Chiang Kai-Shek Kuomintang government. The UNGA Resolution 2758 below put an end to this status:

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,

Recognising 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 recognise the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representative and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-Shek from the place which they unlawfully occupy at the United Nations and all organizations related to it 1976th plenary meeting, 25 October 1971.

To China’s chagrin the claims made by the ruling DPP government in Taiwan seem to be gaining traction among certain politicians and governments in the West. In the USA some politicians; members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) in the Netherlands, and senators in Australia are mobilising against the UNGA Resolution 2758.

However, in Taiwan itself the DPP is receiving pushback from opposition parties. In Taiwan the local media reported on 12 September that pro-reunification parties and groups condemned false claims by the DPP and some politicians from the USA that the UNGA Resolution had nothing to do with Taiwan.

The opposition group statement implied that the western countries were interfering in the domestic affairs of another country. The statement further underlined that the international consensus on the one-China principle remains unchanged and that Taiwan’s undetermined status is a false fabrication intended to undermine China’s development and prevent people-to-people exchanges between both sides.

The tensions inside Taiwan reached a critical stage when Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs office openly criticized Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te’s remark at a recent symposium for wanting to raise confrontation across the Taiwan Strait.

Separately, Chen Binhua, a spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, on Saturday slammed Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te for inciting the people of Taiwan against the PRC at a recent symposium. Chen said Lai's remarks fully exposed his sinister intention for "Taiwan independence" and elevating confrontation across the Taiwan Strait. Even the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party that was the initial government of Taiwan has yet not given its full backing to the DPP resolution. The KMT parliamentary caucus secretary general Lin Szu-ming argued on the 17 September 2024 that cross-border strait relations should take precedence over diplomatic ties.

The onslaught against the PRC began long before the preparations for celebrating its 75th Anniversary. It began years ago and coincided with China’s rise as the world’s second largest economy challenging the dominance of the USA and Western Europe.

China’s major achievement of wiping out absolute poverty in the last thirty years and becoming the international leader in technology, innovation, sustainable development and trade has turned it into an exemplary model for other emerging and developing economies.

On 15 May 2024 it was reported by Xinhua that comments were made by USA officials challenging the authority of UNGA 2758. China’s Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson refuted the comments and said that they distort facts and history, misrepresent international law and basic norms of international relations and, go against the USA’s very own commitment to respect the one-China policy. In a statement that underscores China’s position on the UNGA 2758 resolution on 25 May 2024 the UN’s Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, reiterated in terms of the UN’s position that Taiwan is a province of China.

He impressed upon the audience that the UNGA Resolution 2758 restored all its rights to the PRC and to recognize the representatives of its government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations.

On the 15 May 2024 China’s Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Wang Wenbin clearly stated that Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times and following the 1943 Cairo Declaration and the 1945 Potsdam Proclamation following the defeat of Japanese occupation of Taiwan stipulated that Taiwan shall be restored to China.

Post World War II these legal documents gave legal effect to prevailing international relations and affirmed Taiwan’s status as China's inalienable territory. The spokesperson further went on to state that the USA is signatory to the Cairo Declaration and the Postdam Proclamation and in the three China-U.S. joint communiques, the U.S. side clearly states that "the government of the United States of America recognises China's position that there is only one China and Taiwan is part of China."

Following Henry Kissinger’s visit to China in 1971 the same time the UNGA 2758 Resolution was passed USA President Richard Nixon, was the first US president to visit China from 21 to 28 February 1972. During this visit the Shanghai Communiqué was signed in which it specifically acknowledges that “that all Chinese on either side of the Taiwan Strait maintain that there is but one China and that Taiwan is a part of China”.

In the document the USA also noted importance of finding a peaceful resolution to the Taiwan issue and that the USA will withdraw remaining US troops from Taiwan. For their part President Mao and Foreign Minister Zhou made it absolutely clear that there will be no normalization with the USA so long as it continues with formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. For his part President Nixon stated that the United States did not support Taiwanese independence. The principles of the Shanghai Communiqué were the basis on 1 January 1979 for USA President Jimmy Carter to establish of formal diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China. In his statement on this issue President Carter stated that that as of January 1, 1979, the United States will formally recognise the communist People’s Republic of China and sever relations with Taiwan.

Given the international preponderance of support for the PRC as reflected in the UN, the BRICS+, FOCAC and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and, the impending celebrations for the PRC 75th Anniversary it is indeed surprising that the issue of Taiwan’s UN status should be raised once again.

* Jaya Josie, Advisor Africa Zhejiang University International Business School (ZIBS), Adjunct Professor, University of the Western Cape & University of Venda.