Exposing the PRC’s Distortion of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to Press its Claim Over Taiwan

Below is an excerpt from the full report, which can be found exclusively in PDF format at the bottom of this page or here.

The People’s Republic of China’s strategy for pressing its claim that Taiwan is a part of China with no independent status increasingly relies on a claim that UN General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 establishes, as a matter of international law, the PRC’s “One China” principle. This assertion is based on flawed legal assumptions and arguments. The PRC’s agenda has benefitted from its sustained pressure and influence on UN entities and officials; a pattern of misinterpretation, acquiescence, and misunderstanding by those entities and officials; limited pushback from the United States, Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, and other states (especially in high-profile forums); and structural features of the UN (including its one-state, one-vote format and the low salience of Taiwan issues for many members).

The PRC’s account mischaracterizes the contents of Resolution 2758 (and authoritative UN legal interpretations of the resolution by the UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) and others) and ignores the limits to the UN’s powers to make international law. Still, Beijing’s position has made apparent gains in the UN in three areas: UN requirements that references to Taiwan use the nomenclature “Taiwan, province of China”, UN statements that Taiwan is an “integral part” or “part” of China, and misconstruing UN statements concerning “recognition” of the PRC as indicating Taiwan’s lack of international legal status.

If Beijing wins acceptance of its position, it could more credibly claim that the use of force or coercion to achieve unification of Taiwan would be lawful. The PRC could also more plausibly argue that some—but not all—measures by the United States and others to prevent or deter such an outcome would be unlawful. Acceptance of the PRC’s views on Resolution 2758 also would weaken the UN’s integrity and increase the challenges facing the rules-based international order.

Policy Recommendations

Concern about Beijing’s distortion of the meaning of UN Resolution 2758 is increasing in Washington and capitals of many other like-minded states. To date, pushback has been limited and inconsistent, and publicly visible rebukes have been relatively rare, but officials are becoming more focused on actions that governments can take unilaterally, multilaterally, or in a coordinated fashion to counter the PRC’s efforts to misrepresent the resolution and promote the ill-founded view that its “One China” principle is binding international law that the international community must accept. The United States and other concerned governments can take several measures to expose and counter the PRC’s flawed international legal arguments and to protect the integrity of the UN and international law.

• Coordinate efforts by the United States, Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, and other like-minded UN member states, and exploit their diverse advantages and collective impact to counter the influence of the PRC and states that support its position on Resolution 2758 and related matters. Call out the flaws in the PRC’s legal arguments on Resolution 2758 and Beijing’s “One China” principle to counter misinterpretations and inadvertent acquiescence by the UN and the international community. 
• Clarify that the US “One China” policy is not the same as Beijing’s “One China” principle and encourage other countries to do the same. 
• Explain that the PRC’s position misrepresents Resolution 2758’s content, OLA interpretations of the resolution, and UN precedent and practices. 
• Explain that UN acquiescence in, or support for, the PRC position violates the UN-recognized rights of sovereign states to submit documents and bring issues to the organization using terms of their choice for describing Taiwan, and disregards the rights of sovereign states to recognize, as they choose, other states and governments. 
• Insist that UN and broader international acceptance of the PRC’s position is inconsistent with key UN principles, including universal representation and support for international law. Such acceptance, and the resulting impediment to Taiwan’s contributions, also undermines the protection of the global interest in addressing serious challenges facing humankind (for example, pandemics, climate change, and human rights). 
• Brand the PRC’s efforts concerning Resolution 2758 as an especially visible and significant instance of Beijing’s broader drive to destabilize established international rules and institutions while mischaracterizing its own agenda as consistent with status quo rules and norms. 
• Make clear that accepting Beijing’s interpretation of Resolution 2758 and its “One China” principle would not make all forms of international support for Taiwan’s defense, or their intervention in a cross-strait conflict, unlawful. 
• Demand transparency from the UN on MOUs and other agreements between the UN and its agencies, on one hand, and the PRC, on the other, concerning Taiwan nomenclature, participation, access, and other related issues.