By Cong Peiwu, China’s ambassador to Tehran
TEHRAN - The 79th UN General Assembly will be held in New York soon. Speaking at the UN General Assembly, there are still a few forces that have been deliberately distorting and challenging UNGA Resolution 2758 and the one-China principle. Therefore, I would like to explain this important question and clarify its root cause.
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.”
UNGA Resolution 2758 is based on factual and legal basis. Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times. Before the UNGA Resolution 2758, this is a historical fact and of an international consensus. This is an important political prerequisite for the adoption of the resolution. 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.
The one-China principle embodied in UNGA Resolution 2758 has been widely recognized and applied by the international community. Over the past half a century and more since the adoption of the resolution, UN secretaries-general and their spokespersons, in their Taiwan-related remarks, have clearly stated the UN is guided by UNGA Resolution 2758 and committed to the one-China principle. The official legal opinions of the Office of Legal Affairs of the UN Secretariat made it pretty clear that Taiwan is “an integral part” of China and that “the United Nations considers ‘Taiwan’ as a province of China with no separate status.” There are 183 countries that have established diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle, which covers more than 93% of UN member states. This clearly demonstrates that the one-China principle is not only a prevailing international consensus, but also a basic norm of international relations.
The US is a signatory to the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Proclamation. In the three China-US joint communiqués, the US 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”. US leaders have, on multiple occasions, reaffirmed the commitment of not supporting “Taiwan independence”, “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan”. As a founding member of the UN and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US is supposed to take the lead in observing the UNGA resolutions and abiding by international law and basic norms in international relations. However, the US is now publicly questioning and misinterpreting UNGA Resolution 2758. Some in the US claim that UNGA Resolution 2758 “did not make a determination on the status of Taiwan” and “does not preclude Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system.” This is 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. This move of turning backward the wheel of history is not only challenging China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also challenging international justice and conscience and the post-WWII international order.
As comprehensive strategic partners, China and Iran firmly support each other on issues of core interests and major concerns. In 1971, China and Iran formally established diplomatic relations on the basis of the one-China principle. China highly appreciates Iran's righteous stance of consistent adherence to the one-China principle. China will work with Iran to jointly safeguard the UNGA Resolution 2758, one-China principle and other basic norms of international relations, and resolutely?push back efforts to distort and challenge UNGA Resolution 2758 by the US, making due contributions to the establishment of a just and equitable new international order.
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