China misinterprets UN resolution to justify military aggression against Taiwan: Lai Ching-te
Jul 31, 2024
Taipei [Taiwan], July 31 : Taiwan President Lai Ching-te has accused the Chinese government of misinterpreting a United Nations resolution to justify its military activities against Taiwan, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported. He condemned China for its inaccurate interpretation of UN Resolution 2758, including drawing an inappropriate linkage to its "One China" principle.
While addressing the annual summit of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) in Taipei on Tuesday, Lai said that this move is aimed to not only "construct a legal basis for China's military aggression against Taiwan" but also to obstruct Taiwan's efforts to participate in international organisations.
China claims that the UN resolution confirmed its one-China principle, which implies that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is part of China, according to CNA report. Notably, Taiwan has been governed independently of China since 1949. However, China considers Taiwan part of its territory and insists on eventual reunification, by force if necessary.
After Lai Ching-te's remarks, the IPAC adopted a "model resolution." According to the resolution, members will seek to redress what they called China's "distortion" of the UN resolution by passing resolutions in their respective parliaments.
In its model resolution, IPAC raised concern over "sustained efforts" by Chinese officials to distort the meaning of the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1971, which states that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is "the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations," Central News Agency (CNA) reported.
During the summit, the cross-national parliamentarians' group stressed that the UN resolution "does not establish the One China Principle as a matter of international law" and "nothing in law prevents the participation of Taiwan in international organisations," the report said.
Furthermore, the cross-national parliamentarians' group said that the UN document had "no bearing on the sovereign choices of other countries concerning their relationship with Taiwan" while expressing support for Taiwan's participation" in UN agencies, according to a CNA report.
The IPAC said that the resolution did not include Taiwan, address its political status, or establish China's sovereignty over Taiwan. As many as 49 members of legislatures from 23 countries and the European Parliament, all being IPAC members, participated in the annual summit of IPAC on Tuesday. According to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the group has over 250 members around the world.
