TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif issued a statement on Friday (June 7) equating U.N. Resolution 2758 with Beijing's claims that Taiwan is part of China, prompting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to denounce it as “ridiculous and false.”
On Friday, Sharif met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (習近平) in Beijing and issued a joint statement claiming that “the authority of the U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 brooks no dispute or challenge.” Sharif added that Taiwan is “an inalienable part of China's territory" and said that Islamabad firmly supports Beijing's efforts to “achieve national reunification and opposes any form of ‘Taiwan independence.’”
MOFA issued a statement condemning Sharif's claims as a "ridiculous and false statement that is ignorant of the international status quo.” It emphasized that Taiwan is a “free and democratic country.”
“It is an internationally recognized objective fact that democratic Taiwan and authoritarian China are not subordinate to each other, and it is also the current status quo across the Taiwan Strait," said MOFA.
According to the ministry, U.N. resolution 2758 “only deals with China's representation in the U.N. and does not mention Taiwan at all.” The ministry explained that the resolution “does not authorize the People's Republic of China to represent Taiwan in the U.N. system, nor does it mention that Taiwan is part of the People's Republic of China.”
The ministry said Beijing "continues to deliberately make distorted and erroneously political interpretations of historical documents of the United Nations General Assembly and absurdly link them with the so-called ‘one-China principle’ that is not an international consensus." MOFA condemned China and Pakistan for “ignoring reality and intentionally undermining Taiwan's sovereign status.”
MOFA said China's political coercion and diplomatic suppression “will not change Taiwan's belief in upholding democracy.” It described Taiwan as a “key bulwark in safeguarding the world's democratic and free systems.”
The ministry added that Taiwan continues to be committed to bolstering cooperation with like-minded countries to “jointly resist communist China’s rhetorical and military intimidation and curb authoritarian expansionism.” It closed by saying this commitment will secure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and advance international economic security and prosperity.
In 1971, the U.N. General Assembly passed Resolution 2758, which declared the People's Republic of China “the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations” and expelled the “representatives of Chiang Kai-shek.” Since then, Beijing has expanded this interpretation to mean that "Taiwan is a part of China" and thus does not need separate representation, preventing Taiwan from participating in U.N.-affiliated organizations and activities.