TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Addressing the 79th United Nations General Assembly on Saturday (Sept. 28), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅) used UN Resolution 2758 as legal evidence to justify China’s claims over Taiwan. 

During his remarks, Wang mischaracterized UN Resolution 2758 as legal evidence of China’s expansionist claims over Taiwan. In a press release on Sunday (Sept. 29), Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) rejected Wang’s distortions of the resolution and China’s attempts to unilaterally alter the status quo of cross-strait relations. 

Approved in 1971, UN Resolution 2758 recognizes the right of the government in Beijing to represent China at the UN. However, Chinese diplomats and media outlets regularly misrepresent the resolution's language as evidence that Beijing may legitimately represent Taiwan at the institution.

Wang told world leaders assembled in New York that Taiwan is an “inalienable part of China’s territory.” He claimed that the passing of UN Resolution 2758 resolved the issue of Taiwan’s representation at the UN. 

However, the resolution only mentions “representatives of Chiang Kai-shek" rather than “Taiwan.” Furthermore, the historical reality is that the communist government of China has never governed Taiwan, MOFA said. 

MOFA noted that UN Resolution 2758 does not mention Taiwan, nor did it resolve the issue of representation for Taiwanese people at the international body. 

In the press release, MOFA told Chinese officials to “stop misleading the international community.” Likewise, MOFA called on the international community to recognize Beijing’s ill intentions and efforts to justify future attacks on Taiwan based on this faulty legal premise. 

In recent weeks, national governments and foreign officials have openly recognized these tactics by Beijing. They agreed with Taiwan that China regularly distorts the facts and legal language of UN Resolution 2758. 

Both MOFA and President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) have made it clear that only the democratically elected government of Taiwan can represent the Taiwanese people. Lai said UN Resolution 2758 can not be used by China to determine Taiwan's representation at the UN and international organizations.