This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, and the 80th anniversary of Taiwan’s restoration. On October 25, 1945, the Chinese government announced that it was resuming the exercise of sovereignty over Taiwan, and the ceremony to accept Japan’s surrender in the Taiwan Province of the China war theater of the Allied powers was held in Taipei. Taiwan has since returned to China. October 25 is also the date when the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758. At its 26th session in October 1971, the UN General Assembly adopted this resolution with an overwhelming majority, which decided to restore all its rights to the People’s Republic of China and to recognize the representatives of its Government as the only legitimate representatives of China to the UN. The resolution resolved once and for all the question of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, in the UN as a political, legal, and procedural issue. Resolution 2758 had a wide-reaching and profound political impact on the practice of international relations over the past 54 years, and it brooks no challenge to its legitimacy, validity, and authority.
UNGA Resolution 2758 is fully backed by historical facts and legal evidence. Taiwan has been an integral part of China’s territory since ancient times. In 1895, the Qing government was forced to sign the unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki and cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan. After 14 years of hard-fought battles and great sacrifices, the great victory of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was won by the Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, making an important contribution to the great victory of the world anti-fascist war. Taiwan was thus recovered. The Cairo Declaration issued in 1943 and the Potsdam Proclamation signed in 1945 stated clearly that all the territories Japan had stolen from China, such as Northeast China, Taiwan, and the Penghu Islands, should be restored to China. In September 1945, Japan signed the instrument of surrender, in which it promised that it would faithfully fulfill the obligations laid down in the Potsdam Proclamation. These indisputable historical facts confirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan and constitute an important part of the victory of World War II and the postwar international order with the UN at its core.
UNGA Resolution 2758 solemnly confirms and fully embodies the one-China principle. The UN is an international organization of sovereign states, and accepts only representatives from such states. In 1949, the People’s Republic of China was founded in a situation where China, as a subject of international law, did not change, and China’s sovereignty and territory did not change. The premise and foundation for Resolution 2758 is the one-China principle, i.e., there is but one China in the world, the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China’s territory, and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. The only reference to the Taiwan region in the UN is “Taiwan, Province of China”, thereby ruling out any possibility of “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”
UNGA Resolution 2758 effectively makes the one-China principle a prevailing consensus in the international community. China established and developed relations with the EU and other countries on the basis of the one-China principle. To date, 183 countries have established and developed diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle. The UN system and other international and regional organizations have adhered to the one-China principle, and made it clear that any matter related to the Taiwan region’s participation in the activities of international organizations shall be handled under the one-China principle. The facts have proven time and again that the abiding commitment of the international community to the one-China principle is an unstoppable trend, and the vast majority of countries and international and regional organizations in the world stand firmly with the Chinese government and people, and support China’s just cause of opposing “Taiwan independence” and promoting reunification.
History cannot be altered, and the facts are irrefutable. Amid the current turbulent international situation, the international society needs to jointly uphold the authority and status of the UN and defend the UN Charter and the basic norms of international relations. Any attempt to distort or challenge Resolution 2758 constitutes not only a challenge to China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also a challenge to the post-war international order and the authority of the UN. It is also blatantly trampling on the basic norms of international relations. Such acts that reverse the course of history are highly dangerous.
Both China and Europe are staunch defenders of multilateralism. There are valuable experiences in many aspects that can be drawn from the past 50 years of China-EU relations. The key is to respect each other’s core interests and major concerns. We hope that the European Union could earnestly abide by the one-China principle, work with the Chinese side to jointly promote the sound and stable development of China-EU relations, and defend the outcomes of the victory of World War II and the post-war international order.
H.E. Ambassador Cai Run, Head of the Mission of China to the European Union.
