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Contributed by Spokesperson of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Jamaica

I. It’s clear that Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times, and the Taiwan question is purely China’s internal affair. This is the fundamental starting point for resolving the Taiwan question.

History leaves no doubt, and international law leaves no room for dispute: Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times. In 230 A.D., during the Three Kingdoms period, Sun Quan, the King of Wu, sent officers and soldiers to Taiwan. From the Song and Yuan dynasties onward, the imperial central governments of China all set up administrative bodies to exercise jurisdiction over Penghu and Taiwan. In 1684, the Qing government established the Taiwan Prefecture under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province. In 1885, the Qing government made Taiwan a full province. 

It is precisely because Taiwan has been part of China since ancient times that a series of international legal instruments, such as the Cairo Declaration, the Potsdam Proclamation, the Japanese Instrument of Surrender, the Sino-Japanese Joint Statement, and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship Between China and Japan.

Historical facts and legal principles both demonstrate that there is no ambiguity over Taiwan’s status. The Taiwan question is a legacy of China’s civil war. Today, the biggest obstacles to resolving this question are “Taiwan independence” separatist activities and external interference. Yet no matter how these forces manoeuvre, only one outcome lies ahead: the complete reunification of China.

II. It’s clear that U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 derives from the one-China principle.

The one-China principle and UNGA Resolution 2758 are both grounded in the historical and legal fact that Taiwan is part of China. UNGA Resolution 2758 solemnly affirms and fully embodies the one-China principle. Its adoption reflects the fact that the political principles that the relationship of rights and obligations embodied in the one-China principle have become an international consensus, and have been recognised and supported by the majority of U.N. member states. The resolution declares the restoration of the lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China in the U.N. and the expulsion of the representative of Chiang Kai-shek—the two provisions are inseparable from each other. It explicitly proclaims that the Chiang Kai-shek clique entrenched in China’s Taiwan region does not have the right to represent China in the U.N. 

Resolution 2758 marks the recognition of the one-China principle by the vast majority of countries and what it means for the U.N. The international community has generally observed the resolution, turning the one-China principle into a basic norm of international relations and a widely recognized international consensus. 

III. It’s clear that bilateral and multilateral diplomatic practices, along with UNGA Resolution 2758, solidify the international community’s adherence to the one-China principle.

To date, 183 countries have established and developed diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China on the basis of the one-China principle. In recent years, an increasing number of countries and international organisations, while reaffirming their adherence to the one-China principle, have taken a further step by explicitly stating their firm opposition to any form of “Taiwan Independence”, as well as their firm support for the Chinese government’s efforts to achieve national reunification.

The one-China principle has been actively and vigorously upheld in the international and multilateral arena. Following the adoption of Resolution 2758, specialised agencies of the U.N. restored the lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China and expelled the representatives of the Taiwan authorities through adopting resolutions, such as the World Health Assembly Resolution 25.1. Following the one-China principle, the World Trade Organisation, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Asian Development Bank and other organisations have allowed Taiwan’s participation under the name of “Taiwan, China” or “Chinese Taipei”.

IV. It’s clear that in the face of the irreversible trend of upholding the one-China principle, a certain country’s attempt to distort and challenge UNGA Resolution 2758 and make the Taiwan question an international issue is doomed to fail.

The Taiwan question has never been an international issue. Whoever attempts to internationalise the Taiwan question is violating the purposes and principles of the U.N. Charter, breaching the important political and legal documents underpinning the post-WWII international order, and trying to reverse the tide of history and challenge the conscience of humanity. The 23 million people in Taiwan are part of the 1.4 billion-plus Chinese. China’s international honour is shared by all Chinese people, including those in Taiwan. 

China’s complete reunification is an overriding trend of history that meets the expectations of the international community. The reunification of China will not undermine the legitimate interests of any country. It will only strengthen prosperity and stability in the Asia Pacific and the world at large, and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity and to advancing the cause of world peace, development and human progress.

V. It’s clear that all the falsehoods spread by the U.S. at the U.N. under the guise of interpreting UNGA Resolution 2758 are sheer perfidy, contrary to the U.S. commitment to the one-China principle.

The one-China principle is the premise and foundation on which China and the U.S. established diplomatic relations. The U.S. has an obligation under international law to adhere to it. The one-China principle is at the heart of the three China-U.S. joint communiqués. In the 1972 Shanghai communiqué, the U.S. clearly states that it “does not challenge” the position that “Taiwan is a part of China”. In the 1978 Joint communiqué on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations, the U.S. further expressly recognises the one-China principle. In the August 17, 1982, communiqué, the U.S. made four pledges on restraining its arms sales to Taiwan and undertakes to maintain only “cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations” with Taiwan. The aforementioned statements are commitments under international law. It is on the basis of reasonable trust in these commitments that China has established and developed relations with the U.S. The three China-U.S. joint communiqués constitute the political and legal basis for relations between the two countries. They are international instruments of a treaty nature, with legally binding forces on the U.S.