[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 34 (Thursday, February 20, 2025)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1135-S1136]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUBMITTED RESOLUTIONS
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SENATE RESOLUTION 86--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF THE SENATE REGARDING
UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY RESOLUTION 2758 (XXVI) AND THE HARMFUL
CONFLATION OF CHINA'S ``ONE CHINA PRINCIPLE'' AND THE UNITED STATES'
``ONE CHINA POLICY''
Mr. RISCH (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Ricketts, and Mr. Coons)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations:
S. Res. 86
Whereas, on October 25, 1971, United Nations General
Assembly passed Resolution 2758, which recognizes the
Government of the People's Republic of China (referred to in
this preamble as the ``PRC'') as the representative of the
member state ``China'' in the United Nations;
Whereas the purpose of Resolution 2758 was to address the
question of which government would represent the ``China''
seat at the United Nations, and not to address any other
issues, including issues related to Taiwan's ultimate
political status;
Whereas, in recent years, the PRC has linked Resolution
2758 with its ``One China Principle'' and has claimed that
Resolution 2758 addresses the matter of sovereignty over
Taiwan;
Whereas the ``One China Principle'' is a policy held by the
Chinese Communist Party that--
(1) the PRC is the sole sovereign nation using the name
``China''; and
(2) Taiwan is an inalienable part of China;
Whereas Resolution 2758 did not endorse and is not
equivalent to the ``One China Principle'' and countries that
supported Resolution 2758 do not necessarily accept the ``One
China Principle'';
Whereas Resolution 2758 does not represent an international
consensus regarding the PRC's stance that Taiwan is part of
China;
Whereas PRC officials misrepresent Resolution 2758 by
claiming the adoption of Resolution 2758 implies acceptance
of the ``One China Principle'' and the PRC's claims to
Taiwan;
Whereas the PRC misleadingly claims that countries with a
``one China policy'' have accepted and abide by the PRC's
``One China Principle'';
Whereas Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said, in a
2024 hearing before the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the
House of Representatives, that Resolution 2758 ``is a tool
[that China uses] to make the argument that somehow Taiwan's
status is illegitimate'', and reiterated United States
commitments to Taiwan;
Whereas the ``one China policy'' of the United States
acknowledges the PRC's ``One China Principle'', but affirms
that--
(1) the United States does not take a position on Taiwan's
status; and
(2) this issue should be resolved peacefully by the people
on both sides of the Taiwan Strait;
Whereas, in 1982, during the administration of President
Ronald Reagan, the United States conveyed Six Assurances to
Taiwan's President Chiang Ching-kuo, including that the
United States had not changed its position regarding
sovereignty over Taiwan, and each subsequent United States
presidential administration has reaffirmed these Six
Assurances;
Whereas Taiwan has established representative offices in
more than 60 countries and at the European Union and the
World Trade Organization, which disproves the PRC's claim of
a unified United Nations position or international consensus
on Taiwan's status;
Whereas the PRC has weaponized Resolution 2758 and the
``One China Principle'' to isolate Taiwan and to prevent its
meaningful participation at the United Nations, United
Nations-affiliated agencies, and other international fora,
including at the World Health Organization, the International
Civil Aviation Organization, and Interpol;
Whereas the PRC has bolstered its claims and engaged in
revisionist history by successfully altering historic United
Nations documents to changes references to ``Taiwan'' to
``Taiwan, Province of China'';
Whereas, in 2005, the Secretary of the World Health
Organization signed a memorandum of understanding with the
PRC Ministry of Health regarding how the World Health
Organization would engage with Taiwan, which included a
requirement that communication with Taiwan go through the
PRC;
Whereas United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon cited
Resolution 2758 when refusing Taiwan's accession to the
United Nations in 2007, based on the incorrect assertion that
Resolution 2758 supports China's claim that Taiwan is part of
China;
Whereas the United Nations has used Resolution 2758 as a
justification for requiring Taiwan citizens, including those
with official invitations to attend United Nations events,
journalists, and representatives of nongovernmental
organizations, to obtain PRC-issued Taiwan Compatriot Permits
in addition to their passport or a PRC passport to gain entry
to United Nations facilities;
Whereas Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a
statement in 2021, which criticized the United Nations'
exclusion of Taiwan civil society members and emphasized that
denying entry to such individuals undermines the work of the
United Nations;
Whereas, in 2022, Robert O'Brien, former United States
National Security Advisor, stated that--
(1) the PRC manipulates Resolution 2758 to make false
claims regarding Taiwan's status in order ``to undermine the
international order and the international system''; and
(2) Resolution 2758 ``relates solely to the occupancy of
the China seat at the United Nations and nothing more'';
Whereas, after the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China
passed a model resolution clarifying the contents of
Resolution 2758 in 2024, the Australian Senate, the Dutch
House of Representatives, the United Kingdom House of
Commons, the Canadian House of Commons, and the European
Parliament have all approved resolutions opposing the PRC's
distortion of Resolution 2758 and efforts by the PRC to block
Taiwan's meaningful participation in international
organizations;
Whereas, in August 2023, the Central American Parliament
(also known as ``PARLACEN'') expelled Taiwan, after more than
20 years as a permanent observer, from holding such status at
its sessions and falsely claimed that Resolution 2758 deemed
Taiwan a ``province of mainland China, which disqualifies it
from participating as an Independent country'';
Whereas, in October 2024, South Africa's Department of
International Relations and Cooperation echoed PRC propaganda
by inaccurately citing Resolution 2758 as justification to
direct Taiwan's representative office to relocate outside of
the capital, Pretoria;
Whereas the PRC cites Resolution 2758 as a justification to
coerce, intimidate, or punish sovereign nations for
engagement and partnership with Taiwan; and
Whereas, since 2016, the PRC has successfully induced or
pressured 10 nations: Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, the
Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Burkina Faso, Kiribati,
Solomon Islands, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nauru, to cut
diplomatic ties with Taiwan: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) reaffirms that the longstanding ``one China policy'' of
the United States does not affirmatively recognize the
People's Republic of China's claim to control over Taiwan and
its outlying islands, but rather ``acknowledges'' this
position, reaffirms the interest of the United States in a
peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues, ``has not agreed
to take any position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan'', and
``will not exert pressure on Taiwan to enter into
negotiations with the PRC'';
(2) reaffirms that the ``one China policy'' of the United
States and the similar policies of its partners are not
equivalent to the ``One China Principle'' of the Chinese
Communist Party;
(3) emphasizes that United Nations General Assembly
Resolution 2758 is not equivalent to, and does not endorse,
the PRC's ``One China Principle'';
(4) emphasizes further that Resolution 2758 does not take a
position on Taiwan's ultimate political status, as explicitly
recognized by PRC leaders at the time, and does not represent
a United Nations consensus on Taiwan's status;
(5) opposes China's use of the ``One China Principle'' to
coerce the United States, Taiwan, and other countries to
accept its claims over Taiwan;
(6) supports Taiwan's diplomatic allies in continuing
official relationships with Taiwan, and other nations across
the world in strengthening their partnerships with Taiwan;
[[Page S1136]]
(7) reaffirms support for Taiwan's membership in
international organizations for which statehood is not a
requirement for membership and encourages meaningful
participation for Taiwan in organizations in which its
membership is not possible;
(8) recognizes that Taiwan is a reliable and indispensable
partner on issues ranging from global health to advanced
manufacturing, and its resources and expertise are assets
from which the international community should fully benefit;
(9) supports ensuring that Taiwan passport holders are able
to access United Nations grounds and should not be required
to provide PRC-issued identification;
(10) encourages the United States Government to work with
partners on joint efforts to counter China's false narratives
about Resolution 2758; and
(11) supports the efforts of other countries to
differentiate between their policies and the ``One China
Principle'' to counter China's propaganda about international
views of Taiwan.
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