By Hong Tsun-ming 康駿銘
The Australian Senate and the Dutch House of Representatives have passed motions clarifying that UN Resolution 2758 concerns only China’s representation at the UN and has nothing to do with Taiwan.
Legislators from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) have called for support for their legislative proposal that would reject Beijing’s distortion and manipulation of the UN resolution that it says justifies its claims over Taiwan, saying that the UN statement has nothing to do with Taiwan’s sovereignty and its international status.
The text of the UN resolution was brief, recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China to the UN without mentioning “Taiwan” or even “the Republic of China.”
There would have been no room for manipulation, but Beijing disingenuously relates the resolution to its “one China principle.”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) responded by neglecting the DPP’s legislative proposal. Is that not walking into a diplomatic trap set by Beijing?
Historically speaking, it was Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) who defined the resolution as “expelling our country and admitting the ‘bandits,’” rejecting a resolution proposed by Saudi Arabia and backed by the US, which would have reserved a seat for Taiwan at the UN.
Now that the KMT has long given up “retaking the mainland,” while its former mantra of “gentlemen cannot coexist with bandits” has been transformed into “one family across the Taiwan Strait,” there is no reason to oppose Taiwan’s participation at the UN. However, not daring to say no to Beijing, the KMT has no choice but to fool the public with the same old excuse — that it would provoke China.
How about the TPP?
As a newcomer in the political arena, the party does not have the KMT’s historical baggage. TPP caucus whip Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌), a former member of the New Power Party, rose to power after the Sunflower Movement, a protest movement against the passage of the KMT-proposed cross-strait service trade agreement.
There is no reason for Huang to reject or neglect the DPP’s legislative proposal. The TPP does so just because it wants to oppose what the ruling party proposes, not to mention China’s Taiwan Affairs Office’s support for TPP Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), and TPP Legislator Chang Chi-kai’s (張啟楷) proposal to freeze the Presidential Office’s budget in retaliation for the DPP’s “political persecution” of Ko.
Has this not shown the TPP’s true nature?
In the Chinese literary classic Journey to the West (西遊記), the Monkey King defeats the White Bone Demon (白骨精). UN Resolution 2758 is the demon-revealing mirror reflecting the true nature of the KMT and the TPP.
The international community is interpreting the resolution in a correct way to show Taiwanese that they do not have to bow to Beijing’s pressure.
As the ruling party, the DPP’s proposal is a response to that support that shows the government is also not intimidated by Beijing, and is willing to overcome its diplomatic predicament and put an end to self-isolation. Now is the best time for Taiwan to enter the world stage.
Taiwanese should pressure the KMT and the TPP into supporting proposals that are beneficial for enhancing the nation’s international status, as they have a majority in the legislature. This would help ensure that Beijing and the rest of the world do not get the wrong signal.
The nation needs opposition parties that are loyal to Taiwan, as this would avoid the well-being of Taiwanese becoming a bet in the future democratic elections.
Hong Tsun-ming is a policy specialist in the Taiwan Statebuilding Party.
Translated by Fion Khan
Opposition parties loyal to Taiwan are needed
