October 2024
The European Union’s executive branch has stated that “China’s military activities around Taiwan escalate cross-strait tensions” and echoed the positions of Washington and Taipei, emphasizing that the 1971 United Nations resolution, which Beijing uses to assert sovereignty over Taiwan, requires further clarification.
Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights, addressed the issue in a speech titled “On the Misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758 and China’s Continued Military Provocations Around Taiwan” during a European Parliament session on Tuesday.
In his remarks, Schmit reaffirmed the EU’s long-standing “One China” policy, which acknowledges the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China.
However, despite this policy, he conveyed—on behalf of EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell—that the EU and Taiwan share common values, and the European Commission opposes “any unilateral actions aimed at altering the status quo through force or coercion.”
The European commissioner also reiterated the EU’s stance that maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait are of “strategic importance for regional and global security and prosperity.”
“It is for this reason that we follow very closely all developments around the Taiwan Strait. China’s military activities around Taiwan increase cross-strait tensions,” he said, referring to China’s routine warship and aircraft operations around Taiwan as well as its large-scale military exercises that encircle the island, most recently on Oct. 14.
Schmit reiterated the EU’s stance that urges both sides of the Taiwan Strait to “exercise restraint and avoid any actions that may further escalate cross-strait tensions, which should be resolved through dialogue.”
Meanwhile, for the first time, the European Commission official mentioned China’s interpretation of U.N. Resolution 2758.
“United Nations Resolution 2758 is very short — only 150 words,” Schmit said. “And among those 150 words, the word ‘Taiwan’ does not appear.”
“The resolution switched representation in the United Nations from the ‘representatives of Chiang Kai-shek’ to the ‘representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China.’,” he said, referring to the then-president of the Republic of China whose nationalist government relocated to Taiwan in 1949.
“I welcome the European Parliament’s focus on this issue and this important debate. We should take all opportunities to promote a more positive dynamic in cross-Strait relations, which contributes to peace, not only in the region, but also globally.”
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Schmit’s speech on Tuesday is significant as it marks the first time the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, has officially “expressed its stance” on the issue.
The European Parliament has already passed several resolutions condemning China’s “misinterpretation” of U.N. Resolution 2758.
In a press statement, MOFA urged more countries to join the EU and the U.S. in addressing Beijing’s “misinterpretation” of the resolution, emphasizing the need to maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
Resolution 2758, adopted by the 26th U.N. General Assembly in 1971, resulted in Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), losing its U.N. seat to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Since then, Taiwan has been excluded from the U.N. and its affiliated organizations.
In recent years, Taiwan and the U.S. have urged the international community to address the PRC’s “distortion” of Resolution 2758, which China uses as a pretext to claim sovereignty over Taiwan—a territory it has never governed.
During the recently concluded 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly, Taiwan expressed its intent to raise awareness about the true implications of Resolution 2758, aiming to prevent Beijing from “misusing” it to exclude Taiwan from the U.N. system.
