U.K. Parliament Passes Motion on UN Resolution 2758
On 28th November, the U.K. Parliament unanimously passed a motion on UN Resolution 2758, rejecting China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 and international law regarding Taiwan’ international status.
Led by IPAC UK Member Blair McDougall MP, the motion achieved widespread cross-party support, as it also set out to call upon the government to clarify its position that 2758 does not establish the “One China Principle” as a matter of international law, and to state clearly that nothing in law prevents the participation of Taiwan in international organisations.
In response to the debate, the UK Government confirmed that it opposes Beijing’s distortion of international law regarding Taiwan, with Minister Catherine West stating that the Resolution “should not therefore be used to preclude Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN, or the wider international system” and that “the UK opposes any attempts to broaden the interpretation of Resolution 2758, to rewrite history…” which she does “not believe… would be in the interest of the people of Taiwan, but neither would it be in the UK or global interest”.
The U.K. is the fifth parliament, following Australia, the Netherlands, the European Parliament and the Canadian Parliament, to pass such a motion, as part of IPAC’s Initiative 2758. This initiative was supported by over 50 IPAC members at IPAC’s Taipei Summit this July, with IPAC UK Members amongst them.
IPAC UK Member Blair McDougall MP of the Labour Party said:
The People’s Republic of China is engaged in an aggressive diplomatic strategy, especially across the Global South… The current strategy [regarding Taiwan] by Beijing is a distortion of international law, but it’s also at odds with the longstanding policy of the United Kingdom, and it’s essential that this is contested… This is not pedantry from Beijing, this is predation.
