New China 'standard map': Taiwan reacts, says it should be included in UN system

Following China’s release of a new “standard map” that shows Taiwan as a part of its territory, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Jausiheh Joseph Wu has sought the inclusion of his country in the UN system. He said that Beijing does not have the right to represent the 23 million people of Taiwan, writes ETV Bharat’s Aroonim Bhuyan.

New Delhi: Two days after China released a new “standard map” in which Taiwan was shown as a part of its territory, Taipei has reacted saying that the East Asian island nation should be included in the UN system.

Without directly referring to the new China “standard map”, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Jausiheh Joseph Wu said on Wednesday that Taiwan continues to be excluded from the UN due to China’s distortion of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758. On October 25, 1971, the UN General Assembly passed United Nations Resolution 2758 (XXVI) which stated that the People's Republic of China (PRC) is the only legitimate government of China. The resolution replaced the ROC (Republic of China or Taiwan) with the PRC as a permanent member of the Security Council in the United Nations.

“This resolution neither states that Taiwan is a part of the PRC nor gives the PRC the right to represent the people of Taiwan in the UN and its specialised agencies,” Wu said in a statement that was shared by the Taiwan Representative Office in New Delhi with ETV Bharat.

“In fact, the resolution only determines who represents the member state China, a fact that the international community and China itself recognised following the relevant vote in 1971. The subsequent misrepresentation of Resolution 2758 contradicts the basic principles upheld by the UN Charter and must be rectified.”

In the new Chinese “standard map” released on August 28, Taiwan, along with Arunachal Pradesh and Akshai Chin of India, have been shown as parts of China’s territory. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that India has lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels with the Chinese side on the so called 2023 "standard map” of China that lays claim to India’s territory.

“We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question," he stated in response to media queries

Though there is nothing new in showing Arunachal Pradesh, Akshai Chin and Taiwan as part of the dragon nation’s territories, what is different this time is the Nine-Dash Line in the South China Sea being shown as part of China’s territory. The Nine-Dash Line, also referred to as the 11-Dash Line by Taiwan, is a set of line segments on various maps that accompanied the claims of China and Taiwan in the South China Sea. The contested area includes the Paracel Islands, the Spratly Islands, the Pratas Island and the Vereker Banks, the Macclesfield Bank, and the Scarborough Shoal. Certaiterrittyn places have undergone land reclamation by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam.

“Taiwan – a democracy that is home to over 23 million people and that I proudly represent – continues to confront enormous challenges posed by China,” the Taiwanese Foreign Minister said. “Since the mid-20th century, the PRC has vowed to take control of Taiwan and refused to renounce the use of force, despite never having ruled Taiwan. For decades, the people of Taiwan have remained calm in safeguarding the status quo of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. However, as China’s economic and military might has grown stronger, it becomes increasingly aggressive in flexing its military muscle to intimidate Taiwan, thereby threatening our democratic way of life. This includes sending warplanes and ships across the median line of the Taiwan Strait and encroaching into our air defence identification zones. It has also intensified grey-zone tactics, such as disinformation and economic coercion, in an attempt to wear down our will to fight.”

Wu referred to the 78th session of the UN General Assembly to be held in September and its theme ‘Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Global Solidarity” while seeking Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN system.

“It is timely in light of a number of broad global challenges. For example, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were designed as a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity,” he said. “Yet the most recent SDG progress report showed that just 12 per cent of SDG targets were on track, while progress on 50 per cent has remained insufficient. And on more than 30 per cent, we have stalled or even regressed.”

Describing the UN as a “champion of progress”, Wu stated: “We call on the UN to uphold its principle of leaving no one behind by allowing Taiwan to participate in the UN system, rather than excluding it from discussions on issues requiring global cooperation. A good first step would be to allow Taiwanese individuals and journalists to attend or cover relevant meetings, as well as ensure Taiwan’s meaningful participation in meetings and mechanisms regarding the SDGs.”