United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 (XXVI)

The Republic of China (ROC) was founded in 1912 in mainland China, and expanded its jurisdiction to Taiwan in 1945. By January 1950 the PRC was in control of mainland China but was unable to capture Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen or Matsu, and thus these remained Kuomintang-ruled. Although the ROC government continuously claimed that it would one day return to its mainland, by the 1970s, an increasing number of UN members became aware that this government no longer represented the hundreds of million people who lived on the mainland. The PRC claimed to be the successor government of the ROC, while the Kuomintang in Taiwan championed the continued existence of the Republic of China. Both claimed to be the only legitimate Chinese government, and each refused to maintain diplomatic relations with countries that have recognized the other. Between 1950 and 1970, several votes were held regarding the PRC and UN membership, but the votes did not pass. The ROC continued to represent China in the UN until Resolution 2758. ==Proceedings at the United Nations==

On 15 July 1971, 17 UN members: Albania, Algeria, PR Congo, Cuba, Guinea, Iraq, Mali, Mauritania, North Yemen, Romania, Somalia, South Yemen, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Yugoslavia, and Zambia, requested that a question of the "Restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations" be placed on the provisional agenda of the twenty-sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly. In an explanatory memorandum accompanying their request, the 17 UN members observed that for years they had protested against what they considered were hostile and discriminatory policy followed by several governments with regard to the CCP's government of mainland China, which they considered to be the genuine representative of the Chinese people. On 29 September 1971, a second draft resolution, A/L.632 and Add.1 and 2, sponsored by 22 members including the U.S., was proposed declaring that any proposal to deprive the Republic of China of representation was an important question under Article 18 of the UN Charter, and thus would require a two-thirds supermajority for approval. On 29 September 1971, a third draft resolution, A/L.633, sponsored by 19 members including the U.S., was proposed by which the Assembly would affirm the right of representation of the People's Republic of China and recommend that it be seated as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, while also affirming the continuing right of representation of the Republic of China. On 15 October 1971 the representatives of 22 UN members requested the UN Secretary-General to distribute, as an official Assembly document, a statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China dated 20 August 1971. The Assembly then voted on a separate U.S. proposal that the words "and to expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the place which they unlawfully occupied at the United Nations and in all the organizations related to it" be removed from the draft resolution A/L.630 and Add.1 and 2. The U.S. representative suggested that this motion, if adopted, would "have the effect of welcoming the PRC to the General Assembly and the Security Council, while at the same time not affecting the representation of the ROC in this hall". The Beijing government began representing China at the UN from 15 November 1971 and its delegates were seated at the UN Security Council meeting held on 23 November 1971, the first such meeting where representatives of the Beijing government represented China. == Later development ==

On 21 September 2007, the UN General Assembly rejected Taiwan's membership bid to "join the UN under the name of Taiwan", citing Resolution 2758 as acknowledging that Taiwan is part of China. The UN General Assembly and its General Committee's recommendations on the "Taiwan question" reflected long-standing UN policy and is mirrored in other documents promulgated by the United Nations. For example, the UN's "Final Clauses of Multilateral Treaties, Handbook" (2003) states: ...regarding the Taiwan Province of China, the Secretary-General follows the General Assembly’s guidance incorporated in resolution 2758 (XXVI) of the General Assembly of 25 October 1971 on the restoration of the lawful rights of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations. The General Assembly decided to recognize the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations. Hence, instruments received from the Taiwan Province of China will not be accepted by the Secretary-General in his capacity as depositary. ==Interpretations==

China The Chinese government claims that Resolution 2758 also represented a process to rule out the ambiguity of Taiwan's status in the debates at the UN General Assembly, where the admission of the People's Republic of China to the UN was not considered a question of new membership, but a question of credentials, or who represented China to the UN. After 1949, Taiwan was regarded as the rump state of the Republic of China, which had lost control of most of its mainland territory, rendering it unable to represent China internationally—a position solidified by Resolution 2758. The Chinese government insists that the term "China" in Resolution 2758 also refers to Taiwan. Yang Tao, a senior Chinese diplomat, asserted that People's Republic of China had replaced the Republic of China as the representation of China since its foundation in 1949. He noted that Resolution 2758, passed by a majority vote, recognised the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate government of China, and did not acknowledge any other representation of China or Taiwan. Yang contended that if China's representation did not include Taiwan, there would have been no need to expel the representative of Chiang Kai-shek. Beijing asserts that Taiwan falls completely within China's international law identity, without any need to mention Taiwan separately, according to state media outlet China Daily. The Chinese government also claims that it reached a consensus with Taiwan in 1992, in which both China and Taiwan agreed that there is but one China across the Taiwan strait. China set this consensus as a premise for any official interaction with Taiwan. China has a long-standing policy that states cannot simultaneously have diplomatic relations with it and Taiwan, on the basis of the one-China principle. The number of states with relations to the Republic of China has declined over time as states switched recognition to the People's Republic. In early 2024, Nauru was the first country to cite Resolution 2758 as a reason for cutting its diplomatic ties with Taiwan and establishing relations with China. On September 30, 2025, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a paper stating China's position on the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758. Taiwan In 2000, Taiwanese foreign minister Tien Hung-mao addressed to the Legislative Yuan that the Republic of China was a founding member of the United Nations, yet Resolution 2758, which addressed the representation of the people of the Mainland Area, excluded the representation of the people of the Taiwan Area, a situation he found inappropriate. Tien noted that if Taiwan seeks to join the UN as a new member, its application would likely face a veto from China and objections from other UN Security Council members. Alternatively, if Taiwan aims to rejoin the UN, it must overturn Resolution 2758, which requires a two-thirds majority vote in the UN General Assembly—a highly challenging objective to achieve. The Pan-Green Coalition, led by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), believes that Resolution 2758 has been distorted by China and aim to return to the UN as Taiwan, while the Kuomintang (KMT)-led Pan-Blue Coalition is against the resolution itself and aims to amend the resolution to allow the Republic of China to return to the UN. The two camps are also divided on whether there is a consensus in 1992. President Ma Ying-jeou from KMT accepted this consensus during his administration, while the consensus was later denied by President Tsai Ing-wen from the DPP who questioned whether such consensus ever actually taken place in the meetings. A United States Department of State spokesman warned such referendums may alter the status quo of Taiwan, breaking the promises that Chen made to President George W. Bush. Since 2009, Taiwan has not submitted requests for UN membership, but continues to protest its exclusion from the UN system through other countries. In September 2024, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced an intention by the Taiwanese government to challenge the "distortion and misuse of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758" with the goal of rejoining the UN. Several DPP legislators urged the Legislative Yuan to declare that Resolution 2758 does not concern Taiwan's sovereignty or international status. United States The US's official policy is to recognize the PRC government as "the sole legal government of China", and "it acknowledged the Chinese position that there is but one China and Taiwan is part of China". According to a 2014 Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, the US administrations have not explicitly stated a position on the political status of Taiwan. In April 2024, US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary Mark Lambert spoke at a German Marshall Fund (GMF) seminar, saying that "Resolution 2758 does not endorse, is not equivalent to, and does not reflect a consensus for the PRC's 'one China' principle". In May 2024, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the US's 'one China' policy "has not changed". According to some analysts at the GMF, Resolution 2758 solved the issue of "China's representation" in the United Nations—but it left the issue of Taiwan's representation unresolved. While keeping diplomatic relations with the PRC, the US expects that "the future of Taiwan will be determined by peaceful means". The US "would continue to maintain cultural, commercial, and other unofficial relations with the people of Taiwan". In April 2025, the Indiana House of Representatives passed a resolution supporting Taiwan and opposing any "distortion or misuse" of Resolution 2758. Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China In July 2024, at the first Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China summit in Taiwan, attending lawmakers agreed on a resolution to counter China's interpretation of Resolution 2758 in their home country legislatures. Australia In August 2024, the Parliament of Australia formally condemned China's use of UN Resolution 2758. The parliament declared that UN Resolution 2758, "does not establish the People’s Republic of China's sovereignty over Taiwan and does not determine the future status of Taiwan in the UN". The House of Representatives passed a similar resolution in September 2025. European Union In October 2024, the European Parliament recognized that Resolution 2758 does not take a position on Taiwan, has no bearing on Taiwan's participation in UN bodies, and that China's coercive measure to achieve unification are contradictory to international law. The European Commission stated that it opposes "any unilateral actions that change the status quo by force or coercion." In April 2025, the European Parliament said in a report that China has attempted to distort Resolution 2758 to impede Taiwan's participation in international bodies. Canada In November 2024, the House of Commons of Canada unanimously passed a motion stating that Resolution 2758 did not establish Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan and had no bearing on Taiwan's future participation in UN bodies. United Kingdom In November 2024, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom unanimously passed a motion stating that Resolution 2758 does not address the political status of Taiwan, does not establish PRC sovereignty over Taiwan, and is silent on Taiwan's participation in UN bodies. Belgium In March 2025, the Chamber of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution stating that Resolution 2758 does not take a position on Taiwan. ==See also==