Australian Senate passes motion supporting Taiwan's sovereignty

Taipei/Sydney, Aug. 22 (CNA) The Australian Senate passed an "urgency motion" Wednesday in support of Taiwan's sovereignty and participation in international organizations.

Senators agreed by vote to move the motion: "That United Nations (U.N.) Resolution 2758 of 25th October 1971 does not establish the People's Republic of China's (PRC) sovereignty over Taiwan and does not determine the future status of Taiwan in the United Nations, nor Taiwanese participation in U.N. agencies or international organizations."

Supported by lawmakers from across the political spectrum, the motion was co-sponsored by Senators David Fawcett of South Australia and Deborah O'Neill of New South Wales, both of whom visited Taiwan last month to attend the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China's (IPAC) annual conference.

Addressing Parliament House in Canberra, Fawcett, of the main opposition Liberal Party, said the motion was "urgent" because of the "growing risk to the security and stability in the Indo-Pacific."

"It's important not just for the human rights of the 23.5 million people in the democracy that is Taiwan," Fawcett said, "but for the impact that a decrease in security and a conflict there would have on the rules-based order that underpins peace and security around the world, as well as for the global economic impact, which Australia would not escape."

O'Neill followed Fawcett's remarks by saying that "the resolution does not mention Taiwan or address its political status."

"Despite this fact, there is an ongoing and egregious campaign currently underway from the PRC to reinterpret the resolution and misrepresent what the resolution actually does," she said, referring to China's attempts to minimize Taiwan's participation in the international community.

O'Neill, of the ruling Labor Party, said it was "not in the interest of the international community to have 24 million Taiwanese excluded" from critical bodies such as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organization.

Senator Jacqui Lambie of Tasmania said that "the people of Taiwan continuously reject reunification with the Chinese Communist Party, with less than 5 percent of support for the reunification in Taiwan."

"The Chinese Communist Party has no business in destroying democracy in Taiwan," she said. "Australia must stand up against the Chinese Communist Party and back the more than 22 million people of Taiwan who choose democracy and freedom over the authoritarianism of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)," she added.

Senator Raff Ciccone of Victoria, who is also deputy government whip in the Senate, said that Australia's economic, trade and cultural interests with Taiwan "cannot be understated."

Pledging to continue energy cooperation and support Taiwan's transition to renewable energies, Ciccone told the house that Australia was currently Taiwan's largest energy supplier, contributing "around two-thirds of Taiwan's coal and almost half of its natural gas."

Senator Pauline Hanson of Queensland voiced her view that Australia and the rest of the world "should recognize Taiwan for the independent sovereign nation it has effectively been since the 1950s."

"[The CCP] regime's highest priority is to capture Taiwan -- most likely by force -- and turn that beautiful island nation of 24 million free people into another oppressed, polluted, communist hellhole," she added.

Rebuking former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, who recently said that the whole world agreed with Beijing's position on Taiwan, Chandler described his claim as "false."

"I think there are questions to be asked about why Australians should pay to support private office for a former official who consistently pushes a false narrative about Australia's policy, especially when that false narrative aligns with that being pushed by foreign regimes such as the CCP," Chandler said.

Finally, Senator Linda Reynolds of Western Australia said Beijing had been "gaslighting" Taiwan and warned that China had formed an "axis of dictatorship and authoritarianism" with Russia, Iran and North Korea.

On Thursday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) welcomed the Australian senators' pro-Taiwan motion, describing it as "just."

"MOFA strongly affirms the Australian parliament's firm support for Taiwan's international participation and thanks Australia and IPAC for speaking out for Taiwan," the ministry told CNA.

"We also call on the international community to jointly counter China's misinterpretation of U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 and China's attempts to make false connections between the resolution and the so-called 'One China' principle."

"We will continue to cooperate with partners like Australia and other countries to jointly defend the core values shared by the global democratic camp and maintain regional peace, stability and prosperity," the ministry added.

The PRC claims Taiwan as a part of its territory and has ramped up threats to use military force to annex the country in recent years. Since assuming China's seat in the U.N. following Resolution 2758 in 1971, the government in Beijing has continually pressured other countries to exclude Taiwan from international organizations.