U.S. lawmakers reject China 'weaponizing' U.N. resolution against Taiwan

Washington, Feb. 21 (CNA) A group of U.S. Congress members introduced a resolution on Friday to reject China's use of United Nations Resolution 2758 and the "One China" policy endorsed by the United States and its partners to assert its territorial claims over Taiwan.

The proposed non-binding resolution said China had "weaponized Resolution 2758" to "isolate Taiwan and to prevent its meaningful participation" in the world body and U.N.-affiliated agencies.

The proposed resolution said the People's Republic of China (PRC) had sought to link the resolution passed by the 1971 General Assembly with its "one China" principle and claimed the document "addresses the matter of sovereignty over Taiwan."

The proposed resolution pointed out that Resolution 2758 addressed the question of which government would represent "China" at the U.N., but did not touch upon any other issues, including Taiwan's ultimate political status.

In addition, the proposed resolution underlined the "harmful conflation" between Beijing's "one China" principle -- which expresses the idea there is only one China and that Taiwan is part of Chinese territory -- and the "one China" policy adopted by the U.S. and its partners.

Under its "one China" policy, the U.S. acknowledges China's claims over Taiwan but does not take a position on Taiwan's status, the proposed resolution said, noting that Beijing "misleadingly" claims that "countries with a 'one China' policy have accepted and abide by the PRC's 'one China' principle."

The resolution was proposed by Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen -- chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- and six other senators and members of the House of Representatives.

In a press release issued on the same day, Risch said, "America does not recognize China's claim over Taiwan," but the Chinese government "has attempted to trick the world and subvert the United Nations for its own purposes."

"We see these malign tactics and stand in support of our friends in Taiwan," he said.

Meanwhile, Shaheen noted that the bipartisan resolution opposed "Beijing's attempts to prevent Taiwan's meaningful participation in the United Nations."

"The United States, our partners, and the U.N. must oppose the Chinese Communist Party's coercive tactics regarding sovereign nations' treatment of Taiwan and its deliberate distortion of international resolutions to undermine Taiwan's support around the world," Shaheen added.

Speaking in the same vein, Senator Chris Coons said the proposed resolution would signal a rejection of "China's coercive attempts to limit Taiwan's role on the global stage and to intimidate other countries from strengthening their own partnerships with Taiwan."

Risch and Shaheen introduced a similar resolution to Congress last May but stalled after that.