Taiwan decries China official's 'misinterpretation' of U.N. resolution

Taipei, March 7 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Friday criticized Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (王毅) for using United Nations Resolution 2758 to assert Beijing's territorial claims over Taiwan.

In a press release, MOFA said the resolution did not mention Taiwan or authorize the People's Republic of China (PRC) to represent Taiwan and its people in the U.N. and affiliated agencies.

Wang's claims that the resolution had "addressed the issue of representation for all of China, including Taiwan, in the United Nations" are "absurd" and "false," MOFA said.

The Chinese official's comments at a news conference in Beijing on Friday were in line with Beijing's position that the U.N. resolution adheres to its "one China" principle, under which there is only one China in the world and that Taiwan is "an inalienable part of China."

MOFA also denounced the Chinese foreign minister for "attempting to deceive and mislead the international community" following the "Two Sessions" meetings, the most important political occasion for the Chinese Politburo.

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) urged the global community to "reject China's repeated misinterpretation of the resolution."

MOFA added that the Republic of China (Taiwan) is an independent sovereign state and that Taiwan has never been part of the PRC.

Only the popularly elected government in Taiwan is entitled to represent Taiwan's 23.5 million people in the international arena, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, the Mainland Affairs Council, Taiwan's top government agency handling cross-strait relations, said in a separate release that Beijing's efforts to undermine the ROC's sovereignty and hamper Taiwan's international participation would only increase tensions.

Resolution 2758 was adopted by the 26th U.N. General Assembly in 1971 to address the issue of China's representation in the U.N. and resulted in the ROC being replaced by the PRC.

The resolution, however, did not mention Taiwan or even the ROC by name.