Beijing’s campaign to erase Taiwan from the international system is built on a lie. Beijing routinely claims that United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758, passed in 1971, settled the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty and confirmed that the island is part of the People’s Republic of China. This is false. But that hasn’t stopped Beijing from building an entire strategy of legal distortion and diplomatic bullying around this misinterpretation, nor from using it to block Taiwan from meaningful participation in everything from global health to aviation safety. What’s changed recently is that more governments are starting to call Beijing out.
Let’s begin with the facts. Resolution 2758 recognised the government of the People’s Republic of China as ‘the only legitimate representatives of China to the United Nations’. It removed the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek—then still claiming to represent ‘China’ from Taipei—from the UN seat. But it said absolutely nothing about Taiwan’s sovereignty. In fact, the resolution never even mentions the word ‘Taiwan’.
Excerpt from UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 (1971).
The decision in 1971 was about representation, not about sovereignty. It was a political resolution about which government should hold China’s UN seat, not a legal ruling on the status of Taiwan. The international community decided that Beijing was the more legitimate representative of ‘China’, but it did not decide what ‘China’ included—and certainly didn’t endorse Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is an inalienable part of its territory.
As the graph below shows, in 2024, official spokespeople for various Chinese Communist Party and People’s Republic of China entities continued to misrepresent Resolution 2758 in their statements.
Cases of Beijing’s misinterpretation of UNGA Resolution 2758 in 2024.
By falsely asserting that 2758 endorsed the One China principle—which says there is only one China and Taiwan is part of it—Beijing has constructed a convenient legal fiction to justify Taiwan’s exclusion from global forums. When Taiwan seeks participation, even under such modest terms as ‘Chinese Taipei’, Beijing insists it violates the UN’s own resolutions. UN officials, under pressure, have too often acquiesced, citing Resolution 2758 as if it precludes Taiwan’s engagement. However, many UN bodies regularly include non-member entities, observer states, nongovernmental organisations and special territories. The Holy See and Palestine participate as observers. The International Committee of the Red Cross and intergovernmental organisations such as the European Union are deeply involved in UN processes.
Over the past five years, a growing number of countries have adopted Beijing’s interpretation of Resolution 2758, largely due to economic incentives and geopolitical calculation. Several nations, including Honduras and Nauru, severed ties with Taiwan and established relations with the PRC, often explicitly citing the resolution and echoing Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is part of China. These shifts have been encouraged by Beijing’s offers of infrastructure projects, trade deals and development aid.
Beyond formal recognition switches, many governments that already recognise Beijing have become more vocal in international forums, backing China’s position and opposing Taiwan’s inclusion in bodies such as the World Health Organization. Beijing presents these moves as proof of global consensus on its One China principle, despite clearly and consistently articulated One China policies. Aligning with Beijing’s narrative on Resolution 2758 has become a relatively low-cost way for states to maintain good relations and benefit economically, even if the legal basis remains shaky. In 2024, Beijing even embedded its preferred narrative in eight joint statements with seven countries—Pakistan issuing two such statements in 2024.
Countries that included Beijing’s misinterpretation of UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 in a joint statement with China in 2024.
Beijing’s narrative gives its campaign of exclusion a veneer of legitimacy. It lets Chinese diplomats claim they are defending UN principles rather than using a coercive legal fiction. It’s also a useful cudgel in Beijing’s broader lawfare strategy—a way to twist international legal norms to isolate Taiwan diplomatically while appearing to stand on multilateral ground.
For years, this tactic worked. Without an informed citizenry and an empowered fourth estate, China’s lies often find fertile—or at least unchallenged—ground. Many countries were reluctant to push back, either out of deference to Beijing or because they had no interest in picking a fight over Taiwan’s ambiguous status. But in the past five years, the tide has begun to turn.
Governments are increasingly pushing back against Beijing’s misuse of Resolution 2758. In Washington, senior officials have rejected China’s claim that the resolution endorses its One China principle, with Congress passing the 2023 Taiwan International Solidarity Act to clarify that 2758 does not concern Taiwan. European legislatures are following suit: the Dutch Parliament declared the resolution did not support China’s sovereignty claims, while the European Parliament affirmed it had no bearing on Taiwan’s global participation. Even in Australia, the Senate united in 2024 to assert in a motion that 2758 should not be used to justify Taiwan’s exclusion.
Countries/organisations that pushed back on Beijing’s misinterpretation of UNGA Resolution 2758 in 2024.
This growing pushback reflects a deeper understanding of Beijing’s strategy: that its misuse of 2758 is not just a historical quibble but a deliberate attempt to rewrite the rules of the international system. It shows that China is not merely defending the status quo; it is weaponising UN resolutions to impose its will, silence Taiwan and deny 23 million Taiwanese meaningful representation.
Meanwhile, Taiwan continues to be a responsible and capable partner on global issues. Its exclusion from bodies such as the WHO or the International Civil Aviation Organization serves no-one’s interest but Beijing’s. This is not just wrong; it is reckless. And now, more governments are willing to say so out loud.
None of this means that Taiwan will be invited into the UN anytime soon. But what’s shifting is the rhetorical and legal ground. By reasserting the actual meaning of Resolution 2758, countries are reclaiming space for Taiwan to engage the world and denying Beijing the right to dictate the terms unchallenged.
