BANGKOK — Britain’s parliament has joined a growing number of countries in explicitly backing Taiwan’s right to take part in international bodies, putting pressure on the United Nations to change its policy of excluding the island democracy at China’s behest. On Thursday, the House of Commons passed a motion rejecting China’s claim to sovereignty over Taiwan and urging the U.K. government to step up support for Taipei. This follows similar statements by the governments or legislatures of the U.S., Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, the European Union and a number of smaller countries in rejecting Beijing’s view of U.N. Resolution 2758. The resolution, passed in 1971, acknowledges the People’s Republic of China as “the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations.” Beijing claims that this “confirms” its “One China principle,” which asserts that there is a single China of which Taiwan is an “inalienable” part. Led by the ruling Labour Party’s MP Blair McDougall, the Commons adopted a motion stating that 2758 does not mention Taiwan; does not address the political status of Taiwan; does not establish PRC sovereignty over Taiwan; and is silent both on the status of Taiwan in the United Nations, and on Taiwanese participation in UN agencies. The motion also calls upon the government to clarify its position that 2758 “does not establish the ‘One China principle’ as a matter of international law.” While Taipei has recently suffered some diplomatic setbacks, the backlash against China’s use of 2758 to strong-arm the U.N. and other organizations into excluding Taiwan also shows it is enjoying a groundswell of international support. Belgium, Lithuania, Poland — none of which have formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan — recently hosted its Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung, while a number of European countries and Canada welcomed former President Tsai Ing-wen. Taiwan also opened its third diplomatic office in India last month. “Around the world people are fed up with Beijing’s attempt to rewrite the history books, and this is only the start,” said Luke de Pulford, executive director of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) — a group of hundreds of lawmakers from more than 40 countries concerned about Communist China’s threat to global democracy. “From Australia to Japan, to Latin America, Africa and Europe, lawmakers have woken up to the fact that Xi Jinping wants to re-make the international system in his own image, and they don’t like it. Be prepared for more and more actions like this in defense of the international norms upon which we all rely,” de Pulford told Nikkei Asia. Under the previous Conservative government, the U.K. last year became the first European nation to sign a trade partnership with Taiwan. Earlier this month, British officials visited Taipei for the next round of trade talks. There have been some snags. According to British reports, the Labour government asked Tsai to postpone a planned stop in London last month to avoid displeasing Beijing. Still, the British Parliament took a stand at a time when the country’s consensus on Taiwan and China is sharpening. A U.K. Foreign Affairs Committee report published last year was strongly supportive of Taiwan, whereas “FAC reports in past years have generally been more cautious,” observed Michael Reilly, formerly the U.K’s de facto ambassador to Taiwan. The report categorized the Chinese Communist Party as “a threat to the U.K. and its interests” and called for “deterrence diplomacy” to “protect the self-determination of the people of Taiwan.” Reilly told Nikkei Asia that the U.K. has increased staffing in its Taipei office and is working with Taiwan “on a wider range of issues than in the past.” At the same time, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made clear his wish for better relations with China and reluctance to engage in public disagreements. Starmer declined to openly condemn the jailing of dozens of Hong Kong’s most prominent pro-democracy figures, although he said he and Chinese President Xi Jinping had “frank” discussions about Hong Kong when they met at this month’s Group of 20 summit in Brazil. In any case, Reilly said that “the motion’s sponsors would do better to direct their attention to U.N. officials who have been too willing for too long to support China’s interpretation of 2758 without question or pushback.” Lord Alton, a veteran crossbencher and long-time human rights advocate, told Nikkei Asia that it was “good to see those who believe in democracy, the rule of law, human rights and the right of self-determination standing together and speaking in solidarity. Taiwan’s 23 million people deserve nothing less.” Meanwhile, the U.K. motion once again highlights a political divide within Taiwan itself, where the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) has refused to back similar language against China’s use of the U.N. resolution. The KMT — which seeks closer ties with Beijing — demurred and dithered when pro-sovereignty President Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) introduced such a motion. The KMT initially said it “respects” the DPP’s move but then warned against “weaponizing” the motion. Instead, it proposed its own motion to demand that the U.N. allow the Republic of China — as Taiwan is officially called — to “return,” leaving experts baffled. The international chorus on 2758, however, could pressure the KMT to change its tune. DPP lawmaker Puma Shen told Nikkei Asia that “the British Parliament’s motion will help Taiwan fend off China’s attempts to subjugate its neighbor by politicizing international laws and claiming Beijing’s ambitions over Taiwan are an ‘internal’ issue.” He said that distorting the meaning of 2758 is “a core part of Beijing’s coercion campaign,” and that it is important for the international community to oppose it.
