Twin evils threaten Taiwan’s survival, world peace

OPINION:

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As a Taiwanese entrepreneur and pro-democracy activist, I have long supported Taiwan’s right to self-determination and independence from the unlawful claims of China’s government in Beijing.

Over the past decades, two critical developments have escalated the tensions in the Taiwan Strait and posed serious threats to Taiwan and global peace and security. They are U.N. Resolution 2758 of 1971 and China’s 2005 anti-secession law. These twin evils, rooted in falsehoods and international misinterpretation, continue to haunt Taiwan’s sovereignty and stability.

Resolution 2758: Misguided diplomacy

In 1971, the U.N. General Assembly adopted Resolution 2758, which recognizing the People’s Republic of China as “the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations” and expelling representatives of the Republic of China, aka Taiwan, which had governed Taiwan since 1945. Beijing often cites this resolution to assert that Taiwan’s international status has been settled. But this is far from the truth. Resolution 2758 dealt only with China’s seat at the U.N. and did not address Taiwan’s status or its people.

Adopting Resolution 2758 reflected a significant misstep by the global community, particularly by the United States under the Nixon administration, which failed to use its veto power in the more powerful U.N. Security Council to halt the pro-Beijing forces at the United Nations, especially in the less powerful General Assembly.

Instead, the issue of representation of China was conditioned on Taiwan’s expulsion from the U.N., and the General Assembly’s Resolution 2758 was mistakenly and unjustly categorized as unimportant, thereby allowing a simple majority vote to pass rather than a two-thirds majority approval if it had been correctly regarded as an “Important Issue.” The absence of a definitive resolution on Taiwan’s international representation in 1971 has since allowed Beijing to manipulate this resolution as a tool for its expansionist agenda.

Despite China’s claims, U.S. administrations, including the Biden administration, have consistently rejected Beijing’s interpretation that Resolution 2758 settled Taiwan’s status. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and other American officials have stated unequivocally that the resolution did not address Taiwan’s representation at the U.N. or resolve its status. Beijing’s use of the resolution as a legal basis for its claim over Taiwan is, therefore, fundamentally dishonest.

The global community must understand that Resolution 2758 is a product of Cold War political maneuvering and should not be seen as an endorsement of China’s claim over Taiwan. As long as Beijing continues to use this resolution as a justification for its aggressive posture, Taiwan’s right to international representation and its people’s aspirations for self-determination remain unjustly suppressed.

2005 anti-secession law: Legalizing aggression

China’s 2005 anti-secession law is another abomination. It formalizes its intention to annex Taiwan in the name of unification with mainland China, including by the use of force if necessary. The law is based on the erroneous claim that Taiwan has been an inseparable part of China since ancient times, a notion that has no basis in fact. Before 1683, Taiwan had little to no connection with China. In 1895, after China’s defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War, Taiwan was ceded to Japan under the Treaty of Shimonoseki. After World War II, Japan renounced its sovereignty over Taiwan, but no formal treaty ever established China’s sovereignty over the island. The real masters of Taiwan are the Taiwanese themselves.

Even People’s Republic founder Mao Zedong once supported Taiwan’s self-determination. In 1947, Mao publicly stated that he supported Taiwan’s independence. The Chinese Communist Party has since reversed its position, driven by its expansionist ambitions and its desire to use Taiwan as a strategic asset in its competition with the United States and other regional powers such as Japan and South Korea.

The anti-secession law essentially provides a legal pretext for military aggression against Taiwan. The Chinese Communist Party portrays its goal of unification as inevitable and claims that it is willing to use “non-peaceful means” to achieve it if Taiwan resists. This aggressive stance not only threatens Taiwan’s existence but also destabilizes the entire Indo-Pacific region. China’s actions are not merely about unification; they are about asserting its dominance in the Pacific and undermining the influence of the United States and its allies in the region.

As the twin evils that threaten Taiwan’s survival, U.N. Resolution 2758 and China’s anti-secession law also pose global challenges. Taiwan is a critical player in the global economy, particularly in the semiconductor industry. More than 90% of the world’s most advanced sub-10-nanometer chips are produced in Taiwan, and these chips are essential for developing emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence. Any disruption to Taiwan’s semiconductor production due to a conflict would have catastrophic consequences for global technology industries, setting back AI advancements by years and causing untold economic losses.

Furthermore, the Taiwan Strait is one of the world’s busiest maritime routes, with nearly half of global container traffic and 90% of the largest container ships by tonnage passing through it. A conflict in this region would cripple global trade, leading to economic turmoil far beyond Taiwan and China. As former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe rightly pointed out, “What happens in Taiwan affects Japan.” The same can be said for the rest of the world.

China’s ambitions are not limited to Taiwan. By annexing Taiwan, China would gain a strategic foothold in the Pacific from which it could project military power and challenge the United States and its allies. Annexing Taiwan would not only signify the destruction of a vibrant democracy but also embolden authoritarian regimes around the world.

Ul.N. Resolution 2758 and China’s anti-secession law have become enablers of Beijing’s aggression. These two actions, rooted in falsehoods and misinterpretations, continue to threaten Taiwan’s existence and global stability. As the world confronts the growing influence of authoritarian regimes, it is imperative that democratic nations unite in their support for Taiwan’s sovereignty and freedom.

• Robert Hsing-Cheng Tsao is a leading pro-democracy activist in Taiwan. He is also a fine arts critic and collector. As the founder of the semiconductor giant United Microelectronics, Mr. Tsao has donated $100 million for Taiwan’s defense against China’s invasion.