119-hres148

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 148 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 148

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding United 
 Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758
            (XXVI) and the harmful 
 conflation of China's ``One China Principle'' and the United States 
 ``One China Policy''.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 21, 2025

Mrs. Kim (for herself, Mr. Bera, Mr. Moolenaar, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. 
 Castro of Texas, and Mr. Gottheimer) submitted the following 
 resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives regarding United 
 Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758
            (XXVI) and the harmful 
 conflation of China's ``One China Principle'' and the United States 
 ``One China Policy''.

Whereas, on October 25, 1971, United Nations General Assembly passed Resolution 
 2758, which recognizes the Government of the People's Republic of China 
 (referred to in this preamble as the ``PRC'') as the representative of 
 the member state ``China'' in the United Nations;
Whereas the purpose of Resolution 2758 was to address the question of which 
 government would represent the ``China'' seat at the United Nations, and 
 not to address any other issues, including issues related to Taiwan's 
 ultimate political status;
Whereas, in recent years, the PRC has linked Resolution 2758 with its ``One 
 China Principle'' and has claimed that Resolution 2758 addresses the 
 matter of sovereignty over Taiwan;
Whereas the ``One China Principle'' is a policy held by the Chinese Communist 
 Party that--

    (1) the PRC is the sole sovereign nation using the name ``China''; and

    (2) Taiwan is an inalienable part of China;

Whereas Resolution 2758 did not endorse and is not equivalent to the ``One China 
 Principle'' and countries that supported Resolution 2758 do not 
 necessarily accept the ``One China Principle'';
Whereas Resolution 2758 does not represent an international consensus regarding 
 the PRC's stance that Taiwan is part of China;
Whereas PRC officials misrepresent Resolution 2758 by claiming the adoption of 
 Resolution 2758 implies acceptance of the ``One China Principle'' and 
 the PRC's claims to Taiwan;
Whereas the PRC misleadingly claims that countries with a ``one China policy'' 
 have accepted and abide by the PRC's ``One China Principle'';
Whereas Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said, in a 2024 hearing before 
 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, that 
 Resolution 2758 ``is a tool [that China uses] to make the argument that 
 somehow Taiwan's status is illegitimate'', and reiterated United States 
 commitments to Taiwan;
Whereas the ``one China policy'' of the United States acknowledges the PRC's 
 ``One China Principle'', but affirms that--

    (1) the United States does not take a position on Taiwan's status; and

    (2) this issue should be resolved peacefully by the people on both 
sides of the Taiwan Strait;

Whereas, in 1982, during the administration of President Ronald Reagan, the 
 United States conveyed Six Assurances to Taiwan's President Chiang 
 Ching-kuo, including that the United States had not changed its position 
 regarding sovereignty over Taiwan, and each subsequent United States 
 presidential administration has reaffirmed these Six Assurances;
Whereas Taiwan has established representative offices in more than 60 countries 
 and at the European Union and the World Trade Organization, which 
 disproves the PRC's claim of a unified United Nations position or 
 international consensus on Taiwan's status;
Whereas the PRC has weaponized Resolution 2758 and the ``One China Principle'' 
 to isolate Taiwan and to prevent its meaningful participation at the 
 United Nations, United Nations-affiliated agencies, and other 
 international fora, including at the World Health Organization, the 
 International Civil Aviation Organization, and Interpol;
Whereas the PRC has bolstered its claims and engaged in revisionist history by 
 successfully altering historic United Nations documents to changes 
 references to ``Taiwan'' to ``Taiwan, Province of China'';
Whereas, in 2005, the Secretary of the World Health Organization signed a 
 memorandum of understanding with the PRC Ministry of Health regarding 
 how the World Health Organization would engage with Taiwan, which 
 included a requirement that communication with Taiwan go through the 
 PRC;
Whereas United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon cited Resolution 2758 when 
 refusing Taiwan's accession to the United Nations in 2007, based on the 
 incorrect assertion that Resolution 2758 supports China's claim that 
 Taiwan is part of China;
Whereas the United Nations has used Resolution 2758 as a justification for 
 requiring Taiwan citizens, including those with official invitations to 
 attend United Nations events, journalists, and representatives of 
 nongovernmental organizations, to obtain PRC-issued Taiwan Compatriot 
 Permits in addition to their passport or a PRC passport to gain entry to 
 United Nations facilities;
Whereas Secretary of State Antony Blinken released a statement in 2021, which 
 criticized the United Nations' exclusion of Taiwan civil society members 
 and emphasized that denying entry to such individuals undermines the 
 work of the United Nations;
Whereas, in 2022, Robert O'Brien, former United States National Security 
 Advisor, stated that--

    (1) the PRC manipulates Resolution 2758 to make false claims regarding 
Taiwan's status in order ``to undermine the international order and the 
international system''; and

    (2) Resolution 2758 ``relates solely to the occupancy of the China seat 
at the United Nations and nothing more'';

Whereas, after the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China passed a model 
 resolution clarifying the contents of Resolution 2758 in 2024, the 
 Australian Senate, the Dutch House of Representatives, the United 
 Kingdom House of Commons, the Canadian House of Commons, and the 
 European Parliament have all approved resolutions opposing the PRC's 
 distortion of Resolution 2758 and efforts by the PRC to block Taiwan's 
 meaningful participation in international organizations;
Whereas, in August 2023, the Central American Parliament (also known as 
 ``PARLACEN'') expelled Taiwan, after more than 20 years as a permanent 
 observer, from holding such status at its sessions and falsely claimed 
 that Resolution 2758 deemed Taiwan a ``province of mainland China, which 
 disqualifies it from participating as an Independent country'';
Whereas, in October 2024, South Africa's Department of International Relations 
 and Cooperation echoed PRC propaganda by inaccurately citing Resolution 
 2758 as justification to direct Taiwan's representative office to 
 relocate outside of the capital, Pretoria;
Whereas the PRC cites Resolution 2758 as a justification to coerce, intimidate, 
 or punish sovereign nations for engagement and partnership with Taiwan; 
 and
Whereas, since 2016, the PRC has successfully induced or pressured 10 nations: 
 Sao Tome and Principe, Panama, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, 
 Burkina Faso, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Nicaragua, Honduras, and Nauru, 
 to cut diplomatic ties with Taiwan: Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

    (1) reaffirms that the longstanding ``one China policy'' of 
 the United States does not affirmatively recognize the People's 
 Republic of China's claim to control over Taiwan and its 
 outlying islands, but rather ``acknowledges'' this position, 
 reaffirms the interest of the United States in a peaceful 
 resolution of cross-Strait issues, ``has not agreed to take any 
 position regarding sovereignty over Taiwan'', and ``will not 
 exert pressure on Taiwan to enter into negotiations with the 
 PRC'';

    (2) reaffirms that the ``one China policy'' of the United 
 States and the similar policies of its partners are not 
 equivalent to the ``One China Principle'' of the Chinese 
 Communist Party;

    (3) emphasizes that United Nations General Assembly 
 Resolution 2758 is not equivalent to, and does not endorse, the 
 PRC's ``One China Principle'';

    (4) emphasizes further that Resolution 2758 does not take a 
 position on Taiwan's ultimate political status, as explicitly 
 recognized by PRC leaders at the time, and does not represent a 
 United Nations consensus on Taiwan's status;

    (5) opposes China's use of the ``One China Principle'' to 
 coerce the United States, Taiwan, and other countries to accept 
 its claims over Taiwan;

    (6) supports Taiwan's diplomatic allies in continuing 
 official relationships with Taiwan, and other nations across 
 the world in strengthening their partnerships with Taiwan;

    (7) reaffirms support for Taiwan's membership in 
 international organizations for which statehood is not a 
 requirement for membership and encourages meaningful 
 participation for Taiwan in organizations in which its 
 membership is not possible;

    (8) recognizes that Taiwan is a reliable and indispensable 
 partner on issues ranging from global health to advanced 
 manufacturing, and its resources and expertise are assets from 
 which the international community should fully benefit;

    (9) supports ensuring that Taiwan passport holders are able 
 to access United Nations grounds and should not be required to 
 provide PRC-issued identification;

    (10) encourages the United States Government to work with 
 partners on joint efforts to counter China's false narratives 
 about Resolution 2758; and

    (11) supports the efforts of other countries to 
 differentiate between their policies and the ``One China 
 Principle'' to counter China's propaganda about international 
 views of Taiwan.
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