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Taiwan Recognition as UN Member 2017

General Assembly 2

I. Background on the General Assembly

Established since the creation of the United Nations in 1945, the General Assembly has
pursued the collaboration of all members of the UN to achieve consensus on global issues and
has put them into discussion to find valuable and realistic solutions. The General Assembly
counts with 193 members, of which each has one vote. These votes will take the form of
recommendations of peace and security issues. Non-Member States, if involved, are given an
invitation to participate as observers in the assembly. The Assemblys purpose is to make
recommendations to states on international issues discussed in the council, such
recommendations are towards political, economic, humanitarian, social and legal issues. These
issues are generally regarded as global and of significant importance for the development of the
society.
The General Assembly is backed up by the United Nations Charter, which allows the
forum to: Approve UN budget and establish financial help to member states; elect
non-permanent members to the Security Council and other UN organs; consider and make
recommendations of issues for cooperation between states; discuss and make recommendations
to issues related to international peace and security; discuss and make recommendations to any
issue that is related with the UN charter or the function of any UN organ; promote international
political cooperation; discuss and make recommendations for peaceful settlements of any
particular issue that might affect the relationship of countries; discuss reports from the Security
Council.
The assembly, apart from this, may act to take action in cases of a threat of peace when
the Security Council has failed to act due to a veto from a permanent member. The Assembly is
divided into subsidiary organs, which are the the Boards, Commissions, Committees, Council
and Panels, and Working Groups and others. These present recommendations in the form of draft
resolutions for the council to discuss them.
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II. Background on the recognition of Taiwan as UN Member 2017

Before the historical context on Taiwans representation in the UN is thoroughly
explained, it is important for all delegates to understand the following terms: Chinese
representation, which refers to 1971 when the Republic of China (ROC) was replaced by the
Peoples Republic of China (PRC) in the UN. Since then, there has been an ongoing debate on
the different causes for ROCs exit from the UN and on the representation of these citizens. Dual
representation, which is a solution that was proposed years before ROCs place in the UN was
replaced by the PRC, and has been highly supported by the delegates from The United States of
America. Chiang Kai Shek, chinese military and political leader who led the Kuomintang
(Chinese Nationalist Party) for five decades. When the Kuomintang lost against the Communists
Party, he fled to Taiwan where he established the Republic of China. Two Chinas, the idea for
the recognition of both Chinese states (ROC and PRC) in the UN. This would involve Taiwan to
be considered an independent country on behalf of China. One China, which is the idea that there
can only be one China represented in the UN and Taiwan should not be considered a country on
its own.
The split between these two Chinese states can be traced back to the Chinese Civil War,
when the Nationalist Party of China and the Communist Party brawled over their power to rule
the nation. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1911, the people of China were left without a
ruler and the state fell into the hands of different warlords. Form 1927 to 1950, China faced
decentralization of the government and constant fights between different political parties. Some
cities were left under the domain of other countries, such as Great Britain, because of the unequal
treaties that were signed granting these areas during the Qing rule. Several attempts to unify
these states and to unite the people of China were made, however the most powerful movements
made were those by the Nationalist party (the Kuomintang) and the Communist Party of China.
During world war two both sides were united in order to fight the Japanese invasion. However,
by the end of the war, they resumed their roles as enemies and the civil war continued. Chiang
Kai Shek, the main leader for the Kuomintang, was aided by the US in order to move his soldiers
in major cities of China. At the same time, the Communist Party of China (CPC) was heavily
aided by the Soviet Union and gained support in rural areas. The Soviet Union also helped the
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CPS obtain the weapons that had been left the Japanese. For several years after this, the US
proposed the Two China solution where the country would be split and each party would rule
one side. This did not please neither of the parties, so it was never done. By 1948, the CPC
gained more support, particularly because they aided farmers who were resentful about the Battle
of Nanking and how the Kuomintang did very little to stop it. Most people began to side with the
CPS as they took Nationalist cities. Finally, in 1949, the CPC declared victory after taking
Beijing and China In October of 1949, the CPC captured Beijing. They declared victory and said
that China would now be called the People's Republic of China. The nationalists fled to the
island of Taiwan where they established their own government called the Republic of China. (1)
Taiwan is currently not a member of the United Nations (UN) or its suborganizations, but
it aspires to participate. China is one of the countries to oppose this. It argues, without being
incorrect, that only sovereign states can enjoy membership in the UN. China claims Taiwan to
be a part of its territory and denies that Taiwan is a sovereign state. China is very negative
towards recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign state and its membership in the UN system. Taiwan
would favor from being added as a member of the UN, although not necessarily on the basis of
full membership status, China refuses to move away from its position that Taiwan is part of
China and thus cannot be represented on its own in the UN. China has the advantage in that it is
a member of the United Nations, and is one of the five permanent members of the Security
Council

III. Useful links for research

United Nations - This is a great website to discover the main issues the UN is addressing, as well
as first hand information about them.

Research Guide - This is Best Delegate's description of what an MUN delegate should do to be
as prepared as possible for the conference.

CIA World Factbook - Great webpage to get first hand facts and statistics from you delegation.
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Government and Legal Structure by Country - A resource to learn and discover the
different governmental structures of each country.

BBC Country Profiles - Similar to the past resource, however, this one provides extra
information about each states past history and other facts.

World Bank Data and Statistics - One of the greatest web pages to have first hand information
and statistics regarding any economic aspect of a country.

NGO Global Network - This webpage is specialized to list several NGO websites. It is great for
searching for organizations that are working or have worked on issues regarding your topic.

Wikipedia - Although it is a collaborative web page, it is great for having a background about a
topic, country, etc. (Not considered a background reliable source)

UN News - This is a great web page to have a direct link to UN news.

Al-Jazeera, BBC, CNN, Financial Times, New York Times, The Economist, The Times of
London, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post - These are great web pages to find articles
regarding a topic or country. Furthermore, all of these are truly reliable sources, however, take in
mind the bias an article could have towards a specific position.

http://www.un.org/en/ga/about/background.shtml

http://www.ducksters.com/history/cold_war/chinese_civil_war.php

http://tkuir.lib.tku.edu.tw:8080/dspace/bitstream/987654321/80492/2/I_S-Vol+47No+2--%E5%8
A%89%E6%9B%89%E9%B5%ACpp+87-118.pdf
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http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/local/archives/2001/09/12/102595/2

https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/taiwans-un-dilemma-to-be-or-not-to-be/