September 13, 2024
The House of Representatives of the Netherlands on September 12 adopted a Taiwan-friendly motion stating that United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 did not rule that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) enjoyed sovereignty over Taiwan and that it did not make any judgment on Taiwan’s participation in the UN or other international organizations. The motion was passed by an overwhelming majority, with 147 of 150 members voting in favor. It was highly significant that the motion was approved while the 79th session of the UNGA was being convened. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly affirms and sincerely appreciates the passage of the motion.
The motion also noted that UNGA Resolution 2758 was being used by the PRC to block Taiwan’s international engagement and that the Netherlands also had an interest in Taiwan’s participation in such organizations as the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Health Organization.
After the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) adopted a model resolution on UNGA Resolution 2758 for its members’ reference at its annual summit in July and the subsequent passage of a related motion by the Australian Senate, the passage of this motion by the Dutch House of Representatives makes the Netherlands the second country in the world and the first in Europe to adopt a similar measure.
The Taiwan-friendly motion was jointly proposed by 13 members of the Dutch House of Representatives from both the ruling and opposition parties, including Representative Jan Paternotte of Democrats 66, who is an IPAC cochair for the Netherlands. It marks the third concrete action taken by the Dutch House of Representatives to support Taiwan this year following the adoption of a motion in April backing Taiwan’s international participation and another in May urging the Dutch government to pursue a joint effort with the European Union and like-minded European nations to oppose China’s military drills around Taiwan and to maintain the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.