TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — UK parliament members passed a resolution on Thursday (Nov. 28) stating UN General Resolution 2758 does not exclude Taiwan from international participation or support Beijing’s “one China policy.”

A group of 10 UK lawmakers discussed a backbench motion on Taiwan’s international status and passed it at the end of the debate. The motion said the UN resolution establishes the People’s Republic of China as the only representative of China to the UN and does not mention Taiwan.

The motion accused the PRC of distorting the resolution's meaning to determine Taiwan's sovereignty. It called on the UK government to clarify its position on the matter.

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Indo-Pacific Catherine West said the resolution should not be used to exclude Taiwan from participating in the UN or international systems. She said Taiwan’s inclusion in these spaces would benefit global health, improve the UK’s economic resilience, and allow the UK and Taiwan to cooperate on climate initiatives.

West said the UK’s policy toward Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait would continue unchanged. “Our collaboration with Taiwan is mutually beneficial, which is why we continue to engage with Taiwan within the bounds of our unofficial relationship,” West said.

West said she would continue to be a “staunch advocate” for Taiwan. “We continue to work closely with our international partners to advocate for peace and stability, and to discourage any activity that undermines the status quo,” she said.

Taiwan Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) thanked the British parliament for passing the motion. She said the motion “clearly refutes China’s wrong interpretation of UN Resolution 2758 and Beijing’s attempts to suppress Taiwan’s international space.”

Kuo also noted that legislators in Australia, the Netherlands, the EU, and Canada have all recently passed similar motions on Taiwan’s international status.

A spokesperson for China’s UK embassy said the motion was a “blatant challenge to the post-war international order.” The embassy called on the UK to adhere to a 1972 agreement between China and the UK that established mutual diplomatic relations.

The UK parliamentary motion comes after the country’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy visited China and met with his counterpart Wang Yi (王毅) in October.

After the meeting, Lammy said he had discussed Taiwan with Wang and noted concerns about tensions in the Taiwan Strait. He said the UK government’s position on Taiwan has not changed.