page_title: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758
section_title: Proceedings at the United Nations
hierarchical_section_title: United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 / Proceedings at the United Nations
context_page_description: The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 was passed in response to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1668 that required any change in China's representation in the UN be determined by a two-thirds vote referring to Article 18 of the UN Charter. The resolution, passed on 25 October 1971, recognized the People's Republic of China as "the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations" and removed the collective representatives of Chiang Kai-shek from the United Nations.
context_section_description: On 15 July 1971, 17 UN members, led by Albania, requested that a question of the "Restoration of the lawful rights of the People's Republic of China in the United Nations" be placed on the provisional agenda of the twenty-sixth session of the UN General Assembly. In an explanatory memorandum accompanying their request, the 17 UN members observed that for years they had protested against what they considered were hostile and discriminatory policy followed by several governments with regard to the communist government of mainland China, which they considered to be the genuine representative of the Chinese people. The existence of the People's Republic of China, they declared, was a reality which could “not be changed to suit the myth of a so called Republic of China, fabricated out of a portion of Chinese territory”. In the view of the 17 UN members, the ROC were unlawful authorities installed in the island of Taiwan which claimed to represent China, and they remained there only because of the permanent presence of United States Armed Forces.  No important international problems, they added, could be solved without the participation of the People's Republic of China. It was in the fundamental interests, they concluded, of the United Nations to "restore" promptly to the People's Republic of China its seat in the organization, thus putting an end to a "grave injustice" and "dangerous situation" which had been perpetuated in order to fulfill a policy that had been increasingly repudiated. This meant the immediate expulsion of the representatives of the Chiang Kai-shek regime from the seat which it held in the United Nations.
  On 17 August 1971, the United States requested that a second item, "The representation of China in the United Nations" be placed on the provisional agenda, too. In the explanatory memorandum accompanying the U.S. request, the U.S. said that in dealing with the problem of the representation of China, the United Nations should take cognizance of the existence of both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China; it should reflect that incontestable reality in the manner in which it made provision for China's representation. The United Nations, the U.S. submitted, should not be required to take a position on the respective conflicting claims of the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China pending a peaceful resolution of the matter as called for by the United Nations Charter. Thus, the U.S. added, the People's Republic of China should be represented and at the same time provision should be made to ensure that the Republic of China was not deprived of its representation.
  On 22 September 1971 the United States proposed at the UN General Committee that the two items be combined into one item called "The Question of China". The proposal was, however, rejected by 12 votes to 9 with 3 abstentions.
  On 25 September 1971, the first Albanian-backed draft resolution, A/L.630 and Add.l and 2, was submitted by 23 states including 17 of the states which had joined in placing the question on the agenda, to "restore to the People's Republic of China all its rights and expel forthwith the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek."
  On 29 September 1971, a second draft resolution, A/L.632 and Add.l and 2, sponsored by 22 members including the U.S., was proposed declaring that any proposal to deprive the Republic of China of representation was an important question under Article 18 of the UN Charter, and thus would require a two-thirds supermajority for approval.
  On 29 September 1971, a third draft resolution, A/L.632 and Add.l and 2, sponsored by 19 members including the U.S., was proposed by which the Assembly would affirm the right of representation of the People's Republic of China and recommend that it be seated as one of the five permanent members of the Security Council but also affirm the continuing right of representation of the Republic of China.
  On 15 October 1971 the representatives of 22 UN members requested the UN Secretary-General to distribute, as an official Assembly document a statement of the
caption: Voting situation in the UN general assembly with respect to resolution 2758 (1971) recognizing the People's Republic of China as "the only legitimate representative of China".[5]
  Green = In favor, Red = Against, Blue = Non-voting, Yellow = Abstention, Grey = Non-UN-members or dependencies.