TransMUN Conference 2016 Committee Background Guide

Committee: General Assembly Plenary (XXVI-1976th)

Topic: Issue of the Designated Representation of China
Chair: Caitlyn Liu
Deputy Chair: Rubin Ku, Jerry Chen
Assisting Executive of Academics: Eric Chang
Supervisor (Chief Executive of Academics): Daniel Lin

Committee Overview
History
In the wake of the Second World War, the UN was created to prevent future conflicts, maintain
international peace and security, and promote cooperation among states. The General Assembly, one of the
six principal organs of the United Nations created under the Charter of the United Nations, was created to act
as the representative, deliberative arm of the organization.

The first session of the General Assembly was convened on January 10th, 1946, in the Westminster
Central Hall in London, including representatives of 51 nations. Excluding the other five fundamental organs
of the United Nations, the General Assembly is the only one in which all member nations have an equal
representation - without elected members and the use of veto power. Following annual sessions were later
held in different cities such as New York and Paris. Not until its seventh regular annual session on October
14th, 1952, did it finally settled to its permanent location in the United Nations Headquarters of New York.

As the largest body of the UN, the GA could not feasibly be granted executive, decision making
powers in the organization. Nor did the original members wish to do so because these executive and
administrative functions were to be carried out by the other principle organs. Therefore, the Charter grants
the GA the power to create subsidiary bodies to assist it in carrying out its work. The large variance in the
scope of its mandate led the General Assembly to allocate its work among six committees that would allow
each to focus on a specific theme.

Established in 1945, the General Assembly occupies a central position as the chief deliberative,
policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. Subsidiary organs of the General Assembly
may present their recommendations, usually in the form of draft resolutions and decisions, to a plenary
meeting of the Assembly for its consideration. With plenary sessions held annually, major discussions
referring to global development and UN charters will all be taken place in this grand array of the United
Nations.

Mandate & Functions

The General Assembly has the power to oversee the budget of the United Nations, appoint nonpermanent members to the Security Council, receive reports from other parts of the United Nations and make
recommendations in the form of General Assembly Resolutions. Given the presence of all member states in
each annual meeting, the Assembly was mandated to become a forum for multilateral negotiation,
providing a unique platform for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by
the charter.
Apart from discussing major international issues, the Assembly was also empowered to make
recommendations to States on international issues within its competence. The Assembly may also take action
in cases of a threat to the peace, breach of peace or act of aggression, when the Security Council has failed to
act owing to the negative vote of a Permanent Member. In such instances, according to its Uniting for
Peace resolution of November 1950 (Resolution 377 (V)), the Assembly may consider the matter
immediately and recommend to its Members collective measures to maintain or restore international peace
and security. The Assembly has initiated actions political, economic, humanitarian, social and legal
which have affected the lives of millions of people throughout the world.
In recent years, an effort has been made to achieve consensus on issues, rather than deciding by a
formal vote, thus strengthening support for the Assemblys decisions. The Secretary-General, after having
consulted and reached agreement with delegations, can propose that a resolution be adopted without a vote.
There has been a sustained effort to make the work of the General Assembly more focused and relevant. This
was identified as a priority during the 58th session, and efforts continued at subsequent sessions to streamline
the agenda, improve the practices and working methods of the Main Committees, and enhance the role of the
General Committee.

About the Topic

Statement of the Problem
On October 1, 1949, the Communist Party of China won the Chinese Civil War, resulting in the
establishment of the Peoples Republic of China (P.R.C.) and the relocation of the Kuomintang government
of the Republic of China (R.O.C.) to Taiwan.
The relocation of the Kuomintang did not lead to an immediate decline in the support it received
from the international community. As a matter of fact, the P.R.C.s victory was hardly celebrated by any
nations then. They believed that the P.R.C.s standing would not last for long, and condemned it for the
extreme measures it took to achieve its projects. Furthermore, the foreign policy the P.R.C. adopted back in
1949 only aggravated its relationships with nations such as the United States of America (U.S.) - regarding
the U.S. as a threat, the P.R.C. and Soviet Union leaders signed the Sino-Soviet alliance, which committed
both sides to come to each others aid should either be attacked by Japan or the U.S. Countries even opposed
the admission of the P.R.C. to the United Nations (UN) following the Korean War, in which the P.R.C. came
to the aid of North Korea.
Though it was already clear that the P.R.C. was not favorable in the global society, this did not keep it
from enacting extreme plans such as the Great Leap Forward, which led to millions of deaths from famine
and further worsened the image of the P.R.C. Neither did it stop the Communist Party Leader Mao Zedong
from criticizing its biggest ally, the Soviet Union, that Moscow had deviated from the true principles of
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communism in the 1960s. Seeing how the very few nations that recognized the status of the P.R.C. were all
affiliated with the Soviet Union, breaking apart with the Soviet Union seemed to be a false step. Little did the
P.R.C. know that the break with the Soviet Union was what would come to change its fate.
As the P.R.C. reassessed the global situation, which was still under the Cold War, it began to reach
out to the U.S. Since the Sino-Soviet alliance had already collapsed, the U.S. was no longer considered so
much of a threat and instead was considered by the P.R.C. as an ally which offered information exchange and
gave crisis management suggestions. During this time, deeming itself as the legitimate leader of the battle
against imperialism and capitalism, the P.R.C. bonded strongly with nations in the Third World. By this time,
several nations had already realized that the R.O.C. did not seem to have a chance in restoring its sovereignty
over mainland China and chose to sign diplomatic ties with the P.R.C. instead.
Soon enough, the P.R.C. begun to earn support from the Western countries and nations began to
question the validity of the R.O.C.s status at the UN. Both the P.R.C. and R.O.C. make it a prerequisite for
diplomatic relations that a country does not recognize and conduct any official relations with the other party.

History
The division of Chinese government
In 1912, Republic of China (R.O.C.) was official established in Beijing, China, acquiring the
justification from the government of Ching Dynasty. In the next two decades, dozens of warlords continuous
to declare their sovereignty to the administrative area they were privileged by the previous government.
Chiang Kai-shek, recognized as the head leader of Kuomintang (K.M.T.), was devoting to eliminate the
warlord on the mainland China then. After the surrender of Zhang, the most powerful warlord who occupied
the north east part of China, Chiang was finally recognized as the first president who owns the complete
political power toward the whole R.O.C. Meanwhile, Mao, the chair of Communist Party of China (C.P.C.),
was just obtained the prior authority in the party. Mao had organized public hearing to recruit their potential
party member since he determined to absorb the experience of Soviet Union. From 1921 to 1925, the number
of the party member had increased 30 times.
During WWII, C.P.C. kept winning their support in urban place which contains above 70% of total
population in China, and in 1945, 4 million party members contribute to practice communism, rivaling with
K.M.T. After Japan was retreated from China, K.M.T. army encountered a serious conflict with Peoples
Liberation Army (PLA) in Northeast China. Obtaining assistance from Soviet Union, and the trust of starving
farmers, C.P.C. got K.M.T. government out of Mainland China. Since then, it was concerned that China had
been divided into two governments, and each government has been arguing for its legal status.
The sovereignty of Taiwan Island
According to Treaty of Shimonoseki, the Ching Dynasty demised Taiwan and Penghu islands to
Japan. Since then, China lost its right to control Taiwan. 50 years later, as Cairo Conference ended, Empire
of Great Japan surrendered to the Allies. In 1952, Treaty of Peace between the Republic of China and Japan
recorded that Japan abandon the possession of Taiwan, which means R.O.C. cannot absolutely withdraw
the islands simultaneously the contract became effective. Unfortunately, both China were devoted to the
negotiation rather than doing deep deliberation of the island, since the two parties have to fight for the 9.6
million square kilometers land.
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The development of the paradox between the two parties

In the period of Cold War, the competition of communism and capitalism, the two China was
individually dragged into the blocs led by their supporters. From 1947-1949, K.M.T. consumed 3 million
soldiers, almost equals 2/3 of reservist in China. After WWII, the U.S. won its leading status among all of the
Members States at war, based on its volume industries and academic researches, U.S. armies assisted R.O.C.
to combat Japan Empire, fight with England, Canada, North African countries against Nazi, and then won
most of the battles during the 4 years they attended the war. However, U.S. underestimated the recovery of
Soviet Union, a country which lost 1/10 of population, 1/3 of possession during the war. In 1945, according
to Yalta Conference, Soviet Union was privileged to accredit army into Manchukuo, reordering the politic
situation. Then, Kwantung Army, the most aggressive troops in Japan was also urged to handover all the
military supply to Soviet Union. On the other hand, according to DR 1, Japan needed to officially surrender
to China, not considered on which.
As KMT army arrived at north east China, the arguments were naturally emerged. The second civil
war of China had broken out, which would determine the real possession of the country. From 1945 to 1947,
George Catlett Marshall Jr. was assigned to mediate the potential conflict between the two parties. The
conversations were finally failed, as Marshall failed to make both parties compromise. Then, he suggested
the Congress to terminate the military assistance to Chiangs army because of the hopeless corruption of
Chiangs army.

Recent Approaches and Difficulties

The belonging of Taiwan and the legal status of R.O.C. after 1949
A/RES/2758 passed that the Permanent Member of China in United Nation Security Council was
inherited by P.R.C. Yet, R.O.C. head delegate aborted the conference before the final voting of the motion.
After that, Chiang Kai-shek declared to abandon R.O.C.s Membership in the UN. P.R.C. declared that
K.M.T. government had eliminated and been dispelled from China in 1949, while Chiang insisted that
they had to deploy to Taiwan island as their last fortress. However, Maos government would rather
emphasize their existed attitude that Taiwan should be a different part from mainland China, according to the
uncomplete ceremony for Chinese government to withdraw Taiwan. If those words were ensured, that meant
Chiang, K.M.T. government were absolutely expelled from the whole legal China, entering Taiwan, the
ungoverned area, to establish a whole new R.O.C.
The mentality of a leader
When an organization claims itself as the rebels of their government, and have potential military
action, it must simultaneously declare the irrationality of the authority. Stems from very simple mentality, a
person would not agree to share the same name with others, since that means ones evidence of exist, living,
and value. To replace the authority, the rebels expound their superior value than the government. They would
comment certain policies or political philosophy and frighten the civics with an exaggerate narration, making
them disobey the original ruler, turning to the contrast one. Likewise, to maintain their right, the authorities
must not acknowledge the legal state of the rebels. Once they dont treat it as criminal, the states for the
rebels would absolutely legalize.
The rival between the two blocs during the Cold War

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For the member for either Communism or Capitalism bloc, each country had its consideration on
their benefit. For the capitalism bloc, U.S.A. have to ensure the independence of Taiwan, but not means
independent from China, since the Chiang have to insist his authority of Nanjing government. Even in
1950, the break out of Korean War, Mao had once tried to eliminate all of the force of capitalism bloc,
including the peace keeping troops led by the U.S.A., Chiangs government in Taiwan, and decrease the
power of Republic of Korea (R.O.K.) and Japan. The Chiang authority decided to rival with P.R.C., since
there are almost 2 million PLA on the field in Korea. Instead of declaring their independence, Chiang chose
to maintain the situation because of the great consumption on the previous civil war, and the Taiwan
Relations Act which kept Chiangs army from shipping to Fujian to raise another battle against PLA. The bill
ordered that Chiang must not intimidate Mainland China without the permission of the U.S.A., while the
U.S.A. would have the duty to keep the security and financial aid to Taiwan.
For the White House, it successfully maintained the advantage of the military deploy on the West
Pacific Ocean that it can focus on the negotiation and weaponry competition against Soviet Union and P.R.C.
For the Communism Bloc, the prior policy for them would be the spread of the communism, by the way of
violent activities or not. Communism parties, particularly in the Eastern Europe, would directly accept the
assistance from Soviet Union to accomplish the ideal society against the capitalists. There were numbers of
countries from Africa, and South East Asia stands comparably neutral of the argument, since the transition of
the countries producing fertilized crops, owning mines and requiring any kinds of commodities would have
no benefits for them to change their producing habit. To speak more precisely, those countries would choose
to stand for either side based on the economic effects they could obtained.

Case Studies
Africa
It is our African brothers that carried U.S. into the United Nations. said Zhang Bo-yin, a 70-yearold retired professor of Beijing University. Like most Chinese, Zhang had only amicable things to say when
it came to the plateau continent. This is because had it not been for the massive support of the African
countries, the Peoples Republic of China might not have been able to resume its legal status in the United
Nations back in 1971. Furthermore, not only did their expression of their advocacy for the One-China
Policy move many citizens of Mainland China, it too was successful in demolishing Taiwans attempts to
join the United Nations in the future decades.
Today, as one of the worlds most influential nations in the world, China continues to progress both
economically and politically. Trade agreements in particular, play an important role in Chinas notorious
five-year plans. It is remarkably noteworthy that as China sealed trade agreements with Africa in the 2000s, it
asked countries that have signed diplomatic ties with Taiwan to do the same with China. Though no pressure
was put on those nations, many chose to do so in hope of strengthening their ties with China, which is now
the third largest trading partner of Africa. This phenomenon is no doubt considered a threat to Taiwan, which
already spends huge amounts of money to poor countries in Africa each year to rally their support.

Asia
The P.R.C. initially focused on maintaining its relations with only the Soviet Union and other
communist countries after its founding. Yet after sending the Peoples Liberation Army to support North
Korea fend off the UN Peacekeepers in the Korean War in the 1950s, the P.R.C. sought to balance its
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identification as a Soviet Union follower by establishing ties with other non communist nations, particularly
those located in Southeast Asia. The P.R.C.s first effort to assume influence in the Third World was revealed
when it attended the 1955 Bandung Conference of Asian and African states, in which it emphasized the
importance of the coalition of the Third World nations. As the P.R.C.s relationship with the Soviet Union
worsened, China strengthened its connection with other Asian nations, earning much support from them.

Europe
Relations with Europe were not a big priority for the P.R.C. in the 1960s as its relations with the U.S.,
Japan, and other Asian Nations were. After the P.R.C. fell apart from the Soviet Union, communist nations
located in Eastern Europe had little desire to interact with the Mao government. It is, however, spectacularly
noteworthy that some of the earliest Western countries to recognize the P.R.C. - Switzerland (January, 1950)
and Sweden (February 1950) - are both located in Western Europe.

The Middle East

In the early 1930s, China under the Kuomintang government had amicable relations with the Arab
world. The Chinese government would send students to study at universities located in the Middle East in
order to gain cultural insights. Yet in pace of the establishment of the P.R.C., Egypt was the first nation to cut
off the diplomatic relations with the R.O.C. in 1956. Many nations soon followed in this movement, resulting
in a significant drop of the international status of the R.O.C.

Key Actors and Positions

The United States of America
As the biggest foe of all Communist states, the U.S. had always favored the Nationalists over the
Communists. The U.S. went to war with the P.R.C. - the Korean War and the Vietnam War - in order to
prevent the communism expansion. However, this phenomenon does not imply that the Nationalists - the
Kuomintang government - and the U.S. were close-knit. Chiang Kai-Shek, leader of the R.O.C., did not like
the Americans and were suspicious of their motives. This is not only because the many Americans residing in
China did not bother to leave a good impression on the Chinese, but also because the American ideology
differed drastically from the Leninist style Chiang used to lead the Kuomintang Party. Despite this, the U.S.
continued in its efforts to court the Kuomintang Party by trying to prevent the P.R.C. from taking the
R.O.C.s seat in the United Nations and even took measures to encourage its allies not to deal with the P.R.C.
Yet when the P.R.C. and the Soviet Union drifted apart in the 1960s, the U.S. saw this as an
opportunity to overpower the Soviet Union by winning the P.R.C. over to its side. The two gradually began
to develop relations in trade and cultural exchanges, leaving the relationship between the U.S. and the R.O.C.
hanging.

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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union started out as a supporter of the Kuomintang in 1921. However, when Chiang KaiShek began to impose restrictions on the participation of the Communist Party in the Chinese government in
1926, which resulted in the disunion of the collaboration between the two parties in 1927 and the Chinese
Civil War, the Soviet Union gave support to the communists and even took measures in hope of making the
Hui People hostile against the R.O.C.
Japan
Japan was the only Asian nation that was successful in entering the Western international political
arena in the 20th century. Copying the acts of the Western nations, Japan began to stir up trouble in the Asian
continent by occupying land that belonged to other states. As the main target of Japan, China struggled
greatly during the World War II as the Kuomintang government tried to ward off both the rebellion of the
Communist Party and the invasion of Japan. By 1943, Japan had already occupied over 20 territories, all of
which are now considered Third World nations.

Conclusion
The debate of the legal right of China will not only be the competition between P.R.C. and R.O.C.,
but a kind of classic proxy war during the Cold War. Each country must support its own leader to avoid the
potential aggression from the rival bloc, or even from its own civics. It should be emphasized again and again
that the legal status of a colony after its possession had been abandoned by their mother countries, since all of
us hope that the final judge of an international conflict can always be in the court. It would be a unique
chance for all of the member states to focus on one extremely controversy issue, and their delegates had very
less space to compromise with their rivals.

Questions a Resolution must answer

a.
b.
c.

Which representative should be the only legitimate representative of the Chinese Delegation?
What actions should be executed to counteract the opposing representative?
How should the Charter interact with any future misrepresentations of a Delegation?

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Delegate Assignments
The Committee, GA-P (XXVI-1976th)'s Position Paper should include:
1) Your nation's stance and status in the context of the Cold War and how that has affected
your nation's relationship with the P.R.C./R.O.C.;
2) The relationship your nation holds with both the Republic of China and the People's
Republic of China & how your nation will manage its relations with the two
If you are the delegate of the R.O.C. or the P.R.C., please describe your stance and
your intended actions);
3) Any proposed solutions to solve the issue of the misrepresentation of China at the UN and
ameliorate the relationship between P.R.C. and the R.O.C.
Length: 1~2 page(s) at least
Language: English
Font: Times New Roman
Size: 12
Deadline for Delegates' Position Paper: 7/19 (Wed.) 23:59:59
Please hand in your assignments via the DAIS Teams E-mails:
caitmliu@gmail.com / blinding1902@gmail.com / a1111.1112.1113@gmail.com

Bibliography
http://www.un.org/en/ga/about/index.shtml
http://www.un.org/ga/about/background.shtml
http://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/26/ares26.htm
http://eg.china-embassy.org/eng/zagx/t274327.htm
http://www.afrol.com/articles/22427
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1969-1976/rappR.O.C.hement-china
http://eg.china-embassy.org/eng/zagx/t274327.htm
http://www.afrol.com/articles/22427
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China_and_the_United_Nations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_China
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China_(1949%E2%80%9376)
http://www.e-ir.info/2008/07/16/the-cold-war-and-china/

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_foreign_relations_of_the_People%27s_Republic_of_China
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Taiwanese_history
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2012/10/the-complicated-history-of-U.S.-relations-with-china
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93United_States_relations#The_Republic_of_China_and_the
_United_States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_territories_occupied_by_Imperial_Japan
http://www.ibiblio.org/chinesehistory/contents/03pol/c05s03.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93European_Union_relations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Soviet_relations
http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/china_modern_timeline.htm

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