University of Virginia Library

One China

Last week's vote at the United Nations to
admit the People's Republic and to exclude
representatives of Chiang Kai-chek's Taiwan
regime has ended an era in which the United
States and a united western front could
expect to dominate events in the U.N.

In accepting Albania's resolution, the
General Assembly flatly repudiated the Nixon
Administration's specious "Two China
Policy" and proceeded wisely in opening the
door to Peking, the only legitimate
representative of the Chinese people.
America's contention that "dual
representation" was the equitable solution
ignored the fact that to the Chinese people
there is only one China. This of course is one
of the few points on which both Mao and
Chiang agree, while they differ as to which
government is the legitimate one.

Clearly any proposal which demanded a
divided China was not acceptable: indeed, the
only way in which Taiwan might have
retained its seat would have entailed its
separation as a distinct nation, thus entitling
Chiang's government to a place of its own.

Now that the party is over and the drama
passed, the majority's elation is giving way to
calmer reflection. The new era promises to be
full of uncertainty. Peking's newly won
respectability in the international arena itself
is a sign of hope. But no one can be certain
whether Peking's gain—and what seems to be
its emerging policy of moderation—has been
achieved in a manner to undercut still further
the eroding U.S. support for the United
Nations.

American prestige suffered an enormous
blow when an all-out campaign of arm
twisting and persuasion by Washington failed
to hold sway over some of the smallest
nations in the world. Moreover, for the first
time in memory every western ally of the
United States—including Britain, Canada, the
Scandinavian nations and all of western
Europe—deserted Washington on a major vote.

Among Pacific nations, Japan—already
upset by Nixon's surprise visit to Peking and
the U.S. surcharge on imports—suffered still
another blow from the Nixon policy. With
obvious reluctance, Japan became the major
co-sponsor of America's effort to save
Taiwan's seat in the General Assembly.

What happens now is obviously up to
China as well as Washington, where
intimations and outright threats of reduced
aid fell hot and heavy following the
momentous vote. Albania and Algeria, the
spokesmen for the Peking cause in New York,
have portrayed Peking as the new champion
of the underprivileged, underdeveloped world
in the Security Council. In this view, Peking
will use the Chinese power to veto
"superpower collusion" of the Soviet Union
and the United States.

Citing that possibility, U.S. officials have
warned of a disturbing trend away from
meaningful political discussion which could
be accelerated. The United Nations, they
argue, would tend to become a debating
society, while Washington, Moscow and
Peking seek solutions to problems through
more traditional power diplomacy.

Most observers, however, believe that
Peking will act with caution. China, it is said,
while pushing its self-proclaimed role as ally
of the Third World, will maneuver very
carefully between Moscow and Washington.
By attempting to paralyze the Security
Council the argument continues, Peking
would simply force Moscow and Washington
closer together.

Whatever the risks of the new era, the
admission of Peking as the only true
representative of the Chinese people had to
come. Nixon's attempt to create popular
concern for the 14 million Taiwanese—after
America had prevented representation of 700
million people for over twenty years—could
only be viewed as a cynical manipulation of
public sympathies.

Chiang Kai-shek is nothing but a senile
dictator defeated in a civil war. His regime is
supported primarily by massive American
military and economic aid. America's
presence on Chinese soil and interference in
the internal disputes of the Chinese people are
now illegal acts of aggression as defined by
international law.

The passage of the Albanian resolution
comes as the beginning at least of what should
be a larger effort to right the wrongs of
twenty years and assure the People's Republic
of China its rightful and necessary place and
voice in the family of nations.