United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1668 (XVI) was an act of the

UN General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its 79th session, its powers, ...

that deemed the issue of Chinese representation at the UN an "important question" under the

UN Charter The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations (UN). It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the United Nations System, UN system, including its United Nations System#Six ...

; therefore any proposal to change of recognition either to the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

from the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

and designated as such as the representation of all of China at the UN would hence require a two-thirds majority of all voting members. The impetus for UN Resolution 1668 (1961) was raised by

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Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and the

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and passed with 61

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voting in its favor, 34 UN Member States voted against it, 7 UN Member States abstaining, and 2 UN Member States non-voting. The

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961 is an international treaty that defines a framework for diplomatic relations between independent countries. Its aim is to facilitate "the development of friendly relations" among government ...

was signed by the Republic of China on 18 April 1961 and ratified on 19 December 1969. The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations is the

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of modern-day

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since the

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and followed by the UN.

Representation of China in the United Nations

''The General Assembly'', ''Noting'' that a serious divergence of views exists among Member States concerning the representation of a founder Member who is named in the Charter of the United Nations, ''Recalling'' that this matter has been described repeatedly in the General Assembly by all segments of opinion as vital and crucial and that on numerous occasions its inclusion in the agenda has been requested under rule 15 of the Assembly's rules of procedure as an item of an important and urgent character, ''Recalling further'' the recommendation contained in its resolution 396 (V) of 14 December 1950 that, whenever more than one authority claims to be the government entitled to represent a Member State in the United Nations and this question becomes the subject of controversy in the United Nations, the question should be considered in the light of the purposes and principles of the Charter and the circumstances of each case, ''Decides,'' in accordance with Article 18 of the Charter of the United Nations, that any proposal to change the representation of China is an important question. 1080th plenary meeting,
15 December 1961

External links

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED BY THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY DURING ITS SIXTEENTH SESSION 1623-1747

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations signed and ratified by Republic of China
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130519165249/http://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=III-3&chapter=3&lang=en#4 , date=2013-05-19 16/1668 1961 in law General Assembly Resolution 1688 1961 in the United Nations

Representation of China in the United Nations

See also

External links