Digital Taiwan Lecture Series – Taiwan in Limbo: Challenges and Prospects for Participation in the United Nations System
The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80) is taking place in September, while the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP 30) will take place from 10th and 11th of November 2025 in Belém, Brazil. Around this time each year, the issue of Taiwan’s exclusion from the international community resurfaces in global discussions.
Taiwan has not been a member of the United Nations (UN) since 1971, when the long-debated UN Resolution 2758 was adopted. Resolution 2758 recognizes the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the only lawful representatives of China to the UN. However, it does not address the issue of Taiwan’s sovereignty or explicitly determine whether Taiwan can be represented in the UN system. Despite this, China consistently invokes Resolution 2758 to bolster its “One-China” principle, claiming Taiwan as an inalienable part of the PRC and blocking Taiwan’s participating in the UN system and wider international community.
In recent years, Europe has increasingly addressed the issue through official statements. In October 2024, European Union (EU) openly condemned China’s misinterpretation of Resolution 2758 and its military provocations around Taiwan. In July 2025, German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul emphasized that UN Charter prohibits the use of force to resolve international disputes, in response to China’s misuse of Resolution 2758.
Excluded from the UN system, Taiwan is barred from UN-affiliated organizations, including UNFCCC, which limits Taiwan’s ability to contribute to global climate action and other pressing international issues. As a well-developed island with advanced technologies and a trustworthy government, Taiwan’s exclusion represents a loss for the international community.
The webinar will explore Taiwan’s ongoing struggle to engage the UN system and discuss how current geopolitical dynamics may influence Taiwan’s future participation in the international arena.
Speakers:
Dr. Antonina Luszczykiewicz-Mendis, currently a visiting scholar at the University of Oxford, is an Assistant Professor at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. A former Fulbright Senior Scholar at Indiana University Bloomington in the United States, she is a political and cultural studies expert specializing in China–India relations and Poland–Taiwan interactions. Antonina has received numerous international grants and fellowships, including a research grant from the American-Polish Kosciuszko Foundation, a Confucian scholarship at Xi’an Jiaotong University (China), and the MOFA Taiwan Fellowship for research at Tamkang University (Taiwan). She is also a non-resident fellow at the Taiwan Center for Security Studies (TCSS) at the National Chengchi University in Taipei.
Dr. Zsuzsa Anna Ferenczy is an Affiliated Scholar at the Department of Political Science of Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Associated Research Fellow at the Institute for Security & Development Policy (ISDP Stockholm), Head of the Associates Network at 9DASHLINE, and Fellow at Agora Strategy, Munich. Based in Taiwan, Zsuzsa is an Assistant Professor at the National Dong Hwa University in Hualien. Between 2008 and 2020, Zsuzsa worked as a political advisor in the European Parliament. Her latest book, “Partners in Peace: Why Europe and Taiwan Matter to Each Other” was published in October 2024. Zsuzsa is a regular commentator in international media outlets. She tweets at @zsuzsettte
Moderators:
Dr. Niklas Swanström, Executive Director, Institute for Security & Development Policy
Dr. Klement Ruey-Sheng Gu, Representative, Taipei Mission in Sweden