The People’s Republic of China this evening demanded the “total withdrawal” of Israel from all occupied Arab territories. In his first speech on the Middle East to the General Assembly, Chiao Kuan-hua, chairman of the Chinese delegation, declared that “The Israeli, Zionist aggressors must withdraw from the territories of Egypt, Syria and all other Arab territories they have occupied.”
He spoke as the Middle East debate resumed after having been suspended yesterday to allow the General Assembly to act on the Indian-Pakistani war. Chiao’s statement was preceded by similar remarks from the representatives of Jordan and Yugoslavia. The Soviet representative was scheduled to speak later tonight.
The delegate from Peking said “We are not opposed to the Jewish people or the people of Israel, but we are firmly opposed to the Zionist policies of expansion and aggression.” He condemned UN resolutions “which in effect encouraged aggression and shielded the Israeli Zionists in the name of ‘maintaining peace.'” Chiao did not specify any resolution but referred to those that have been passed “without distinguishing between the aggressors and the victims of aggression.”
Such resolutions, he said “are unjust to the Arab people and in contravention of the UN Charter.” Chiao repeated almost verbatim a statement contained in his maiden speech to the General Assembly following the People’s Republic’s admission to the UN last month. “No one has the right to make political deals behind their (the Palestinians and other Arabs) backs at the expense of their rights to national existence and their territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he said.
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