from SAMBULO DLAMINI in Mbabane, Eswatini
Eswatini Bureau
MBABANE, (CAJ News) – ESWATINI, the only country in Africa maintaining full, formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, has strengthened ties with the East Asian nation.
President Lai Ching-te of Taiwan visited Eswatini this past weekend, days after his trip had been cancelled due to China pressuring some African governments to stop him from flying over their territories.
The government of King Mswati III said the visit by the president reaffirms the longstanding friendship and strong diplomatic ties that exist between Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, and Taiwan.
Ching-te, who reportedly travelled on the king’s private jet, and Mswati witnessed the signing of a Joint Communiqué aimed at strengthening collaboration and enhancing trade relations between the two countries.
Pholile Shakantu, Eswatini Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Lin Chia-Lung, Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed the communiqué at Mandvulo Grand Hall within the Lozitha Royal Palace.
Chia-Lung described Eswatini as a steadfast friend of Taiwan.
“From smoother trade to agricultural cooperation, Taiwan is turning 58 years of friendship into shared prosperity,” the visiting minister said.
Ching-te said the visit affirms that Taiwan has solidified its longstanding friendship with Eswatini.
“Taiwan will never be deterred by external pressures,” he said.
“Our resolve and commitment are underpinned by the understanding that Taiwan will continue to engage with the world, no matter the challenges faced.”
Taiwan has formal relations with a small number of other countries globally, including nations in the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific, as well as the Vatican.
Due to this recognition, Eswatini is excluded from recent Chinese trade deals, such as duty-free tariff access provided to other African nations.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry said just hours after the earthquake in Yilan, Ching-te had disregarded the livelihoods of people on the island and squandered public funds by staging “a farcical smuggling trip” to Eswatini.
The spokesperson said by doing so, Ching-te had become “an international laughing stock” and was lengthening the list of “shameful acts” of Taiwan independence.
“The humiliating experience of figures like Lai Ching-te on the international stage once again demonstrates that the one-China principle has long been a fundamental norm of international relations and a universal consensus of the international community.”
The spokesperson said no matter how the Taiwan authorities collude with “external forces or what form they take to nurture others,” it is all in vain and cannot change the fact that Taiwan is part of China.
“No matter how the ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist forces become more covert and mutated, they cannot change their fate of being universally condemned and forced to flee in terror.”
China has advised Eswatini and other individual countries to “recognise the general trend of history and follow the trend of the times, and not to play with fire for a few Taiwan independence separatists.”
Ties between Eswatini and Taiwan began at the latter’s independence in 1968, when then Swaziland was under King Sobhuza II, Mswati’s now deceased father.
– CAJ News