Taiwan blames Chinese pressure for cancelled Africa trip
· CNA · JoinRead a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
TAIPEI: Taiwan said on Tuesday (Apr 21) it had cancelled President Lai Ching-te's trip to Eswatini this week, accusing China of pressing three other African countries to revoke permission for his aircraft to overfly their territories.
The small southern African nation of Eswatini is one of only 12 countries to retain formal ties with Chinese-claimed Taiwan. Lai was due to leave on Wednesday for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III's accession.
Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Meng-an said the Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar unilaterally revoked flight permits for the presidential aircraft without prior warning.
"The actual reason was intense pressure exerted by Chinese authorities, including economic coercion," he added.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Madagascar foreign ministry official told Reuters the overflight request had been denied.
"Malagasy diplomacy recognises only one China. The decision was made in full respect of Madagascar's sovereignty over its airspace," the official said.
The Seychelles government declined to comment and Mauritius did not immediately respond to requests for a response.
Taiwan's presidents normally overfly countries with which the island does not have formal relations without problems, but China has a special dislike of Lai, whom it calls a "separatist".
Lai says only Taiwan's people can decide their future and that the island has a right to engage with the rest of the world without Beijing's interference.
Pan said China's actions were "unprecedented" in its "coercing a third country to alter its sovereign decision through intimidation".
This not only jeopardises flight safety and violates international norms but also offends the feelings of Taiwan's people, and the government condemns China's actions, he added.
Lai had planned to fly direct to Eswatini so as to "avoid those areas in the Middle East where the risks from ongoing conflict are relatively high", National Security Council chief Joseph Wu told reporters.
King Mswati visited Taiwan to attend Lai's inauguration ceremony in 2024.
The last visit by a Taiwanese president to Eswatini was in 2023, when former president Tsai Ing-wen travelled to the landlocked country of around 1.3 million people.
Newsletter
Week in Review
Subscribe to our Chief Editor’s Week in Review
Our chief editor shares analysis and picks of the week's biggest news every Saturday.
Newsletter
Morning Brief
Subscribe to CNA’s Morning Brief
An automated curation of our top stories to start your day.
Sign up for our newsletters
Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox
Get the CNA app
Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories
Get WhatsApp alerts
Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app