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Malawi cancels visit by James Huang

Minister of Foreign Affairs James Huang (黃志芳) was forced to cancel a trip to Malawi, sparking speculation that the country is considering severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan in favor of China.

Huang was already on a plane to the African ally when he was told the visit had been canceled.

"This is not a normal situation," ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said yesterday when asked for comment.

Arrangements for the visit had been made before Huang departed Taiwan on Wednesday night.

A Central News Agency report late on Thursday quoted James Chuang (莊訓鎧), Taiwan's ambassador to Malawi, as saying that Huang's visit had been called off and that he did not know where Huang's plane was at the time.

Huang, accompanied by Chang Yun-ping (張雲屏), director of the Department of African Affairs, was scheduled to arrive in Malawi on Thursday night.

The ministry yesterday issued a press release saying that Malawi, which had initially welcomed the visit, had informed the Taiwanese embassy after Huang's plane had taken off that it was not a convenient time to receive Huang.

"Malawi told our embassy that President Bingu wa Mutharika was still on holiday and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joyce Banda had left the capital because of an unforeseen incident," the ministry said.

The statement said Huang had spoken to Banda on the phone during a flight stopover.

Banda told Huang she hoped he would be understanding about the situation, the statement said. Banda also reassured Huang during their telephone conversation that ties between Taiwan and Malawi "remain unchanged" and that Malawi would invite Huang to visit once government operations are back at full speed after the holiday season, Yeh said.

Huang had been planning to visit Malawi since last month, when the ministry learned that China had offered its ally a US$6 billion financial package in exchange for diplomatic recognition and that Mutharika had sent a delegation to China.

Local media in Malawi reported at the time that the delegation was to pave the way for the establishment of diplomatic ties with China.

The purpose of Huang's canceled visit to Malawi was to learn more about what the Malawian delegation discussed with Beijing and whether it would impact the African country's ties with Taiwan.

After the cancelation, Huang traveled to Swaziland, where he signed a 10-year cooperation pact after meeting Prime Minister Themba Dlamini and Foreign Minister Moses Mathendele Dlamini.

Huang is expected to leave Swaziland today.
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