Taiwan terminated its 42-year-long diplomatic relations with Malawi after the southeastern African country agreed to switch its allegiance to Beijing, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced at an emergency press conference at 6:30pm yesterday, two hours after Lilongwe notified Taipei of its intentions.
"In order to safeguard Taiwan's national dignity, we hereby announce the Republic of China government will immediately cease all diplomatic ties with the government of Malawi," MOFA Deputy Minister Yang Tzu-pao (
Yang urged Malawi to follow international protocol by ensuring the safety of Taiwanese nationals who reside or do business in Malawi despite the end of formal diplomatic relations.
All non-governmental relations should also continue, Yang said.
The Chinese foreign ministry had yet to post the news on its Web site.
Taipei berated Malawi for announcing its decision while Minister James Huang (
MOFA called the untimely break-up the "greatest insult" to the people of Taiwan and said that Lilongwe had failed to behave as a democratic country.
Yesterday's move left Taiwan with only 23 allies.
Malawi was the fourth country to break relations with Taiwan since 2006 after Senegal, Chad and Costa Rica. There has been speculation that the Marshall Islands and Guatemala could soon follow suit.
Yang called on Taiwan's remaining allies -- especially the four in Africa -- to "stay strong and not be persuaded by Beijing's temptations."
"Taiwan offers utmost sincere friendship to its allies. [Unlike China], Taiwan has no ambition of colonizing or abusing the people of its friendly nations. All relations between Taiwan and its allies are based on an equal footing that is mutually beneficial to both sides," he said.
Lilongwe had been ambiguous about its warming relations with China since before Christmas, when the Nyasa Times reported the imminent break-up.
It was reported that several high ranking Malawian officials had signed a memorandum of understanding with their Chinese counterparts in Beijing two months earlier, binding Malawi to the so-called "one-China" principle.
During a press conference last month, Huang confirmed that China had offered a US$6 billion financial package to lure Lilongwe. He urged Malawi to analyze its options and warned of the broken promises Beijing had made to allies it wooed away from Taiwan.
Yang said the ministry first noticed Beijing's interest in sabotaging Taiwan-Malawian ties at the annual UN assembly in September.
"But since then, we have reassured Malawi of our sincere, unwavering friendship," Yang said.
The break-up became more evident when Malawian President Bingu wa Matharika and foreign minister Joyce Hilda Banda refused to meet Huang earlier this month after he flew to Malawi in a last-ditch effort to salvage relations.
Huang was forced to make a last-minute detour to Swaziland, where he inked a 10-year bilateral cooperation pact with its foreign minister.
Banda said that Lilongwe had had to turn down Huang's visit because the government was on break for a national holiday.
Yang said that all diplomatic affairs -- including all Taiwan sponsored humanitarian aid and projects -- would cease immediately.
MOFA spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) presidential candidate Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) criticized Beijing for humiliating Taiwan and suppressing its international presence.
"They are rubbing salt in the wound," he said. "They deliberately pick a time when President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) is meeting Guatemalan president-elect Alvaro Colom to reaffirm diplomatic ties. I suspect Beijing will continue to use the same approach to poach our diplomatic allies."
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) issued a statement last night condemning China for its "unreasonable" and "unwise" oppression of Taiwan.
Ma said in the statement that China must recognize the existence of the Republic of China (ROC) if both sides of the Taiwan Strait are to get along.
He said China's efforts to restrict Taiwan's presence on the world stage would sabotage cross-strait peace and promote ill feeling among Taiwanese.
Ma also criticized the government, saying that only a "dignified, pragmatic and flexible" approach would benefit the nation.
Ma said both sides of the strait should avoid confrontation.
Additional reporting by Ko Shu-ling, Flora Wang and staff writer
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
RSS