Burkina Faso yesterday severed ties with Taiwan, the second diplomatic ally to do so within a month, prompting Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) to tender his resignation.
However, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) did not sign off on Wu’s resignation, Presidential Office spokesman Alex Huang (黃重諺) told the Taipei Times last night.
Speaking at an impromptu news conference in Taipei yesterday evening, Wu said that although Burkina Faso has yet to establish diplomatic ties with Beijing, it goes without saying that “China is the sole factor” in the African nation’s decision.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
“This is the second nation in a month, after the Dominican Republic, to have made such a move. I share the public’s sadness, anger and regret over these incidents,” said Wu, who only took over the helm of the ministry in February.
China’s repeated attempts to poach Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and suppress its presence in the international arena would not narrow the gap across the Taiwan Strait — it would only further anger Taiwanese, Wu said.
“I would like to again quote President Tsai’s oft-stated pledge that we will never succumb to Beijing’s pressure,” Wu said, adding that China’s actions, both diplomatically and militarily, constitute a unilateral change of the cross-strait “status quo.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs first noticed warning signs regarding Burkina Faso prior to Tsai’s state visit to Africa last month, when Burkinabe President Roch Kabore prioritized an international gathering over meeting with Tsai, Wu said.
Media speculation in Burkina Faso regarding the establishment of diplomatic relations with Beijing were another sign, Wu said.
The ministry became more concerned after Burkina Faso became the nation’s only ally to not publicly speak up for Taiwan’s World Health Assembly (WHA) bid, Wu said.
A high-level government official previously said on condition of anonymity that China had written to all of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies warning them against speaking for Taiwan at this year’s WHA.
The Republic of China established diplomatic relations with Burkina Faso in 1961, but Ouagadougou switched recognition to the People’s Republic of China in 1973. Taiwan and Burkina Faso resumed ties in 1994.
Burkinabe Minister of Foreign Affairs Alpha Barry in February last year had told reporters that his nation had rejected a Beijing offer of US$50 billion and had no plans to switch allegiances.
Taiwan has lost three other diplomatic allies to China since Tsai’s inauguration: Sao Tome and Principe in December 2016, Panama in June last year and the Dominican Republic on April 30.
Regarding Taiwan’s relations with its sole remaining African ally, Eswatini, Wu said that he has “huge confidence” in the stability of their ties.
“President Tsai visited Eswatini just last month and she has maintained a good relationship with Swazi King Mswati III,” Wu said. “The king is also scheduled to visit Taiwan next month to attend his son’s graduation ceremony.”
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
SECOND SPEECH: All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist the CCP, despite their differences, the president said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday discussed how pro-Taiwan and pro-Republic of China (ROC) groups can agree to maintain solidarity on the issue of protecting Taiwan and resisting the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The talk, delivered last night at Taoyuan’s Hakka Youth Association, was the second in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. Citing Taiwanese democracy pioneer Chiang Wei-shui’s (蔣渭水) slogan that solidarity brings strength, Lai said it was a call for political parties to find consensus amid disagreements on behalf of bettering the nation. All political parties should work together to defend democracy, protect Taiwan and resist
By refusing to agree spending increases to appease US President Donald Trump, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez threatened to derail a summit that NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte needs to run smoothly for the sake of the military alliance’s future survival. Ahead of yesterday’s gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, things were going off the rails. European officials have expressed irritation at the spoiler role that Sanchez is playing when their No. 1 task is to line up behind a pledge to raise defense spending to 5 percent of GDP. Rutte needed to keep Spain in line while preventing others such as Slovakia
SHIFT PRIORITIES: The US should first help Taiwan respond to actions China is already taking, instead of focusing too heavily on deterring a large-scale invasion, an expert said US Air Force leaders on Thursday voiced concerns about the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) missile capabilities and its development of a “kill web,” and said that the US Department of Defense’s budget request for next year prioritizes bolstering defenses in the Indo-Pacific region due to the increasing threat posed by China. US experts said that a full-scale Chinese invasion of Taiwan is risky and unlikely, with Beijing more likely to pursue coercive tactics such as political warfare or blockades to achieve its goals. Senior air force and US Space Force leaders, including US Secretary of the Air Force Troy Meink and