Politicians and lawmakers from 11 African countries welcomed President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) visit to Eswatini, which begins today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, hailing it as a diplomatic success.
Tsai is to leave for Eswatini today on a four-day trip to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the independence of Taiwan’s African ally.
More than 80 cross-party parliamentarians from 11 African countries — South Africa, Malawi, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Nigeria, Uganda, Tanzania, Namibia and Somaliland — issued a joint statement on behalf of the Formosa Club members in Africa to welcome Tsai’s visit, the ministry said in a press release.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The statement acknowledged the outcome brought by the Africa Program, which Tsai launched after her previous trip to Eswatini in 2018, the ministry said.
Taiwan demonstrated its value and importance to Africa’s development through the program, which has fostered closer ties between the nation and Africa in agriculture, education, information and communications technology, energy, trade and tourism, the statement said.
The Formosa Club in Africa expressed its hope to continue bolstering cooperation with Taiwan, “a beacon and a success story of democracy in the world,” it said.
John Steenhuisen, leader of South Africa’s opposition party Democratic Alliance, sent a letter to welcome Tsai on behalf of the party and all freedom-loving African friends, the ministry said.
Taiwan’s dedication to safeguarding the universal values of democracy, freedom, rule of law and human rights regardless of China’s ever-expanding threat and oppression “is admirable,” the ministry quoted Steenhuisen as saying.
Tsai’s visit to Africa shows Taiwan’s clear commitment to expanding cooperation with Africa in areas such as trade and cultural development, Steenhuisen said.
The Democratic Alliance is a firm friend of Taiwan, he said, adding that he hoped Tsai would visit South Africa someday.
Narend Singh, chief whip and treasurer-general of South Africa’s Inkatha Freedom Party, also welcomed Tsai on behalf of his party, the ministry said.
Former Botswana president Ian Khama paid tribute to Tsai’s commitment to Taiwan’s freedom and democracy in a letter, it said.
Khama called on democratic countries around the world to stand together in solidarity to safeguard democracy and address common challenges, adding that he believed Tsai’s visit would further bolster relations between Africa and Taiwan, the ministry said.
The warm welcome and support from Taiwan’s friends in Africa showed that the nation’s freedom, democracy and open economic system earned their recognition, the ministry said.
It is also an approval of the “Taiwan Model” — cooperating with African countries through pragmatic diplomacy and mutual assistance, it added.
NETWORK-MAPPING PROJECT: The database contains 170 detailed files of Taiwanese politicians and about 23 million records of household registration data in Taiwan China has developed a network-mapping project targeting political figures and parties in Taiwan to monitor public opinion during elections and to craft tailored influence campaigns aimed at dividing Taiwanese society, according to documents leaked by Chinese technology firm GoLaxy (中科天璣). The documents, collected by Taipei-based Doublethink Lab, showed a database was specifically created to gather detailed information on Taiwanese political figures, including their political affiliations, job histories, birthplaces, residences, education, religion and a brief biography about them. Several notable Taiwanese politicians are in the database, including President William Lai (賴清德), former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍),
RECOGNITION: Former Fijian prime minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy serves as a stabilizing force in the Indo-Pacific region Taiwan can lead the unification of the Chinese people, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former Polish president Lech Walesa said in Taipei yesterday, adding that as the world order is changing, peaceful discussion would find good solutions, and that the use of force and coercion would always fail. Walesa made the remarks during his keynote address at a luncheon of the Yushan Forum in Taipei, titled “Indo-Pacific Partnership Prospects: Taiwan’s Values, Technology and Resilience,” organized by the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Walesa said that he had been at the forefront of a big peaceful revolution and “if
North Korea tested nuclear-capable rocket launchers, state media reported yesterday, a day after Seoul detected the launch of about 10 ballistic missiles. The test comes after South Korean and US forces launched their springtime military drills, due to run until Thursday. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Saturday oversaw the testing of the multiple rocket launcher system (MRLS), the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said. The test involved 12 600mm-caliber ultra-precision multiple rocket launchers and two artillery companies, it said. Kim said the drill gave Pyongyang’s enemies, within the 420km striking range, a sense of “uneasiness” and “a deep understanding
North Korea yesterday fired about 10 ballistic missiles to the sea toward Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said, days after Pyongyang warned of “terrible consequences” over ongoing South Korea-US military drills. Pyongyang recently dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, Washington’s security ally, describing its latest peace efforts as a “clumsy, deceptive farce.” Seoul’s military detected “around 10 ballistic missiles launched from the Sunan area in North Korea toward the East Sea [Sea of Japan] at around 1:20pm,” JCS said in a statement, referring to South Korea’s name for the body of water. The missiles
RSS