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.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS