The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said Taiwan-Eswatini relations remain firm, after Eswatini’s prime minister reportedly advocated for switching sides to China.
The ministry issued the remarks after Swaziland News reported that Eswatini Prime Minister Russell Dlamini was pushing for diplomatic relations with China for its supposed economic benefits, a move “heavily questioned” by lawmakers.
Dlamini invited US economist Jeffrey Sachs to speak during an Eswatini Cabinet retreat, where the consultant called the establishment of diplomatic ties with China a “matter of urgency,” the report said.
Photo: CNA
However, the suggestion “did not go down well” with Ambassador to Eswatini Jeremy Liang (梁洪昇) and lawmakers who support Taiwan, resulting in a vigorous debate in parliament, the report added.
“I’ve been made to understand and, I would like the prime minister to take this as part of his responses, that there was a presentation in Cabinet where a consultant who was brought in to make a presentation regarding the advantages of establishing diplomatic relations with mainland China over Taiwan,” Eswatini lawmaker Welcome Dlamini was quoted as saying. “So it bothered me... because personally I’ve known the country to have maintained diplomatic relations with Taiwan.”
The prime minister is expected to respond in the coming days, the report said.
Calling Taiwan a “Chinese province,” the report said that the debate came after China announced it was to remove trade tariffs for African countries it has diplomatic ties with, which excludes Eswatini.
Eswatini, Taiwan’s only African ally, has been violating UN Resolution 2758, it added.
Swaziland News is highly critical of the current Eswatini government and monarchy.
It is run by journalist Zweli Martin Dlamini, who fled the country amid accusations of sedition.
In Taipei, the foreign ministry said ties between Taiwan and Eswatini remain solid, adding that the two nations would continue to advance their cooperative and mutually beneficial relationship.
Sachs’ remarks were his personal opinion and sparked strong concern among pro-Taiwan lawmakers in Eswatini, which shows that diplomatic ties between the nations are robust, it said.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) yesterday said President William Lai (賴清德) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) recently visited Eswatini and all indicators show that there are no issues.
Wu said he strongly suspects China is behind the move, which aimed to undermine Taiwan’s exchanges with other countries.
Taiwan and Eswatini are expanding their economic cooperation and diplomatic ties between the two are growing ever stronger, which is “a development Beijing does not welcome,” he said.
As a result, the Chinese Communist Party is seeking to undermine Taiwan’s partnerships and economic relations with other countries, a challenge the ministry deals with daily, he added.
The more Taiwan integrates into the international system, the safer it becomes, as that helps establish and maintain the “status quo,” Wu said, adding that Chinese threats all aim to undermine the “status quo.”
Additional reporting by CNA
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