Beijing is entrenching its business and economic interests in Eswatini in an increasingly successful courtship of Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa, Semafor Africa said in a report on Tuesday.
The kingdom of Eswatini has long supported Taiwan and was the only one of Africa’s 54 nations to decline to attend last week’s triennial China-Africa summit in Beijing, the media outlet said.
Yet, the southern African nation is “quietly warming to China” as an influx of Chinese “enterprises, businesspeople and even state actors” dig “deep roots in Eswatini’s economy,” it said, citing sources in the local business community.
Photo: AP
Ambassador to Eswatini Jeremy Liang (梁洪昇) was cited as saying that a “significant number of Chinese nationals” flowing into Eswatini, a nation of 1.2 million people, would eventually “undermine” Taiwan’s diplomatic mission.
In another indication of strengthening ties, Eswatini mines authority head Guduza Dlamini and a high-profile local entrepreneur led a delegation late year, allegedly to talk with Chinese investors and pave the way for establishing diplomatic relations, it said.
Eswatini government spokesman Alpheous Nxumalo had denied that the delegation’s mission was to initiate dialogue about the kingdom switching diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China, the report said.
That statement is belied by Eswatini’s awarding of a US$165 million project to build the Mpakeni Embankment Dam to Beijing-owned ChinaPower, the outlet said.
The Eswatini government said at the time that even though the kingdom has “yet to establish formal diplomatic relations” with China, it recognizes ChinaPower’s “brand influence in the southern African region.”
Taiwan established an embassy at Mbabane, the capital of Eswatini, in 1968, the year it declared its independence from the UK.
So far, Eswatini has resisted Beijing’s calls for it to cut ties with Taiwan, including threats to sever all economic ties. The kingdom is one of the Taiwan’s 12 diplomatic allies.
US President Donald Trump said "it’s up to" Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) what China does on Taiwan, but that he would be "very unhappy" with a change in the "status quo," the New York Times said in an interview published yesterday. Xi "considers it to be a part of China, and that’s up to him what he’s going to be doing," Trump told the newspaper on Wednesday. "But I’ve expressed to him that I would be very unhappy if he did that, and I don’t think he’ll do that," he added. "I hope he doesn’t do that." Trump made the comments in
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
A cold surge advisory was today issued for 18 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures of below 10°C forecast during the day and into tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. New Taipei City, Taipei, Taoyuan and Hsinchu, Miaoli and Yilan counties are expected to experience sustained temperatures of 10°C or lower, the CWA said. Temperatures are likely to temporarily drop below 10°C in most other areas, except Taitung, Pingtung, Penghu and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, CWA data showed. The cold weather is being caused by a strong continental cold air mass, combined with radiative cooling, a process in which heat escapes from
Snow this morning fell on Alishan for the first time in seven years, as a strong continental cold air mass sent temperatures plunging across Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The Alishan weather station, located at an elevation of about 2,200m in central Taiwan, recorded snowfall from 8:55am to 9:15am, when the temperature dropped to about 1°C, the CWA said. With increased moisture and low temperatures in the high-altitude Alishan area, the conditions were favorable for snow, CWA forecaster Tsai Yi-chi (蔡伊其) said. The last time snow fell at the Alishan weather station was on Jan. 10, 2018, while graupel fell there
RSS