South Africa should reconsider its request for Taiwan to relocate its representative office in Pretoria, US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Chairman Ben Cardin said in a statement released on Thursday.
Cardin also slammed China for mischaracterizing UN Resolution 2758 as requiring other countries to downgrade ties or cut diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
On Oct. 17, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the South African government had in April asked the ministry to relocate its representative office from the capital Pretoria before the end of that month.
Photo: Reuters
The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation in a statement released on Oct.18 said that severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan was “consistent with resolution 2758 of the UN General Assembly, which is widely adhered to by the international community.”
On Pretoria’s instruction to Taipei, Cardin said: “The South African government’s directive to Taiwan to close its liaison office in Pretoria is deeply concerning and represents a departure from the standard practice for countries that maintain an informal relationship with Taiwan.”
On Pretoria’s statement on UN Resolution 2758, Cardin said: “The reference made to UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 risks lending credibility to the People’s Republic of China’s [PRC] calculated mischaracterization of the nature and history of Resolution 2758, which not only isolates Taiwan further but also undermines its security, potentially setting a troubling precedent for others to follow.”
Resolution 2758 was adopted by the 26th UN General Assembly in 1971 to solve the issue of China’s representation at the UN. It led to the Republic of China (Taiwan’s official name) withdrawing from the UN and the PRC taking its place.
The resolution, which passed on Oct. 25, 1971, recognizes the PRC as the “only lawful representative of China.”
Cardin said Resolution 2758 only addresses the matter of China’s representation at the UN, and does not address the matter of Taiwan’s status or dictate how sovereign countries should engage with Taiwan.
“I strongly urge South Africa to reconsider its actions. The global community must stand united against the Chinese Communist Party’s coercive tactics regarding sovereign nations’ treatment of Taiwan and its deliberate distortion of international statements and resolutions to undermine Taiwan’s support around the world,” he said.
After Taiwan had made it clear that it would not relocate its de facto embassy from Pretoria as “demanded” by South Africa, the ministry on Tuesday said that South Africa was willing to engage in talks on “bilateral relations going forward” through existing channels.
South Africa previously set Wednesday as the deadline for relocating the office.
Six US House representatives — Andy Ogles, Tom Tiffany, Joe Wilson, Chuck Fleischmann, John Rose and Don Bacon — on Tuesday wrote a joint letter to US President Joe Biden asking the administration to re-evaluate South Africa’s preferential treatment under the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which provides sub-Saharan African countries that prioritize free markets and the rule of law with duty-free access to the US market.
The US lawmakers said that South Africa in recent years had “consistently failed to demonstrate a consistent fidelity to the rule of law and routinely takes measures to undermine our nation’s vital security interests.”
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