The Taipei Liaison Office in South Africa is operating normally pending further negotiations after Pretoria demanded it move out of the administrative capital, although a delegation from Beijing visited the country shortly after the original relocation deadline passed, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Last month, South Africa demanded Taiwan relocate its liaison office from Pretoria to Johannesburg before Oct. 30, although it later agreed to negotiate on the matter.
With the support of many like-minded countries as well as political figures in South Africa, the office continues to operate normally pending further negotiations, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Counselor on Home Assignment Wang Wen-lin (王文麟) said after he was asked about the matter at a regular news briefing in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
However, the ministry and office have also prepared response measures for different scenarios, he added.
During the sensitive negotiations, the Chinese government sent a delegation led by Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee member Li Xi (李希), who is also secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, to visit South Africa from Nov. 5 to 7, Wang said.
“Their purpose was likely to again pressure the South African government to force our office to relocate,” he said.
“The Chinese Communist Party’s relentless pressure on other countries’ governments to suppress Taiwan demonstrates its hegemony, which raises alarm among democratic countries,” he said.
“Under the principle of equal dignity, the ministry would continue to endeavor to understand the South African government’s thoughts on its relationship with Taiwan and exchange ideas with it,” he said.
Meanwhile, the ministry congratulated Somaliland president-elect Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi on his election victory earlier this month.
Somaliland’s electoral commission on Tuesday last week announced that Abdullahi, leader of the opposition Waddani party, won the Nov. 13 election.
“The ministry expresses sincere congratulations to the Republic of Somaliland for again successfully holding its presidential election and to Abdullahi for winning,” Wang said.
The Taiwan Representative Office in the Republic of Somaliland had already, on behalf of the government, expressed blessings to Abdullahi on his election victory, he said.
The office also expressed the hope that by building on the nations’ good relationship in the past few years, Taipei and Hargeisa would continue to deepen bilateral cooperation, he added.
Taiwan and Somaliland set up official representative offices in each others’ country in 2020, and have cooperated in areas such as public health, information and communications, agriculture, education and resource development, he said.
“The ministry also hopes to work with the new government led by president-elect Abdullahi,” he said.
Asked about possible collaborations with Somaliland’s new government, Wang said the Taiwan Representative Office in Somaliland has kept in contact with the Waddani party.
During the election, Abdullahi, who is a former speaker of the Somaliland House of Representatives, said he would continue the country’s relations with Taiwan, Wang said, adding that in addition to their cooperation in different areas with Hargeisa, Taiwan also has two major infrastructure projects under way in Somaliland.
One of the projects is “Taiwan Road” linking Somaliland’s international airport and downtown Hargeisa, while the other is the “Taiwan Medical Center” to help improve medical services and public health in the country, he said.
Preparation for the two projects has been completed, and construction is expected to start after the new administration takes office, he said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS