The current phase of talks with South Africa regarding its demand to move the nation’s representative office from Pretoria is “more challenging” than the first round due to intensified Chinese pressure, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
On Oct. 7 last year, South Africa requested that the office move by the end of that month.
However, on Oct. 29, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said that South Africa had expressed willingness to reach a deal through official communication channels.
Photo: Huang Chin-hsuan, Taipei Times
The relocation was delayed after the first round of talks.
However, late last month the South African government once again sent a letter to the Taipei Liason Office in South Africa requesting that it move from the administrative capital by the end of next month and stated plans to downgrade it to a “trade office.”
The ministry on Sunday said it would “continue to communicate with the South African government based on the principles of equality and dignity.”
The ministry would maintain its stance that it would not move as it enters a more challenging phase of talks, the source said yesterday.
The ministry has also thanked its international allies for their continued support in speaking out on the matter, they said.
US Senator Marsha Blackburn on Monday wrote on X that she supports Taiwan in the matter.
“The United States must stand with Taiwan and stand up to South Africa,” Blackburn wrote, adding that if South Africa works with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to “bully Taiwan,” Washington should consider removing the nation from the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
Bilateral discussions are ongoing, although the latest developments show China’s intensified pressure on South Africa, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Deputy Director Chen Yung-po (陳詠博) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The CCP’s suppression of Taiwan has become commonplace, but this latest move shows an attempt to gauge the reactions of the new governments of the US and Japan, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said.
The Pretoria location was determined based on legally binding agreements between the two nations, leaving no justification for the relocation request, Wang said.
In contravening this agreement, China is bound to end up “losing more than it gains,” while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio might exclude South Africa from aid programs in response to its perceived allegiance to China, Wang added.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
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,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS