The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country.
Somalia said it is following the “one China” principle based on UN Resolution 2758.
The ministry said that Somalia is misinterpreting the resolution under China’s instigation, creating a false impression that Taiwan is subordinate to China.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Somali Civil Aviation Authority told airlines on Tuesday last week that starting today, any passengers with passports or travel documents issued from Taiwan or its affiliated institutions would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia.
The decision comes as Taiwan is boosting ties with Somaliland, which broke away from Somalia in 1991, but has not gained widespread international recognition for its independence.
Taiwan and Somaliland set up representative offices in each other's capitals in 2020.
The decision restricts Taiwanese people’s freedom and safety of travel, the ministry said.
It said it strongly refutes and condemns Somalia’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758 by linking it with the “one China” principle.
A number of countries, including the US, say that the UN resolution makes no mention of Taiwan's status and that China has deliberately misinterpreted it.
The ministry added that it is working with the government of Somaliland and Taiwan’s representative office there to urge like-minded countries and international organizations to take concrete steps to press Somalia to reverse this "wrongful action."
The ministry urged Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland for their own safety before Somalia reverses the policy.
Somaliland has had four presidential elections since it declared independence in 1991, showing that it has a stable government and shares values of democracy and liberty with Taiwan, the ministry said.
Somalia’s government is preventing people of democratic countries from interacting with each other by controlling Somaliland’s airspace, it added.
The ministry said it would keep the public updated if there are any further developments.
Additional reporting by Reuters
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Snow fell on Yushan (Jade Mountain, 玉山) yesterday morning as a continental cold air mass sent temperatures below freezing on Taiwan’s tallest peak, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Snowflakes were seen on Yushan’s north peak from 6:28am to 6:38am, but they did not fully cover the ground and no accumulation was recorded, the CWA said. As of 7:42am, the lowest temperature recorded across Taiwan was minus-5.5°C at Yushan’s Fengkou observatory and minus-4.7°C at the Yushan observatory, CWA data showed. On Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County, a low of 1.3°C was recorded at 6:39pm, when ice pellets fell at Songsyue Lodge (松雪樓), a
RSS