South Africa’s decision to ask Taiwan to relocate and rename its representative office in Pretoria lacked transparency and was not properly reviewed, a South African lawmaker from the country’s second-largest political party said.
“There has been no full debate, no serious committee engagement and no attempt by the executive to explain itself in a transparent way,” said Janho Engelbrecht, a South African National Assembly member representing the Democratic Alliance party.
“For a decision with clear diplomatic and economic consequences, this approach is completely inadequate,” he said, adding that the governing African National Congress (ANC) party was behaving “as if foreign policy is its sole responsibility,” despite being part of a national unity government.
Photo: AFP
If the ANC believes it could continue to make major foreign policy decisions “behind closed doors,” it would weaken parliamentary oversight, Engelbrecht said.
Engelbrecht has been critical of South Africa’s approach on the issue, but also cautioned Taiwan in an interview last year against using economic sanctions, saying oversight was a better way to proceed.
He called on South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), which initially announced the country’s decision in 2024, to make a “clear, written position” on the Taiwan office issue before parliament for “proper committee scrutiny.”
Relations with the Taiwanese community “should not be sacrificed for short-term geopolitical considerations,” especially given the investment, manufacturing and job creation contributions Taiwanese businesses have made, Engelbrecht said.
It is unclear how widely Engelbrecht’s views are held in the 400-seat South African National Assembly, or even within his party, which holds 87 seats and is a key player in the governing coalition led by the ANC.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) last year said that DIRCO’s decision had been criticized by other South African political parties, including those in the coalition government, but that has not seemed to change the government’s position.
DIRCO announced the decision to categorize the Taiwan representative office as a “trade office” and move it from the political and executive capital of Pretoria to the commercial capital, Johannesburg, in October 2024.
Despite Taiwan’s accusations that the move was made due to Chinese pressure, the agency at the time said the move would be “a true reflection of the non-political and non-diplomatic nature of the relationship between the Republic of South Africa and Taiwan.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested the decision, citing a 1997 bilateral agreement that allowed the Taipei office to operate in Pretoria after diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed in 1998.
It also called for talks between the two sides to come up with a new agreement, but to date, no such discussions have been held.
DIRCO had asked Taiwan to move the office in 2024 and complete the move in six months, but did not announce it until the deadline was near.
The representative office in Pretoria and South Africa’s office in Taiwan are still operating normally, the ministry said.
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