President William Lai (賴清德), whose planned visit to Eswatini was previously postponed amid Chinese pressure, made a diplomatic breakthrough yesterday, arriving in the African kingdom for a state visit.
Lai traveled aboard a chartered plane from Eswatini's king, which had only arrived in Taipei on April 30 before heading directly to the country. Sources said Lai's national security team kept the trip highly confidential, and the delegation was kept minimal to prevent any leaks.
Lai formally announced his arrival on Facebook only after reaching Eswatini.
Photo: Screen grab from the Presidential Office’s Flickr page
He was invited to attend celebrations on April 25 marking King Mswati III’s 58th birthday and the 40th anniversary of his reign. The visit had originally been scheduled for April 22, which would have marked Lai’s second overseas trip since taking office in May 2024.
On the eve of his departure, however, the Presidential Office suspended the trip after Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar revoked overflight permissions—a move Taipei has attributed to Chinese pressure.
The office then sent Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) as a special envoy for the king’s celebrations while leaving room to arrange Lai’s future visit.
At the time, Lin also held talks with the Eswatini government on the possibility of Lai overcoming the travel restrictions, securing King Mswati III's approval to send Deputy Prime Minister Thulisile Dladla as a special envoy, sources said. Dladla first traveled to Taiwan aboard the king’s chartered plane to strengthen bilateral ties, with her key mission being to formally invite Lai to visit Eswatini on the king’s aircraft, they added.
Dladla also conveyed the king's message that, despite various challenges, the visit would demonstrate the freedom and independence of Eswatini's airspace, as well as Africa’s respect for international law, sources said. She emphasized that Eswatini has always regarded Taiwan as family, keeping its doors open “day or night” to welcome Lai and the Taiwanese people.
Following Lai's arrival, the Eswatini government's official Facebook page welcomed him with a “Welcome home” message, noting that China’s pressure only underscored the close cooperation between the two countries.
King Mswati III's chartered plane, which formerly belonged to Taiwan's China Airlines, has been in service in Eswatini since 2018. The king himself has used the same plane for visits to Taiwan.
After successfully arriving in Eswatini, Lai noted that the Chinese government’s coercive tactics had failed.
However, anticipating that Beijing might impose even stronger restrictions, details of the delegation’s return trip—including the length of stay in Eswatini, the flight route back to Taiwan, and whether to fly direct or with a stopover—remain top national security secrets, sources said.
Separately yesterday, China’s Foreign Ministry said Lai had "secretly slipped aboard a foreign aircraft and sneaked out of Taiwan, lavishly squandering public funds."
"We urge Eswatini and some other individual countries to see where the arc of history bends and stop serving as the prop of "Taiwan independence' separatists," it said.
Additional reporting by AP and Reuters
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