Taiwan President Lai Ching-te returned to Taipei on Tuesday after a visit to Eswatini, saying the self-governed island has a right to engage with the world. He spoke at Taoyuan International Airport after a trip that drew sharp criticism from Beijing.
Taiwan said Lai’s flight had to take a long detour after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar denied overflight permission, a move Taipei attributed to “intense pressure” from China. The visit, held April 22–26, was intended for Lai to attend the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and the king’s 58th birthday; Lai flew to Eswatini on Saturday aboard the king’s plane.
China regards democratically governed Taiwan as a province and opposes the island’s participation in international organizations and bilateral exchanges with other countries.
Lai left Eswatini on Monday and followed a southern Indian Ocean route back to Taiwan. Flight-tracking services showed the aircraft passing over Australia’s Christmas Island and then over Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines before entering Taiwanese airspace and landing at Taoyuan.
Beijing had earlier called the Taiwanese president a “rat” over the trip. At the airport, Lai said the world “belongs to everyone” and vowed Taiwan “will not retreat in the face of suppression.” He added that Taiwanese people have the right to engage globally and that efforts to obstruct the trip only strengthened Taiwanese resolve. Lai characterized the visit as an exercise of diplomatic rights to build friendly ties and a demonstration of Taiwan’s commitment to upholding international order alongside like-minded partners.
Eswatini is one of 12 countries that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Those official allies are:
Latin America: Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Pacific: Marshall Islands, Palau, Tuvalu
Africa: Eswatini
Europe: Vatican City
Edited by: Roshni Majumdar