Taiwan President Lai Ching-te arrived in Eswatini on Saturday, announcing the trip on X and saying he came to the island’s only African diplomatic partner to “affirm our longstanding friendship.” In his post he added, “Taiwan will never be deterred by external pressures.”
Lai had originally planned to visit from April 22–26 but postponed after Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar revoked overflight permissions for his plane. Taipei said those countries acted under pressure from China; Beijing denied using economic coercion while expressing “high appreciation” for their decisions.
In a separate Facebook post, Lai credited careful planning by his diplomatic and national security teams for enabling the trip. He said the visit aims to deepen bilateral cooperation in economic, agricultural, cultural and educational areas.
China’s foreign ministry condemned the visit, calling it a “laughable stunt,” accusing Lai of being “smuggled” out of Taiwan and describing the trip as an “undignified act” and a “losing cause.” Beijing reiterated its position that “nothing will ever change the fact that Taiwan is part of China” and urged Eswatini and others to abandon support for what it called “Taiwan independence” separatists.
Beijing regards democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory and does not recognize Taiwan’s right to formal state-to-state relations. Over the years the number of countries maintaining official diplomatic ties with Taiwan has declined. Lai rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims and says Taiwan’s future should be decided by its people.
Currently, 12 states maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan: in Latin America and the Caribbean — Belize, Guatemala, Paraguay, Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; in the Pacific — the Marshall Islands, Palau and Tuvalu; and in Africa and Europe — Eswatini and the Vatican, respectively.
Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah