TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) 鈥� Taiwan鈥檚 President Lai Ching-te said he arrived in the African nation of Eswatini on Saturday, days after his government was forced to push back the trip when several countries withdrew permission for him to fly over their territories reportedly over Chinese pressure.
In a post on X, Lai said he arrived in 鈥� Taiwan鈥檚 only diplomatic ally in Africa 鈥� to 鈥渁ffirm our longstanding friendship.鈥� He said that Taiwan, a self-ruled democracy that China considers part of its territory, 鈥渨ill never be deterred by external pressures.鈥�
Lai was originally scheduled to visit the southern African country from April 22, but Taiwanese officials said that flight permits were revoked by Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar over 鈥渟trong pressure from the Chinese authorities, including economic coercion.鈥�
In a separate Facebook post on Saturday, Lai wrote that the visit was made possible following careful arrangements by his diplomatic and national security teams. He said the trip will further deepen the friendship between Taiwan and Eswatini through closer economic, agricultural, cultural and educational ties.
鈥淥ur resolve & commitment are underpinned by the understanding that Taiwan will continue to engage with the world 鈥� no matter the challenges faced,鈥� Lai wrote on X. Taiwan did not announce latest plans of Lai’s Eswatini visit prior to his arrival.
A spokesperson of China鈥檚 Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement shortly after Lai posted on social media about his visit that he was 鈥減erforming a laughable stunt in front of the world,鈥� and referred to him being 鈥渟muggled鈥� out of Taiwan.
Lai’s 鈥渦ndignified act鈥� and visit 鈥渨ill always be a losing cause and nothing will ever change the fact that Taiwan is part of China,鈥� the ministry said. 鈥淲e urge Eswatini and some other individual countries to see where the arc of history bends and stop serving as the prop of 鈥楾aiwan independence鈥� separatists.鈥�
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry hit back, saying Lai’s trip was conducted 鈥渋n accordance with international law, international norms, diplomatic practices鈥� and Taiwan鈥檚 regulations.
Lai’s arrival in Eswatini was only announced after he landed safely, the ministry said in a written statement, a precaution which it said had numerous international precedents.
to take control of Taiwan and has sought to block other countries from maintaining formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.
In 2023, Tsai Ing-wen was the most recent previous Taiwanese president to visit Eswatini, the small, landlocked nation with a population of around 1.2 million. Eswatini became the to China’s market because of its ties to Taiwan.
On Friday, Taiwan鈥檚 government after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call that Taiwan is the 鈥渂iggest risk鈥� when it comes to relations between Beijing and Washington.
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