(Mbabane, Swaziland, June 3) After Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te announced on social media on Saturday (May 2) that he had arrived in Swaziland (referred to as Eswatini in Taiwan) for a visit, China's Taiwan Affairs Office criticized Lai Ching-te for “sneakily slipping abroad to Swaziland.” In response, Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) retorted that the 'President of the Republic of China' does not need the consent of the People’s Republic of China to go anywhere.
According to reports from the Liberty Times, China Times News, and ETtoday News Cloud, MAC responded on Saturday night, saying, “The 'President of the Republic of China' does not need the consent of the People’s Republic of China to go anywhere. The Taiwan Affairs Office’s rants are utterly nonsensical.”
Lai Ching-te wrote on Facebook on Saturday that he had arrived in Swaziland for his visit. In his post, he wrote: “The originally planned visit on April 22 was postponed due to unforeseen external factors. After days of careful planning by the diplomatic and national security teams, we have smoothly arrived today.”
Lai Ching-te also posted a photo on Facebook showing himself disembarking the plane together with Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung and Secretary-General to the President Pan Meng-an.
The Swaziland government also posted on its official Facebook on the same day, announcing Lai Ching-te’s arrival and saying, “Welcome home, Lai Ching-te.”
Lai Ching-te emphasized that Taiwan overcomes all challenges with determination and effort, and responds to unfair suppression with justice and reason. Taiwan does not seek confrontation, but will never give up on reaching out to the world.
He expressed hope that this visit would further deepen the friendship between Taiwan and Swaziland, promote Taiwan's international cooperation, and also thanked Eswatini for bravely speaking up for Taiwan’s international space despite diplomatic and economic pressures.
The spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded on Saturday night in a Q&A with reporters, saying that just a few hours after an earthquake in Yilan, Lai Ching-te “abandoned the livelihoods of people on the island, sneaked onto a foreign plane and slipped out of Taiwan, squandered public funds, and put on a ‘stowaway-style’ farce, making himself an international laughingstock and adding to the shameful record of ‘Taiwan independence’ misconduct.”
The spokesperson also stated: “We urge Swaziland and other individual countries to recognize the trend of history, follow the tide of the times, and not act as pawns for a handful of separatist 'Taiwan independence' elements.”
Chen Binhua, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office, also criticized Lai Ching-te for “sneaking out to Swaziland,” and said that the so-called ‘diplomatic achievements’ painstakingly devised by Lai were nothing but tricks that have become a worldwide joke.
Chen also said that upholding the one-China principle is where the hearts and minds of the international community lie, is the prevailing trend, and is the just cause. He said, “Lai Ching-te’s disgraceful behavior, like a rat crossing the street, will surely be ridiculed by the international community.”
Lai Ching-te had originally planned to visit Swaziland last week to attend a celebration. However, on the eve of the visit, the Taiwan Presidential Office announced that Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar had revoked Lai Ching-te’s flight permits under pressure from Beijing. After security assessments, the visit was postponed and instead, a special envoy was sent to attend.
Presidential Office spokesperson Kuo Ya-hui said on Saturday that even though Lai Ching-te’s visit was delayed due to baseless external interference, this would not shake Taiwan’s determination to engage with the world, nor would Taiwan be absent from the global stage because of it.
Kuo Ya-hui stated that the planning behind Lai Ching-te’s visit follows three principles: national dignity, flight safety, and international practice. She added that, based on mutual trust with like-minded partners and considering security planning, some details would be appropriately disclosed after the visit ends.
Lai Ching-te wrote on Facebook on Saturday that he had arrived in Swaziland for his visit. In his post, he wrote: “The originally planned visit on April 22 was postponed due to unforeseen external factors. After days of careful planning by the diplomatic and national security teams, we have smoothly arrived today.”
Lai Ching-te also posted a photo on Facebook showing himself disembarking the plane together with Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung and Secretary-General to the President Pan Meng-an.
The Swaziland government also posted on its official Facebook on the same day, announcing Lai Ching-te’s arrival and saying, “Welcome home, Lai Ching-te.”
Lai Ching-te emphasized that Taiwan overcomes all challenges with determination and effort, and responds to unfair suppression with justice and reason. Taiwan does not seek confrontation, but will never give up on reaching out to the world.
He expressed hope that this visit would further deepen the friendship between Taiwan and Swaziland, promote Taiwan's international cooperation, and also thanked Eswatini for bravely speaking up for Taiwan’s international space despite diplomatic and economic pressures.
The spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry responded on Saturday night in a Q&A with reporters, saying that just a few hours after an earthquake in Yilan, Lai Ching-te “abandoned the livelihoods of people on the island, sneaked onto a foreign plane and slipped out of Taiwan, squandered public funds, and put on a ‘stowaway-style’ farce, making himself an international laughingstock and adding to the shameful record of ‘Taiwan independence’ misconduct.”
The spokesperson also stated: “We urge Swaziland and other individual countries to recognize the trend of history, follow the tide of the times, and not act as pawns for a handful of separatist 'Taiwan independence' elements.”
Chen Binhua, spokesperson of the Taiwan Affairs Office, also criticized Lai Ching-te for “sneaking out to Swaziland,” and said that the so-called ‘diplomatic achievements’ painstakingly devised by Lai were nothing but tricks that have become a worldwide joke.
Chen also said that upholding the one-China principle is where the hearts and minds of the international community lie, is the prevailing trend, and is the just cause. He said, “Lai Ching-te’s disgraceful behavior, like a rat crossing the street, will surely be ridiculed by the international community.”
Lai Ching-te had originally planned to visit Swaziland last week to attend a celebration. However, on the eve of the visit, the Taiwan Presidential Office announced that Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar had revoked Lai Ching-te’s flight permits under pressure from Beijing. After security assessments, the visit was postponed and instead, a special envoy was sent to attend.
Presidential Office spokesperson Kuo Ya-hui said on Saturday that even though Lai Ching-te’s visit was delayed due to baseless external interference, this would not shake Taiwan’s determination to engage with the world, nor would Taiwan be absent from the global stage because of it.
Kuo Ya-hui stated that the planning behind Lai Ching-te’s visit follows three principles: national dignity, flight safety, and international practice. She added that, based on mutual trust with like-minded partners and considering security planning, some details would be appropriately disclosed after the visit ends.