Taiwan President Lai Ching-te Defies China As Eswatini Trip Begins

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te told Eswatini’s king that “Taiwan has a right to engage with the world and no country can stop that” as his surprise trip to the small southern African kingdom began, with Taipei saying Beijing tried to stop it.

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The Straits Times reports that China condemned Mr Lai as a “rat” and reiterated its position that democratically governed Taiwan is part of its territory with “no right to state-to-state ties.”

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Taiwan’s government disputes Beijing’s stance and says countries should not be able to block Taipei’s international engagements.

Lai arrived in the former Swaziland on May 2 on a trip neither government had announced beforehand, having taken an Eswatini government aircraft, according to the report.

The article says the “arrive then announce” model is commonly used in high-level international diplomacy to minimise “uncertain risks of potential interference from external forces,” citing a senior Taiwan security official speaking on condition of anonymity.

In comments provided by the presidential office on May 3, Lai said, “The Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign nation and a Taiwan that belongs to the world,” and added, “The 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to engage with the world, and no country has the right – nor should any country attempt – to prevent Taiwan from contributing to the world.”

The report frames the trip as a direct test of Beijing’s demands that countries stop engagements with the island.

The Straits Times describes how Beijing’s pressure on Taiwan’s international contacts has intensified around Lai’s travel plans, including a prior episode in April involving overflight permissions for his aircraft.

It says that in April, Taiwan said China had forced three Indian Ocean countries to pull overflight permission for Mr Lai’s aircraft to travel to Eswatini for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession.

The Straits Times

The report adds that Eswatini is one of only 12 countries with formal ties with Taipei, underscoring the diplomatic sensitivity of the visit.

After Lai’s April plans were cancelled due to the overflight problem, the article says the episode prompted criticism of China from the US and concern from the European Union, Britain, France and Germany.

For the May trip, Taipei says it did not seek permission from Beijing, and the report quotes the Taiwan’s China-policymaking Mainland Affairs Council saying “Mr Lai did not need Beijing’s permission to go anywhere.”

The Mainland Affairs Council also responded sharply to Beijing’s language, calling the Taiwan Affairs Office’s remarks “fishwife’s gutter talk” and adding that it was “boring in the extreme.”

Meanwhile, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office said late on May 2 that Mr Lai had “skulked” his way to Eswatini, and the spokesperson’s statement used the “rat” comparison, saying, “Lai Ching-te’s despicable conduct – like a rat scurrying across the street – will inevitably be met with ridicule by the international community.”

The Straits Times frames the timing and method of Lai’s travel as a deliberate diplomatic tactic designed to reduce the risk of interference, describing the “arrive then announce” approach used in high-level international diplomacy.

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It says Lai arrived in the former Swaziland on May 2 on a trip neither government had announced beforehand, and that he used an Eswatini government aircraft.

The report quotes a senior Taiwan security official explaining that the “arrive then announce” model minimises “uncertain risks of potential interference from external forces,” and the official spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

The article also notes that Lai’s comments to the king were provided by the presidential office on May 3, linking the message to the start of the trip.

In those comments, Lai used Taiwan’s official name and sovereignty language, saying, “The Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign nation and a Taiwan that belongs to the world.”

He then tied that framing to the population’s right to participate internationally, stating, “The 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to engage with the world.”

The report also places the trip against a backdrop of earlier cancelled plans in April, when overflight permission problems had delayed the intended Eswatini visit for King Mswati III’s accession anniversary.