Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te arrived in the southern African nation of Eswatini on Saturday after a delay of more than a week, forced by what Taiwanese officials described as “strong pressure from the Chinese authorities, including economic coercion,” that caused Seychelles, Mauritius, and Madagascar to revoke permission for his plane to cross their airspace. The delay led to a rescheduled itinerary, and Lai’s arrival was announced only after he had landed safely — a measure Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said followed international precedents for sensitive diplomatic travel.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement shortly after Lai’s social media posts about the visit, calling the president’s travel a “laughable stunt” and saying he had been “smuggled” out of Taiwan. The ministry called the trip an “undignified act” and warned that it “will always be a losing cause,” adding, “We urge Eswatini and some other individual countries to see where the arc of history bends and stop serving as the prop of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists.”
Lai, posting on X, said he had arrived to “affirm our longstanding friendship” with Eswatini, Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa. “Our resolve & commitment are underpinned by the understanding that Taiwan will continue to engage with the world — no matter the challenges faced,” he wrote. In a Facebook post, he said the visit was made possible after “careful arrangements” by his diplomatic and national security teams.
The visit marks the first by a Taiwanese president to Eswatini since 2023, when then-President Tsai Ing-wen traveled to the landlocked country of about 1.2 million people. Eswatini was subsequently excluded from tariff-free access to China’s market — a move widely seen as retaliation for the diplomatic relationship.
On Friday, Taiwan expressed concern after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call that Taiwan is the “biggest risk” in U.S.-China relations. Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry, responding to China’s criticism of the Eswatini trip, said the visit was conducted “in accordance with international law, international norms, diplomatic practices” and Taiwan’s regulations.