Taipei: Taiwan is contemplating the suspension of all official cooperation projects with South Africa and the imposition of stricter visa controls if the South African government proceeds with its demand to relocate Taiwan's representative office. A diplomatic source disclosed this information to CNA on Wednesday.
According to Focus Taiwan, taiwan's Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung has tasked the ministry with exploring all potential reciprocal countermeasures amidst a prolonged dispute. This conflict has involved orders for Taiwan's representatives to leave South Africa's administrative capital, Pretoria, and reclassify the office as a trade office.
The source indicated that potential countermeasures under consideration include stricter visa regulations for South African travelers to Taiwan, suspension of all bilateral exchanges, and possible retaliatory economic and trade measures. Additionally, Taiwan is considering halting a longstanding project that permits South African nationals to attend training sessions in Taiwan. Details of these training programs were not disclosed by the source.
These measures are being contemplated in response to what the source described as South Africa's "malicious sabotaging" of a 1997 bilateral agreement. This agreement allowed the Taipei office to operate in Pretoria after the cessation of official diplomatic ties in 1998.
The dispute originated in 2024 when South Africa sought to downgrade the representative office to a "trade office," relocating it to Johannesburg. Initially, South Africa set the end of October as the deadline for Taiwan to make these changes, later extending it to the end of March.
In early March, South Africa unilaterally altered the Taipei office's name on the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) website, listing it as the "Taipei Commercial Office." Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has protested this unilateral change and has called for discussions to find a mutually agreeable solution.
In a recent statement, MOFA announced that both sides are currently exchanging views on amending the legal framework governing their bilateral relations, referring to the 1997 agreement. Taiwan has urged South Africa to expedite talks on formal negotiations concerning the location, time, delegation composition, and method of signing an agreement.
MOFA has alleged that China's influence is behind South Africa's decision to demand the relocation and renaming of the Taipei office, citing the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 and the "one-China principle." This resolution, adopted in 1971, addressed China's representation in the U.N., resulting in Taiwan losing its seat to China.
Despite severing official diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1998, South Africa maintained liaison offices in each other's territories, with Taiwan operating offices in both Pretoria and Cape Town.
In a related development, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto U.S. embassy in Taiwan, expressed disappointment over South Africa's decision to rename the Taipei office. An AIT spokesperson commended Taiwan as a "reliable, likeminded, and democratic partner," highlighting the benefits of Taiwan's global relationships. The spokesperson also criticized China's efforts to isolate Taiwan internationally and pressure countries to downgrade ties with Taiwan.