The South African government has established a deadline for Taiwan to move its Pretoria de facto embassy at the end of March, according to the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which attributed China's pressure decision.
South Africa cut formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1997, and now only maintains official and strong ties with China, which considers the island governed democratically as part of its territory, without rights over the privileges of a sovereign state.
In a statement, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed that the South African government had issued a letter in January, demanding that the Taiwanese mission left Pretoria before the end of March and would be renamed as a “commercial office.”
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs called South Africa a “ally and close partner”, explaining that the nation was simply adhering to the “Chinese principle”, which affirms Taiwan as part of China.
“Taiwan's independence does not have a generalized support and inevitably will fail,” the ministry said in a statement to Reuters. Last year, South Africa formally requested the Taipei link office to vacate Pretoria.
A representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Africa told Reuters: “Our department is coordinating with the Taipei link office regarding administrative matters to guarantee a precise representation of its diplomatic status in South Africa.”
China stands as the largest worldwide business partner in South Africa, and the Nation aims to even strengthen cooperation in areas such as renewable energy.
The Taiwan government rejects China's claim of sovereignty over the island, affirming its right to establish relations with other nations.
Taiwan currently has formal diplomatic ties with only 12 countries, with Eswatini as his only ally in Africa, almost completely surrounded by South Africa.
(Yaya)
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