China has slammed Taiwan President Lai Ching-te as he begins surprise Africa tour.
According to Reuters, President Lai upon his arrival in Eswatini he told the king that Taiwan has right to engage with the world and no other country can stop that.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as part of its territory with no right to state-to-state ties, a position Taiwan's government strongly disputes, and Beijing has demanded countries stop any engagements with the island.
Lai told the king, referring to Taiwan's official name, “The Republic of China, Taiwan, is a sovereign nation and a Taiwan that belongs to the world. 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."
Last month, Taiwan said China had forced three Indian Ocean countries to pull overflight permission for Lai's aircraft to travel to the small southern African kingdom of Eswatini for the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III's accession. It is one of only 12 countries with formal ties with Taipei.
Late Saturday, China's Taiwan Affairs Office said Lai had "skulked" his way to Eswatini.
A spokesperson stated, "Lai Ching-te's despicable conduct, like a rat scurrying across the street, will inevitably be met with ridicule by the international community. The Taiwan Affairs Office's fishwife's gutter talk is boring in the extreme.”
Lai arrived in the former Swaziland on Saturday, May 2, on a trip neither government had announced beforehand, having taken an Eswatini government aircraft.
