South Africa orders speedy relocation of Taiwan office

Taipei, Oct. 17 (CNA) The South African government has called on Taiwan to relocate its representative office in the capital Pretoria before the end of October, allegedly due to pressure from China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) confirmed Thursday.

MOFA told CNA that it was still trying to convince the South African government to withdraw its request, as such a move would be detrimental to the current cordial bilateral exchanges in trade, education and technology.

According to MOFA, relations between South Africa and China have warmed up significantly since last year, leading to unrelenting efforts by Beijing to pressure South Africa into suppressing Taiwan on all fronts.

MOFA said it has been urging South Africa not to bow to such pressure by asking the Taipei office to relocate.

Should South Africa remain uncompromising on the issue, however, Taiwan would consider reciprocal measures to safeguard its sovereignty and integrity, MOFA said without elaborating.

It also condemned China's use of political and economic strategies to force another country to suppress Taiwan.

MOFA made the comments to CNA when asked about the reported relocation request by the South African government.

According to a diplomatic source who spoke to CNA on condition of anonymity, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has asked his ministry to come up with reciprocal countermeasures, including a possible request for the relocation of the South Africa representative office in Taipei.

Other potential countermeasures might include stricter visa rules for South African travelers to Taiwan and the suspension of bilateral educational exchanges, the source told CNA.

Currently there are around 5,000 South African English teachers in Taiwan.

Taiwan is also thinking of giving priority to the Kingdom of Eswatini, its only diplomatic ally in Africa, for the hiring of teachers from that continent, the source said.

The issue arose from a request made by the South African government on Oct. 7, the day the Taiwan office in Pretoria was holding a reception to celebrate National Day of the Republic of China (Taiwan), according to the diplomatic source.

The South African government had been putting pressure on the Taipei office since last year, citing the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 and the "one-China principle," the source said.

Resolution 2758 was adopted by the 26th U.N. General Assembly in 1971 to address the issue of China's representation in the world body and resulted in the ROC losing its seat at the U.N. to the People's Republic of China (PRC).

In it ultimatum on Oct. 7, the South African government said the Taiwan office must move out of Pretoria before the end of October, or it would be forced to close, adding that the issue was "non-negotiable," the source told CNA.

After South Africa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1998, the latter established a representative office in Pretoria under the name Taipei Liaison Office in the Republic of South Africa. Taiwan also has a branch office in Cape Town called Taipei Liaison Office in Cape Town.

Meanwhile, there is a Liaison Office of South Africa in Taipei.

A similar relocation situation occurred in January 2017 when the Nigerian government ordered Taiwan to move its office out of the capital, to remove the words "Republic of China (Taiwan)" from the office's name, and to reduce the size of its staff, reportedly under pressure from China.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs later lauded the move, saying it showed Nigeria's "staunch support" for Beijing's "one China" principle.

Taipei responded by twice summoning the acting director of the Nigeria Trade Office in Taiwan, saying that the decision was against Taiwan's interests.

The Taipei office in Abuja later relocated to Lagos and reopened to the public in January 2018 under the name "The Taipei Trade Office in the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

In response, the Taiwan government demanded the relocation of the Nigeria Trade Office in Taipei, which then moved to Banqiao District in New Taipei.